Οι φωτογραφίες αυτές είναι της Νοτιοαφρικανίδας Jodi Bieber και μπορείς να τις δεις στην Biennale της Θεσσαλονίκης στην αίθουσα των παλαιών ψυγείων. Το κείμενο της καλλιτέχνιδας που ακολουθεί μας μιλά για το πως αντιμετωπίζονται οι ναρκομανείς σε μια Ευρωπαϊκή χώρα σαν την Ισπανία. Εμείς μπορούμε να κάνουμε τις συγκρίσεις μας και να υποπτευθούμε γιατί πουθενά στον κόσμο δεν υπάρχει στήριξη για αυτούς τους ανθρώπους.
| Las Canas | ||
| “When you get to know us we are not as bad as they make us out to be. We are just people who lack affection; who, instead of offering love, are on the defensive and quickly react by showing our claws in response to the attitude of our society. Accept us. Support us. Signed: Cesar, Valencia. Spain Foreword In Spain, one of the main methods of transmission of HIV/Aids is through the use of sharing needles when injecting drugs. A lack of social support, condemnation from society, an industry with no control or regulations has isolated drug users from the rest of society, as in so many other countries around the world. It makes these drug users vulnerable to transmission of diseases like HIV/Aids. Clean needles are not always available and without legislation and control of this industry the drugs are not sold in their pure form. In one month I witnessed 20 overdoses. Many of the drug users I met had severe ulcers created by badly cut drugs. | In Spain the consumption of drugs is not prohibited unless it is consumed in a public domain however the trafficking of drugs is a serious offense. Even though this is a project related to HIV/Aids this work is more about the people you might see every day parking your car, sleeping in the street and begging you for money and who are also addicted to drugs. They all have a story to tell which often contains sadness and loss. They come from different parts of the world, different backgrounds - economically, culturally and intellectually. They have one thing in common - drugs. They could be your sister or brother, daughter or son. The photographs might seem at times confontrational to the viewer but Las Canas is a harsh world and there is nothing sentimental about this place. As a South African it shocked me to see addicts living in this condition in a First World Society. | |
