Captions

1. The Emberá Dobida community of Puerto Antioquia, in Chocó, is accessible by boat via the Bojayá River. This community has 141 inhabitants: 31 men, 27 women, and 83 children. It was founded approximately 30 years ago. On April 7, 2023, the first recorded suicide occurred. Yadira Birry, 16, took her own life. That same night, there were three more attempts, and to date, over 15 suicide attempts have been reported in the community.

2. Nelli Birry, 10, is the eldest daughter of Liria Cheito. Nelli holds a fish she just caught in the Emberá Dobida community of Puerto Antioquia, Chocó. Her mother attempted to commit suicide using her paruma (a traditional garment of her community), tired of being mistreated by her husband.

3. Rope to tie a dog at the house of Liria Cheito, who attempted suicide by hanging herself with her paruma (a traditional garment of her community) on April 7, 2023.

4. Liria Cheito's internal struggle intensifies each time she suffers violence. “I attempted suicide during a drinking spree on April 7, 2023... I thought about my children; what would happen to them if I took my own life?” She remembers this painful episode as a moment of reflection, where the support from a priest, who blessed her home, provided her with temporary peace. However, the mistreatment persists, and Liria continues to face dark thoughts.

5. Luisa Birry, 21, is the eldest sister of Yadira Birry, which committed suicide in 2023 in the Emberá Dobida indigenous community of Puerto Antioquia, Chocó. Luisa attempted to take her own life before her sister did.

6. The community, and especially her children, have become Liria’s anchor to move forward, as she faced difficulties adapting to her new life after the death of her father. When her first child was born, she began to accept her surroundings, but over time, her husband’s abuse led her to consider suicide. In the image, Oniri Birry, 7, the youngest daughter of Liria Cheito.

7. Marneli Birry, 10, is braiding her mother Liria Cheito's hair in the community of Puerto Antioquia, Chocó.

8. On April 7, 2023, in the Emberá Dobida community of Puerto Antioquia, Chocó, Yadira Birry, 16, took her own life with her paruma, a cloth used as a skirt. Her three sisters, María Camila Birry, Luisa Birry, and Noraisi Birry, stand by her grave, wearing the parumas Yadira left behind after her death.

9. Ahitana, 23, is a woman from the Emberá Chamí community, displaced to Bogotá from her territory in Chocó due to the armed conflict. She lives in La Rioja, one of the three places the community occupies in the city. She has faced a hostile city, mistreatment, and few opportunities. She has attempted suicide several times, the most recent on April 1, 2024.

10. The Emberá Dobida community of Puerto Antioquia is one of 45 Embera communities along the Bojayá River, where, according to the diocese, there have been 60 cases of suicide between 2015 and 2024, and more than 400 suicide attempts. Intrafamily conflicts, ongoing wars in the area, forced recruitment, isolation due to the conflict, accusations from armed groups, and a lack of government assistance are some of the reasons why many of these people have chosen to take their own lives.

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Second finalist 2024

Santiago Mesa

The Invisible Wound

Presentation

In Colombia, the Emberá community faces a deep and silent pain that particularly affects young women, who suffer from discrimination, poverty, and violence. This year, the suffering has been particularly severe, with women like Ahitana in Bogotá showing scars from failed suicide attempts as they seek refuge in a life of overcrowding and neglect.

In Chocó, the situation is even more dire, with 22 suicides in 2023 and over 2,400 attempts between 2019 and 2023. Stories like that of Yadira Birry, a 16-year-old who took her own life, reflect the immense pain in the region. Communities such as Puerto Antioquia, marked by violence and despair, live under the shadow of war and the presence of armed groups.

Testimonies from individuals like Liria Cheito, who attempted suicide on the same day as Yadira, illustrate the depth of the suffering.

José Luis Dogirama, a leader in Bellavista, Bojayá, highlights how alcohol abuse exacerbates the suffering, revealing multiple facets of this tragedy.

Biography

Santiago Mesa is a documentary photographer born in Medellin, Colombia. He is interested in social issues, inequality and violence. He studied journalism at the Eafit University of Medellin, then did a master's degree in visual arts at the National University of Colombia and took a course in documentary photography at the University of Hannover, Germany. He has participated in several workshops including the Eddie Adams and the New York portfolio review.

He has been recognized with several national and international awards such as the Sony World Photography Awards 2020.

Winner and other finalists
edition 2024

First finalist 2024

Daniel Ochoa de Olza

The Gap

Spain

Winner edition 2024

Mahmoud Issa

Siege and hunger

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Third finalist 2024

Mário Cruz

ROOF

Portugal