The Promised Land – by Steve Remich

Steve Remich, MU alum, photographed a group of settlers living in a tent camp in a Bolivian jungle.

Working on this story was a roller coaster of emotions for me.  The first place I arrived was a tent camp where people were living while they tried to get to land from the government in the Amazon nearby.  They had very little food and I quickly found out that the government was jerking them around.  They felt abandoned, but even so they were patient, resilient, generous and we quickly became friends.  I felt a sense of purpose that I was there for them and could be an advocate for them.  Then we went on a trip in to the jungle and I realized that my friends could very well end up cutting down the rainforest if they succeeded in getting land there.  I had studied environmental issues, but for the first time I saw the human side of rainforest destruction–and they were my friends.  I felt conflicted.  I still feel conflicted.  I don’t think there’s anyway to understand the story without seeing that there’s a fundamental conflict between “advancement” and protection of vital ecosystems.  As a photographer, I don’t know if my essay is too cerebral and I just hope that my pictures are effective in communicating what I felt and experienced.

Check out more photos on Steve’s blog.