Portrait of the Embera Chami indigenous group, Colombia
For years, the indigenous communities in Colombia have been living in the middle of a conflict . “Las guerillas ” as the Indians call them, have tortured and killed hundreds of indigenous throughout Colombia in an attempt to take their land.
This has lead to hundreds of them leaving their native land, with many relocating in Bogota. This displacement threatens the survival of the entire indigenous community throughout Colombia.
I met a family who were, like many of the displaced, selling their jewelry on the streets to survive.
They were living in hard conditions in a block of flats surrounded by drug dealers and prostitutes.
I began a process of inviting small groups of Indians to my hotel each morning, and to make a portrait of them.
Some spoke little spanish. Each had a touching story.
Each photo symbolizes their existence, and is a way of giving them a voice.
Karen Paulina Biswell
French-Colombian photographer, Karen Paulina Biswell was born in Aruba in 1983. She lives and works between Bogota, Paris and Taganga.
