Ekvilib

JAMES CHANCE (USA)

Living With The Dead: Manila’s North Cemetery

Manila, Philippines / 2008

In the middle of the bustling Philippine city of Manila, home to almost 11 million people, lies the North Cemetery. Founded in 1904, it is the final resting place for several Filipino Presidents, celebrities, and hundreds of thousands of the city's Catholic dead. In recent years extreme poverty, overcrowding and demolition of city slums has forced over 2,000 of Manila’s poorest residents to reside within the North Cemetery's walls. This story reflects the resiliency of people who lack stable housing and community infrastructure laid out in Article 25:1 of the International Declaration of Human Rights. It is an inspirational example of people making the best out of very little, as well as an alarm bell for human rights activists, as it shows how difficult it is to find stable housing due to poverty and overcrowding in the city of Manila. Photo: James Chance