J

J

In recent months I’ve been drawn back to film in a big way. Partly due to the fact that a lot of the photographers that I admire shoot at least some of their works on film. But moreso because I’ve become very lazy with digital. It’s rare that I get a picture that I’m truly happy with as it’s just too easy to take a dozen photos of the same thing without really thinking what I’m doing. And because of this my camera isn’t always with me, as it should be. I’ve missed the excitement, anticipation and challenge of not knowing how things are going to turn out.

When I first fell in love with photography, I took my time with it. I thought a lot about what I was doing and I knew next to nothing about it at the time which made me think that much harder. I took thousands of shit photos so was ecstatic when I took one I could be proud of.

The following are from the first roll of film I put through a little Mirage 35 EE, which seems to be a knock off of a Chinon 35 EE, which in turn seems to be a knock off of the Konica C 35. I picked it up on Portabello Markets in London when I was there in June for my brother’s wedding. The guy was asking a tenner for it, I got him down to £5 by pointing out how filthy it was – it looked like someone had been keeping it in their tobacco pouch for the last 20 years. It’s been with me every day on the walk to and from work, where most of these were taken.

Whilst I’m not particularly proud of any of the photos that I’ve ended up with, the excitement of shooting on film is just as tasty as it was when I got my first roll developed over a decade ago.

J

The weather is perfect, the bbq is grilling, the beer is cold and mates as always, are great to be around.

I already miss Cebu and the people there, but knowing I’ll be back in only a few short months makes it easier.

On the flight from Manila to Hong Kong I had a perfect seat to view the sun setting, always made much more spectacular when you are cruising at 30,000. Just as the sunset reached its visual crescendo, The Light by The Album Leaf came on my ipod. Perfect song for a perfect view.

Have a look and a listen below.

(click to see a bigger version of photo)

Matthew (name has been changed) first became a part of the Mercy in Action family a year and a half ago. He had been living with his parents on an island off Cebu called Siquijor, known locally for its voodoo practitioners. When he was 10 his parents separated and his mother remarried. After quickly becoming unhappy with the new living situation Matthew decided to go to Cebu with his father to live with his grandmother. However soon after arriving in Cebu his father left for Manila and never returned. So now Matthew found himself living alone with his elderly grandmother. He tried to scrape together enough food for both of them by stealing and scavenging but soon found himself living on the streets and addicted to sniffing glue, other vices soon followed.

Matthew and some friends waiting in the hallway for the drop in centre to open

Matthew makes sure his t shirt is clean.

MiA first encountered Matthew when he came by the drop in centre in Tabunok markets. He is one of the original ‘Rugby Boys’, named after the brand of glue that they sniff. He became a regular fixture at the drop-in centre and touched everyone he met. At first he was keen to go to school whilst staying with his grandma, but as time went on and he was still on the streets he seemed to sink into a deep depression. He lost any motivation he had and fell into drugs like he never had before. Sometimes he would not be seen for days as he went on drug binges.

One day when Matthew’s situation was at its most desperate he came and spoke to the MiA staff. He told them that all he wanted was to be with his mother. With no way of contacting her, tracking her down took a few months. Matthew would ask daily when he was going to be able to go home, how long it would take, constantly reminding that he sorely missed his mother. Hope came made when MiA got hold of a phone number for one of his mother’s neighbours. MiA was able to get in touch with his mother and plans were made to take Matthew home.

These plans came to fruition recently when Michael and I accompanied Matthew on the journey back to Siquijor. Before we left on Tuesday afternoon we took Matthew to a department store in downtown Colon to pick out some new clothes and find a present for his mother. He decided to get her cookies. Of the 30 plus varieties in the supermarket, his choice was made because the container doubled as a water dispenser once it was empty. It was extremely endearing to see Matthew get excited at this prospect and how useful it would be to his family.

As well as funding his return trip, MiA bought Matthew some much needed new clothes.

It took him less than 5 minutes to pick out 3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and some underwear. About a third of the time it took a team of 7 sales assistants to find the price on one of the t-shirts.

The ferry trip from Cebu to Siquijor took about 6 hours. We were fortunate to have fairly calm seas both on the way there as well as the return journey the following morning. However air conditioning aboard the ferry was intensely cold and Matthew quickly wrapped his towel around him to stave off the goosebumps.

Matthew gets some sleep, no doubt eager to shorten the 6 hour ferry trip as much as possible.

A towel provides some relief from the unnecessarily cold air conditioning aboard the ferry. The sore on his shin had been left untreated for weeks at a point when he wasn't attending the drop in centre regularly, leaving Matthew to constantly pick at it. It looked so awful and infected that some of the other kids teased him, suggesting he would lose his leg. He stopped picking at it after that.

Matthew sits with the present for his mother by his side

Upon arriving at Siquijor, which was not until about 9.30pm we soon found someone to drive us to Matthew’s mother’s house. After 4 years away, Matthew excitedly pointed out landmarks that he recognised through the darkness as we drew closer.

Matthew leads the way, walking down the pier on Siquijor Port.

After 4 years away, Matthew excitedly pointed out landmarks that he recognised through the darkness on the way to his mother's house.

When we arrived, the entire neighbourhood was pitch black, due to a combination of everyone already being asleep and the majority of houses not actually having electricity. This was the case for Matthew’s mother’s house which we arrived at after walking down a path through long grass and coconut trees. After shouting out into the darkness to announce our arrival, the door on the house opened and we met Matthew’s grandmother. It soon became clear that Matthew’s mother was not actually there and my heart sank for him when I thought, with my very limited understanding of the Visayan language, I heard his grandmother say that she was in Manila.

Matthew's grandmother was the first to greet him when he came home.

Fortunately I had misunderstood and another family member disappeared out the door and soon returned with her. Their initial embrace was awkward, our unannounced arrival surprised the family, especially given the late hour. However as we sat and talked it became clear that both mother and son were glad to be reunited.

Matthew sits with his mother and younger sibling who he was meeting for the first time.

We sat for a while as Michael and the family talked, I kept my eyes on Matthew, trying to gauge how he was responding to the conversation. He seemed slightly nervous with his eyes fixed on the floor, which in turn made me nervous. I was worried that our surprise visit might have been a bit overwhelming for his mother and she would not have him back. However Matthew put my mind at ease when he looked up from the floor straight at me and grinned from ear to ear.

A family portrait.

It was soon time for Michael and I to head off and find somewhere to stay for the night, so we took a couple of family photos and headed back out into the darkness. Matthew and his mother walked with us to the car and thanked us for bringing him home. Both seemed to be on the verge of tears. We arranged to try and meet them in the morning at the hotel the driver had recommended and said goodnight, unsure whether they would make it there.

Unfortunately when we got to the hotel it was booked out and so we had to find somewhere else to stay. It now seemed even less likely that we would see Matthew again which was a great disappointment.

After finding another hotel and having a quick bit of dinner we went to bed.

The next morning we were up before dawn. I went down to the beach to take a couple of photos. There were fisherman out in bangka (small fishing boats) and others wading close to the shore, gathering their nets. Despite it still being dark it was a warm morning, and the scene in front of me seemed a world away from the dangerous, filthy streets that Matthew has been calling home for the past few years. I’m sure he will be very happy there.

A fisherman collects in his net as dawn breaks on Siquijor.

Michael and I got a ride back to the port on a couple of motorbikes, the route we took brought us right by the hotel that we had arranged to meet Matthew at. In the darkness I did not realise we were anywhere near it but as we went past I heard a voice shout out “Kuya Jay!”, I turned around to see Matthew standing there with his mother and grandmother. As we slowed and made our way back to them, they all piled onto the motorbike they had come on and then followed us to the port.

By the time we arrived at the port the sun had risen just enough in the sky to see that Matthew was the cleanest I had ever seen him, wearing some of his new clothes, along with a big smile. As Michael talked to his mother I used my limited Visayan to ask him how he slept and how he was feeling, he answered “maayo kaayo” to both, meaning ‘very good’! Our ferry was waiting so we once again had to say goodbye, this time making sure to give Matthew a big hug as we knew this would be the last time we would see him, certainly for a while at least.

Mercy in Action will continue to support and follow Matthew and his family.