Maceió: The Sinking City
Maceió, Brazil
Recently I heard of a tragedy happening in Brazil, a country I live half the year in, and I had to go out and take a look for myself. In Maceió there is a company called Braskem (The worlds sixth largest petrochemical company) which has been mining salt from 1000 meters under the ground of the city for the last 50 years. The company was repeatedly warned that mining under the city would eventually compromise the structural integrity of the buildings and homes above. Now after a half century the many kilometers of mines are starting to collapse. This has caused many square kilometers of the city to become structurally unsound forcing tens of thousands of buildings to be abandoned, causing entire neighborhoods to look like a city on the frontlines of a war zone. The lake, once a source of employment for many fishermen, has been polluted by the salt that has percolated to the surface killing the fish and poisoning the water.
Nearly 60,000 people have been forced to be relocated causing the destruction of the social fabric where they once lived. The lake and sea are polluted and is now considered the largest environmental disaster in the Americas.
I went to Maceió to find some residents who were still living in the affected areas. The last ones to leave are the fishermen. They cling to their fishing villages and way of life but are struggling against a tide they know they cannot overcome.
There is much bitterness despite the local’s overwhelming kindness and hospitality. As a photographer I wanted to be able to document who lived in this tropical wonderland and what was there before the area is transformed into a real estate bonanza of high rises and vacation resorts, after the mines have all been filled or collapsed.
