A BRIEF HISTORY “Families of the Dump”
My social
documentary photography project “Families of the Dump” dates back to 2013. In
2013 after viewing a CNN story on YouTube I learnt of Burmese refugee families
who were living in a garbage dump in Mae Sot Thailand. I had been searching for
an important very human story to tell. The families in the dump became for me
that very important, life-changing story.
In the
vicinity of the Mae Sot dump approximately 100 families who have escaped Burma
(Myanmar) live and work. The people are mostly from the Mon and Karen ethic
groups but there are also other groups in the population. They have escaped
Burma for economic and or political reasons. Many families working the garbage
in Mae Sot have experienced war and extensive human rights abuses. Life in the garbage
is a better choice for them, a better option than where they came from. They
can work everyday, make money and build better lives in Thailand at the dump
than they could back home in Burma.
At the Mae
Sot dump all types recyclable goods are of value, plastics, bottles, cardboard,
metals etc. Everything is dug out of the waste and then resold to local buyers
based on weight and quality. Everyday the people, sometimes-entire families
including children and the elderly come out into the garbage to scavenge. Food
is often taken out of the waste, raw meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, foods of
all types, everything of value is used.
The
families either live in shacks directly on the garbage, or next to it. Many of
the photographs in this presentation were made in the homes the people live in,
sometimes up to 9 human beings in a single dump shack.
My first
trip to Mae Sot and the dump of the families was in April/May 2013. I took a
second trip in 2013, another in 2015, 2016 and a 6-month trip in 2017-2018.
Over that time period I have visited the dump over 100 times. The work has been
both photographic and donation in nature (please see end section for the
donation work).
ARTIST STATEMENT
“The Families of the Dump”
Saturday,
January 10, 2015
Children Of The Dump
Flies buzzing in the sunshine
Flies buzzing in the sunshine
Garbage and long toil
Giggles with quick laughter
Playing with barking dogs
Playing with barking dogs
Broken glass and sweet hugs
Found food but lost school
Stomach worms and stinking waste
Rats running with the rice
Found food but lost school
Stomach worms and stinking waste
Rats running with the rice
Yet new hope and new life
Children of the dump
No one wants to live in
garbage but fifty Burmese families call the Mae Sot Thailand municipal garbage
dump home. They are refugees, both economic and political who have escaped the
chaos and violence of Burma for the semi sanctuary of Thailand and the dump.
The garbage provides a way for the people to earn a living; they can scavenge
for recyclables in the waste and make a daily income. The dump gives them a way
to protect and care for their families, it gives them hope and the possibility of
a better future.
These
photographs tell the stories of the families who work the Mae Sot garbage dump.
I made the images with the hope of raising money and awareness. The money is
then given back to the families in the form of goods, headlamps, food, rubber boots,
hats, clothing, medicines, toys etc. Over the 5 years of the project I have
made many friends, and learned from a distant culture and way of life that is
so different than anything I have known in Canada. I have celebrated with the
family members, spent time in their homes, ate with them, joked with them as
well as cried. We have worked together making these photographs. Thank you for
taking the time to view our pictures, and allowing us to tell you about the
lives of the “Families of the Dump.” 
