For the first time, pupils in Colombian schools learn about the bloody past of their country, the armed conflict.
Venezuela – A nation goes dark
Since the 7th of March 2019, various nationwide blackouts sent Venezuela back into the Stone Age. The first blackout took me and the country by surprise. For almost a week, I was completely disconnected from the outside world, without electricity, water, internet and phone. A photo diary published by the Swiss magazine NZZ am Sonntag.
Colombia – Welcome to Paradise
Ten thousands of Venezuelans of fled to the poor neighbourhoods of Bogotá. How do the underdogs from two countries get along among themselves?
Colombia – Children of Peace
In years of fighting against the Colombian government, female fighters of the FARC guerillas were not allowed to have children. Once, the rebels started negotiating peace their camps experimented a true baby boom.
Peru – Tree sap brings prosperity
Without the Brazilian and Peruvian rubber, the automobile could not have conquered the world in the first decades of the 20th century. On assignment for the German cooperation agency GIZ, I spent a week in the Peruvian amazonas following indigenous people who are rediscovering the knowledge of their forefathers about the rubber tree.
Colombia – Making a fresh start
After more than 50 years of civil war, Colombia has more internally displaced persons than any other country in the world. Parliament recently adopted a peace agreement with the FARC, but this now has to be given substance. Reconciliation projects like the one in the city of Florencia paint a picture of a brighter future.