As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world, existing inequalities became increasingly visible, while many vulnerable communities faced new and intensified forms of insecurity.
In the seventh edition of the Journal on Injustice & Inequalities: COVID-19, Photojournalism Hub presented the work of two photographers documenting the impact of the pandemic on communities experiencing inequality and marginalisation.
Zaragoza, Spain
Cris Aznar — Evictions during the pandemic
Photographer Cris Aznar documented the eviction of four families living in the same building in Zaragoza’s La Jota neighbourhood.
The photographs reveal the housing insecurity experienced by families already living in vulnerable circumstances, including survivors of gender-based violence, refugee families, young pregnant women and older people with health problems.
With courts reopening following the initial state of alarm, evictions resumed at a time when the pandemic was placing additional pressure on people already at risk of poverty and homelessness. Families facing eviction were left with limited options, including overcrowded accommodation, occupying empty properties or becoming homeless — circumstances that could also increase their exposure to the virus.
Aznar’s work documents the human consequences of the housing crisis during the pandemic and asks a wider question about what happens to people whose insecurity existed long before COVID-19.
The project reflects one of the central concerns of Photojournalism Hub’s Journal on Injustice & Inequalities: using photography to make structural inequalities visible and to create space for reflection and action.
Photograph: © Cris Aznar
Documentación del desahucio de 4 familias del mismo bloque en el barrio La Jota, Zaragoza.
Read the original Journal on Injustice & Inequalities: COVID-19 edition:
Journal on Injustice & Inequalities
