BACKGROUND
Hansen’s disease, or Leprosy, is an ancient yet treatable disease that has not yet been defeated.
It affects more than 200,000 people worldwide each year, mainly in India, Brazil and Indonesia, which account for 80% of cases.
Literature conveys a stereotypical image of leprosy. Keep away! Contact should be avoided!
And this creates a heavy stigma towards the patient. It is a social disease that develops in the poorest environments, in very bad hygienic conditions and in undernourished people.
HISTORY
I photographed life in Saint Damien hospital in Khulna, Bangladesh, where the Sisters of the Immaculate, PIME missionaries, monitor and treat both leprosy and tuberculosis patients.
I photographed community moments where all patients play games or watch TV, have a chat during the medications or during the meals.
I wanted to see the houses where the sick live, so I was taken to the slums of Rupsha and Green Field.
A mixture of mud, dust, open drains, sheet metal, nailed wood, glitter and coloured ribbons; sparse and bare rooms, hard beds, aluminum vases and other dented and dirty containers.
This is their life.
The images of the places alternate with close-up portraits, where faces, eyes and expressions transform a leper into a human being.
- When 2018 and 2020
- Where Khulna - Bangladesh
