The sand shovelers of the Arauca River

The brown water of the Arauca River flows lazily by. We are on the Colombian side. On the other bank, about 100 meters away, is Venezuela. The riverbank is already bustling with activity. Strongly built men with metal sheets in their hands dive to the bottom of the river, scoop out sand and swim to the bank with the sand-packed sheets. Trucks are waiting there to transport the sand to construction sites. The men dive to the bottom up to 120 times a day.

Luis Tovar (left) and Jerson Gallego (right), both 48 years old, are two of the longest-serving sand shovelers on the banks of the Arauca River.

Luis Tovar, 48 years old, dives to the bottom of the Arauca River up to 120 times a day to scrape away sand. He has never suffered an illness or accident at work.

The sand shovelers from the Arauca River dive up to two meters to reach the bottom. In winter, when the rain causes the water to swell, they even have to dive up to four meters.

Luis Jaimes, 26 years old, Venezuelan, fled to Colombia because of the humanitarian crisis in his home country, where he now works as a sand digger.

Wilmer Silva, 45 years old, has been a sand digger for 18 years. Before that, he worked as a coca picker on illegal coca plantations.