Over the last 4 years there have been
24,021 murders in Guatemala – a figure that averages out to 1 violent death for
every waking hour.
Sicarios and gang culture are
largely to blame for the continuing death toll as rivals fight over the
billions of pounds in profit to be made from cocaine, marijuana and heroin
produced in fertile lands. With one of the world’s highest impunity rates (98%
of serious crimes in Guatemala go unsolved) it’s a trend that shows no sign of
slowing down.
In Javier’s second installment for
NGO Insider he shows us some of the inevitable consequences of Sicarian life. Whether it be through the face of a victim or
a grave site his photographs depict the “playground” of Guatemala – where the
children have guns and life is disposable.
All images below are subject to copyright and should not be republished without permission of the photographer.
''If
I had to draw a conclusion about what I´ve seen and what´s to do I could just
point to the fact that getting rid of this violence is, at least in Guatemala,
the priority for most of the people.''
The
grave of a Sicario. “Not too many sicarios make it to 25 years old.”
''This
is not a problem that can be solved with a camera and I am not one of these
photojournalists that save the world with images. In some cases we can aspire
to heal it, but never to save it.''
''When
you ask them why, most justify themselves saying they haven’t killed a man that
would not deserve it. It’s their excuse but just a coward murderer’s excuse.''
If you would like to see more of
Javier’s work please visit his website http://www.javierarcenillas.com
Many thanks to Javier for the permitted use of his photographs and we urge you to take a further look at his work. His work speaks for itself and is a source of inspiration for independent journalism around the world.
Sicarios - The Hired Assassins of Guatamala
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