SMOKEY MOUNTAIN

PHILIPPINES 2019 © Massimo Rumi

Tondo is the gritty end of Manila. It’s one of the most populated pieces of land in the world with more than 70.000 people for square km. Nothing can prepare you for the sight and smells that greeted you when venture into the settlement. It’s the closest thing to hell on earth. Garbage is piling up everywhere and the streets leading through the area are nothing more than muddy pathways filled with trash and open sewers. Many women and children can be seen working in the mountains of garbage, scavenging for material that can be resold, or collecting fast food remains from trash bags that can be re-cooked and sold as the infamous “pag-pag”. All this is happening just a short distance away from the posh neighbourhoods of Bonifacio and Makati. Children play in the streets, barefoot and oblivious to the danger surrounding them, while dump trucks deliver new mountains of trash that will be quickly dissected by waiting men and women trying to earn the few pesos they need to survive another day.