A girl plays with soap bubbles outside her hut in a Quilombo, a remote settlement originally founded as a refuge for runaway slaves and their descendants, near Cachoeira. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Siblings play at home next to an image of Yemnja?, the queen of the ocean. Andarai, Bahia. Brazil. In Candomble, Yemanja? is one of the seven Orixa?s. She is a patron spirit of fishermen and shipwreck survivors, the feminine principle of creation and the spirit of the moonlight. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Joelma poses for a portrait in her home in Salvador de Bahia. She has suffered from different addictions since young age, today she is pregnant, and is trying to stay clean. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Bosco draws inside a mine in Chapada Diamantina, where hundreds of slaves worked collecting diamonds, how work was organized when the mine was in operation back in the 16th century. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Tainara peels cashews while her father, Antonio Paolo, and her brother, Miguel, watch television. Cachoeira, Bahia. Brazil. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
A woman honors Yemanaja? very early in the morning. In Candomble, Yemanja? is one of the seven Orixa?s. She is a patron spirit of fishermen and shipwreck survivors, the feminine principle of creation and the spirit of the moonlight. On her day hundreds of people, all dressed in white, gather by the seaside to make her offerings -flowers, perfume, jewelry, pastries - that are put into the sea asking for protection and a good year of fishing. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Natalia, 14, and Victoria, 12, having a sister talk. Bahia, Brazil. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Eyd Elle 6, combs her mother Crisleia´s hair. Bahia, Brazil. The report explores the vestiges of trauma in the aftermath of slavery in Brazil and how they intersect with the present environment. Violent acts, such as those experienced in war or abuse, have an enormous impact on individuals mental health. Research indicates that the impact of trauma experienced by mothers influences the development of their children. The situation is encoded in the DNA passing on to the following generations, shaping the memories in a cognitive and behavioral way. Today, we still need to draw attention to racially aggravated ills caused by social practices and fight important issues such as income gap, education and social perpetration of racial stereotypes.
Ashima (named changed for safety), 17, poses for a portrait in her home. Ashima was repeatedly raped when she was 15 years old after harvesting soybeans. In shock and scared, she managed to kept it a secret for 8 months until her mother realized she was in labor. After a complicated and painful delivery, the baby was given for adoption. In the provinces of India, in rural and urban areas, women who have been victims of sexual assault live out their lives, not only trying to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience but also with stigma, social judgment, and seclusion. India, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. Every day hundreds of girls and woman are exposed to sexual violence, human trafficking and sexual and domestic enslavement. This remains not just a problem of gender inequality, but also as one of class, caste, and political and economic power. All these elements, together, speak to a threat that often brings silence and idleness, and unfortunately, makes seeking justice an endlessly painful, complicated path.
Sapna Monsore, 22, poses for a portrait in her parents home. She was kidnapped in the state of Rajasthan, in northern India, and sold for $50,000 rupees ($700 usd) to 2 men who brutally raped her, and then sold her again in Bangalore, where she was forced to marriage twice. After several months captive, she managed to call her brother Bhagun, who paid her ransom, and took her back home with their parents. She is 5 months pregnant and her father, due to the community's harrassment and discrimination, arranged a marriage with a man of another village. In the provinces of India, in rural and urban areas, women who have been victims of sexual assault live out their lives, not only trying to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience but also with stigma, social judgment, and seclusion. India, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. Every day hundreds of girls and woman are exposed to sexual violence, human trafficking and sexual and domestic enslavement. This remains not just a problem of gender inequality, but also as one of class, caste, and political and economic power. All these elements, together, speak to a threat that often brings silence and idleness, and unfortunately, makes seeking justice an endlessly painful, complicated path.
Sapna Monsore, 22, sleeps at her parents' house. Jul, 2018. Madhya Pradesh, India. Sapna was kidnapped in the state of Rajasthan, in northern India, and was sold for $50,000 rupees ($700 usd) to 2 men who brutally raped her, and then sold her again in Bangalore, where she was forced to marriage twice. After several months captive, she managed to call her brother Bhagun, who paid her ransom, and took her back home with their parents. She is 5 months pregnant and her father, due to the community's harrassment and discrimination, arranged a marriage with a man of another village. In the provinces of India, in rural and urban areas, women who have been victims of sexual assault live out their lives, not only trying to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience but also with stigma, social judgment, and seclusion. India, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. Every day hundreds of girls and woman are exposed to sexual violence, human trafficking and sexual and domestic enslavement. This remains not just a problem of gender inequality, but also as one of class, caste, and political and economic power. All these elements, together, speak to a threat that often brings silence and idleness, and unfortunately, makes seeking justice an endlessly painful, complicated path.
Ramsabha Bai, 36, poses for a portrait at her home in Madhya Pradesh, India. Ramsabha was raped by her boss. She was threatened with a knife to the neck and with her daughter Bharti as a witness. “My daughter got awake, silent and afraid in a corner of the room, telling me not to scream or the attacker would kill us both. [...] She went to the side and covered her face with a blanket and quietly slept in fear.” Due to the long distances between the villages, it is very complicated to report, when Ramsabha did it, she found herself with the officers refusal, who accused her of lying, and later with the doctors harassment. After years of fighting, the aggressor was sentenced to only three months in prison. In the provinces of India, in rural and urban areas, women who have been victims of sexual assault live out their lives, not only trying to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience but also with stigma, social judgment, and seclusion. India, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. Every day hundreds of girls and woman are exposed to sexual violence, human trafficking and sexual and domestic enslavement. This remains not just a problem of gender inequality, but also as one of class, caste, and political and economic power. All these elements, together, speak to a threat that often brings silence and idleness, and unfortunately, makes seeking justice an endlessly painful, complicated path.
Bharti, 12, rests at home under the care of her mother Ramsabha, to reduce the fever and the severe headaches. Madhya Pradesh, India. Ramsabha Bai, 36, was raped by her boss. She was threatened with a knife to the neck and with her daughter Bharti as a witness. “My daughter got awake, silent and afraid in a corner of the room, telling me not to scream or the attacker would kill us both. [...] She went to the side and covered her face with a blanket and quietly slept in fear.” In the provinces of India, in rural and urban areas, women who have been victims of sexual assault live out their lives, not only trying to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience but also with stigma, social judgment, and seclusion. India, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. Every day hundreds of girls and woman are exposed to sexual violence, human trafficking and sexual and domestic enslavement. This remains not just a problem of gender inequality, but also as one of class, caste, and political and economic power. All these elements, together, speak to a threat that often brings silence and idleness, and unfortunately, makes seeking justice an endlessly painful, complicated path.
Shughan Chauhan, 22, poses for a portrait in her home in Madhya Pradesh, India. Shughan got married at the age of 12, today, 10 years later, she has 2 children: a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. On April 18th, 2017, two men entered her home and raped her several times. After the incident happened, she told her mother first instead of her husband, that action became a huge problem with the women in the village who blamed her for what happened. “This encourages them to do what they have been doing to us, because society blames us not them.” Explain Shughan. In the provinces of India, in rural and urban areas, women who have been victims of sexual assault live out their lives, not only trying to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic experience but also with stigma, social judgment, and seclusion. India, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. Every day hundreds of girls and woman are exposed to sexual violence, human trafficking and sexual and domestic enslavement. This remains not just a problem of gender inequality, but also as one of class, caste, and political and economic power. All these elements, together, speak to a threat that often brings silence and idleness, and unfortunately, makes seeking justice an endlessly painful, complicated path.
Franz Schmitt sprays glyphosate to prepare the land for replanting. Bacalar, Quintana Roo. Mexico. Aug, 2021. ©Juan Pablo Ampudia for the VII Mentor Program
Aerial view of a soybean field in Salamanca, Bacalar, Quintana Roo. Mexico. A Mennonite community - a religious ethnic group whose doctrine is based on the Bible as the word of God - has cleared 50 km2 of jungle without permission in Bacalar, in the Mexican Caribbean, today threatened by massive tourism, deforestation and the discharge of sewage into its lagoon. Where previously there were threatened or endangered animal and plant species, now there are colorful wooden houses, transgenic soybean fields, and pig and poultry farms. This community arrived 20 years ago, from Belize, they traveled to the Mexican southeast in early 2000 and reached Mayan lands, but the indigenous people did not make it easy for them - there was and still is a cultural clash between them - so they settled in Bacalar. Today there are 1,400 inhabitants of this place that they called Salamanca. When you talk about the contamination of the lagoon and the aquifers in Quintana Roo, they are often pointed out as responsible for what happens in Bacalar, due to their hectares full of transgenic soybeans that they sell to companies in Yucata?n and Campeche. Today we see a series of prejudices found between the Mayans and the Mennonites: a peaceful and religious community that does not understand the climate impact and therefore continues to deforest.
The Schmitt family eat breakfast at home before starting the chores in the fields and around the house. From left to right (Anna Schmitt, 13, Margaretha Schmitt, 7, Elisabeth Schmitt, 15, Susana Schmitt, 18, Benjamin Schmitt, 4, Aganetha Schmitt, 11, Wilhem Schmitt, 21.) A Mennonite community - a religious ethnic group whose doctrine is based on the Bible as the word of God - has cleared 50 km2 of jungle without permission in Bacalar, in the Mexican Caribbean, today threatened by massive tourism, deforestation and the discharge of sewage into its lagoon. Where previously there were threatened or endangered animal and plant species, now there are colorful wooden houses, transgenic soybean fields, and pig and poultry farms. This community arrived 20 years ago, from Belize, they traveled to the Mexican southeast in early 2000 and reached Mayan lands, but the indigenous people did not make it easy for them - there was and still is a cultural clash between them - so they settled in Bacalar. Today there are 1,400 inhabitants of this place that they called Salamanca. When you talk about the contamination of the lagoon and the aquifers in Quintana Roo, they are often pointed out as responsible for what happens in Bacalar, due to their hectares full of transgenic soybeans that they sell to companies in Yucata?n and Campeche. Today we see a series of prejudices found between the Mayans and the Mennonites: a peaceful and religious community that does not understand the climate impact and therefore continues to deforest.
Abram Schmitt prepares to feed his cattle early in the morning. A Mennonite community - a religious ethnic group whose doctrine is based on the Bible as the word of God - has cleared 50 km2 of jungle without permission in Bacalar, in the Mexican Caribbean, today threatened by massive tourism, deforestation and the discharge of sewage into its lagoon. Where previously there were threatened or endangered animal and plant species, now there are colorful wooden houses, transgenic soybean fields, and pig and poultry farms. This community arrived 20 years ago, from Belize, they traveled to the Mexican southeast in early 2000 and reached Mayan lands, but the indigenous people did not make it easy for them - there was and still is a cultural clash between them - so they settled in Bacalar. Today there are 1,400 inhabitants of this place that they called Salamanca. When you talk about the contamination of the lagoon and the aquifers in Quintana Roo, they are often pointed out as responsible for what happens in Bacalar, due to their hectares full of transgenic soybeans that they sell to companies in Yucata?n and Campeche. Today we see a series of prejudices found between the Mayans and the Mennonites: a peaceful and religious community that does not understand the climate impact and therefore continues to deforest.
Aerial view of the Bacalar lagoon in Quintana Roo, Mexico. A Mennonite community - a religious ethnic group whose doctrine is based on the Bible as the word of God - has cleared 50 km2 of jungle without permission in Bacalar, in the Mexican Caribbean, today threatened by massive tourism, deforestation and the discharge of sewage into its lagoon. Where previously there were threatened or endangered animal and plant species, now there are colorful wooden houses, transgenic soybean fields, and pig and poultry farms. This community arrived 20 years ago, from Belize, they traveled to the Mexican southeast in early 2000 and reached Mayan lands, but the indigenous people did not make it easy for them - there was and still is a cultural clash between them - so they settled in Bacalar. Today there are 1,400 inhabitants of this place that they called Salamanca. When you talk about the contamination of the lagoon and the aquifers in Quintana Roo, they are often pointed out as responsible for what happens in Bacalar, due to their hectares full of transgenic soybeans that they sell to companies in Yucata?n and Campeche. Today we see a series of prejudices found between the Mayans and the Mennonites: a peaceful and religious community that does not understand the climate impact and therefore continues to deforest.
Isaac Dyck, 42, fixes an engine together with his sons. A Mennonite community - a religious ethnic group whose doctrine is based on the Bible as the word of God - has cleared 50 km2 of jungle without permission in Bacalar, in the Mexican Caribbean, today threatened by massive tourism, deforestation and the discharge of sewage into its lagoon. Where previously there were threatened or endangered animal and plant species, now there are colorful wooden houses, transgenic soybean fields, and pig and poultry farms. This community arrived 20 years ago, from Belize, they traveled to the Mexican southeast in early 2000 and reached Mayan lands, but the indigenous people did not make it easy for them - there was and still is a cultural clash between them - so they settled in Bacalar. Today there are 1,400 inhabitants of this place that they called Salamanca. When you talk about the contamination of the lagoon and the aquifers in Quintana Roo, they are often pointed out as responsible for what happens in Bacalar, due to their hectares full of transgenic soybeans that they sell to companies in Yucata?n and Campeche. Today we see a series of prejudices found between the Mayans and the Mennonites: a peaceful and religious community that does not understand the climate impact and therefore continues to deforest.
Location
Mexico City, Mexico
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Juan Pablo Ampudia

Mentor Program

Born in Jalisco in 1985, Mexican photographer Juan Pablo Ampudia currently lives between Yucatán and Mexico City. His work focuses on the aftermath of different social and environmental issues around the world with a particular interest in resilience.

In 2015 he documented the relationship with his mother, who suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for more than 25 years. This six-year personal project shed light on a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease that affects more than 2.5 million people worldwide. Between 2016 and 2017, he spent the early years of his career working in Brazil focusing on issues related to identity and conflict. In 2018, he was nominated for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass and began photographing for National Geographic.

In 2019, being more aware of the impact our diet has on the environment, he returned to Brazil to document the highest loss in the Brazilian rainforest in a decade. In 2020, he collaborated with Gatopardo on several pieces about human rights violations and environmental crimes in Mexico.

In 2021, he joined the VII Photo Agency as part of the VII Mentor Program, and he is currently working on a long-term project that explores the contamination of the Yucatán Peninsula Aquifer, one of the most extensive Karst aquifer systems on the planet that is threatened by pollution, deforestation, the use of pesticides and agribusiness, and real state development.

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