Through a lens, darkly

Taranaki Daily News

A photographer from New Plymouth wanders around one of Mexico City's toughest neighbourhoods and ends up being invited to visit a community of squatters one day and have a slap-up meal at Mexico's House of Representatives the next.

Mike Scott, 36, headed to Mexico to attend a six-day photojournalism course tutored by some of the world's top photojournalists. As part of his course, he had to put together a photo story (see it on taranakidailynews.co.nz). Mr Scott chose squatters because of the huge difference between the number of people living in New Plymouth and the 20 million-plus people living in Mexico City. And because he has an interest in taking photographs that matter. He likes telling the story of people who don't have a voice.

The word squatters conjures up an image. A bunch of layabouts moving into and then wrecking a large old house. And no one can get them out.

But there are a billion people in the world who are squatters because of necessity. That equates to one third of the world's urban dwellers. They live in poor, homemade houses and constantly face imminent eviction.

In Mexico, the drift into the city from rural areas means there are more people than houses, more people than there is space to build houses for. And terrible poverty.

Mr Scott had heard about a particular group of squatters called the The Popular Independent Front (Frente). To find them, Mr Scott had to go to Iztapalapa one of the city's meanest boroughs. None of the Mexicans on the photography course had ever ventured out there.

Iztapalapa has 2 million people and is divided into five districts. The district where the Frente community lives has about 20 squatter communities, totalling at least 30,000 people.

The main group of Frente squatters have made their home in what began life as a high school called CCH6. It was supposed to be a feeder school for one of the top universities in Mexico City, but was never finished. Iztapalapa residents tried to complete the school because of the importance of education, but were unable to, so they invited people to live there. Mr Scott, an American photographer Ryan Meehan and an interpreter just wandered up to the school and bowled in. They were stopped by two large men. Mr Scott had been told the community was full of gangs and drug dealers, so was a bit nervous. Here they were, two gringos, with lots of expensive camera gear. "We weren't sure what would happen." Nothing happened, except they were told to "bugger off" in Spanish.

They were told they had to get permission from local politician David Mendoza, who still lives at the community, before they could visit. Mr Scott, the other gringo and the interpreter then spent a couple of days wandering around Iztapalapa looking for the MP. The longer Mr Scott spent in Iztapalapa, the more comfortable he felt, but he was always careful not to be habitual predictable in his travels.

When they found Mr Mendoza's office, they sat on the front steps until someone finally turned up. Mr Mendoza, through the interpreter, told the two photographers the story of the community.

There is a history of socialism in Mexico and the community is run on Marxist principles. In the early 1990s, there was a right-wing government and it wasn't very helpful to a socialist group. The police and the military both tried to evict them. The squatters defended the school with whatever they could and succeeded. There have been reports the squatters suffered persecution, sexual abuse, kidnappings, beatings and imprisonment, Mr Scott says.

In all, there are three Frente communities, all in the same district in Iztapalapa. The main one is CCH6 and there are also the Contel and Antenna communities. Altogether the communities total about 4000 people. Some of the squatters have jobs and others create commercial enterprises in the community. They buy gas and on-sell it to buses. Coca Cola sponsors their stalls out on the street, he says.

Mr Mendoza puts 20 percent of his wages back into the community. He is a real champion for better housing, but his fellow politicians don't know where Mr Mendoza lives, Mr Scott says.

"I think it is cool he still lives there. Of course, he was `selling' it. He is good at PR."

While Mr Mendoza earns big money, the rest of the squatters have very little.

They don't pay rates or tax and steal electricity off the national grid. But they don't get any assistance from the government. And while water is pumped into the community to one place, the people have to haul it to their homes in buckets.

"I think there was a real sense of safety. I could walk in through the gate and feel safe. Outside, I didn't."

Though the community is not a place he would choose to live.

"There is the stink of intense living. Not rubbish or anything, just musty, damp living."

The houses are made of concrete and the average house is 24 square metres. One woman Mr Scott met, Guadalupe, has a husband and 10 children.

"If you pace out six by four, put in bedding for 10 people, put in pots and pans ..." The house has one door and one window.

Guadalupe used to live in another community of squatters, but it didn't want children. She wasn't the only woman who impressed Mr Scott.

"I met a woman one day who was one semester away from a communication degree and got pregnant." She grew up in the Antenna community, but was just about to get out. Five years later, she is still there.

"She was melancholy about it. She would like to leave, but didn't seem to have much hope."

The young woman told Mr Scott: "People from our country don't care. Our government doesn't care."

The people in the community were intrigued that someone from New Zealand would be interested in them.

For a lot of people it is good to be in the community, otherwise they would be homeless or living in a slum. Their kids all go to school and they're the ones who are being looked to, to promote the cause.

There are lots of children in the Frente communities and some of them are street traders. But they are not devoid of mod cons; some teenagers have cellphones.

Outside the gates of the community and up a hill is El Hoyo the hole. It used to be a quarry and now homes gangs. "No one ever goes there. If I went up there, I wouldn't come out again."

There are extremes of rich and poor in Mexico City, Mr Scott says.

"The world's richest man comes from Mexico City."

The central city is modern and slick, with police everywhere, but out in the suburbs, there are lots of people, it is intense and the homes are "not nice".

It opened his eyes to the intense urbanisation that is happening in world. "It's not that pretty." And the experience has made him marvel at the resourcefulness of people.

He now wants to continue to pursue opportunities to extend his skills and challenge himself in search for meaningful photos that count.

In Dharvai, India, there is a squatter community of a million people.

And $1 million a day in commerce is produced there.

"I am really interested in going to India and live there in that sort of community for two weeks or more."

Visiting the squatters in Mexico for two and a half days wasn't long enough.

But it was a reality check.