Shadows of a crisis

I recently met a nice fisherman, who's life is wrapped in shadows and anguish.

Mr. Joaquim is a retired blacksmith, living in a small Portuguese seaside town. He worked his whole life and the scarred arms are proof of a working man's effort to build a home and family during troubled times. He's also a war veteran, who defended his flag in Guinea-Bissau, in the late 60s. At home, things were never easy either... his daughter was born with an impairing disease and his son was recently diagnosed with cancer. He and his family struggle against life's odds.

All of that, he says, they'll overcome as a unit, a family. But what cripples them the most is the way the government is treating its people these days. The so called financial crisis is taking everything away from them. Mr. Joaquim believes old people and sick people are being left behind to die as soon as possible. He regrets having done so much for his country and feels frustration and anger for being so lost in his final years, like a shadow of who he once was.

The day we met, even the sea was against him and he went back home with an empty bucket.

It touched my heart to see him suffer so much. I hugged him, in silence. His tears felt like earthquakes and I honestly didn't know how else to comfort him. I'm not sure if he's ever going to see better days. Although I now live in South America, I fear for the future of my country, my people and my Europe.

Do you have thoughts about this crisis? Feel free to share.


It felt good to photograph Mr. Joaquim. He wished I was from some national tv network, but still asked me politely to tell his story in anyway I could. I'll try.

Magoito beach, Sintra, Portugal.


Also part of the portraits contest @ PortraitClub

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