Raccontare il cambiamento climatico

Cosa succede quando le persone sono costrette a migrare a causa di disastri ambientali e cambiamenti del clima, raccontato con le fotografie di Alessandro Grassani

di Sarah Carlet

Asia, Mongolia. 19/03/2011. In the photo Erdene Tuya together with her 3 years old son called Tuvchinj (he hugs a young sheep which sleeps with them) just woke up while her husband Batgargal went out to have a look at the herd with the other son called Azjargal, 6 years old. In Mongolia's Arkhangai province, the Tsamba family lives on the edge, struggling through harsh winters alongside their herd of sheep. Severe winter conditions, known as dzud, have been responsible for the deaths of half the family's once 2,000-strong herd over the past three winters. Recently, in search of warmer pastures, the Tsambas moved from Bulgan province in the north to this region near a central Mongolian village called Ulziit. Only in 2010, during one of the harsher Dzuds, more than 8 million sheep, cows, horses and camels died in Mongolia so 39,000 herdsmen had no choice but to migrate towards Ulan Bator.
TEXT:
Mongolia, with its 3.000.000 inhabitants, is an extremely poor country where 20% of the population live on 1,25 dollars a day and 30% suffer from malnutrition. Almost half of the population lives on top of each other in the capital, Ulaan Baator, which hosts over 1.200.000 citizens. Most of them lives in the slum which has developed around the city known as âGher Districtâ. It takes the name from the traditional Mongolian tents the herdsmen abandoning the rural areas bring with them, being the only property they have left.
The climate changes this country is experiencing reinforce an already dramatic social situation and pose a serious challenge for the pride and identity of a nation which finds its roots in the nomadic lifestyle.
With the Dzud, the hard Mongolian winter, becoming longer and snowier, thousands of nomad herdsmen, who saw their animals die of cold (temperatures reaching -50Â°), were forced to move their Gher to follow the abundance of the pastures or to migrate towards the capital. These people share a common destiny: severe winter conditions undermined the — Asia, Mongolia. 19/03/2011. In the photo Erdene Tuya together with her 3 years old son called Tuvchinj (he hugs a young sheep which sleeps with them) just woke up while her husband Batgargal went out to have a look at the herd with the other son called Azjargal, 6 years old. In Mongolia's Arkhangai province, the Tsamba family lives on the edge, struggling through harsh winters alongside their herd of sheep. Severe winter conditions, known as dzud, have been responsible for the deaths of half the family's once 2,000-strong herd over the past three winters. Recently, in search of warmer pastures, the Tsambas moved from Bulgan province in the north to this region near a central Mongolian village called Ulziit. Only in 2010, during one of the harsher Dzuds, more than 8 million sheep, cows, horses and camels died in Mongolia so 39,000 herdsmen had no choice but to migrate towards Ulan Bator. TEXT: Mongolia, with its 3.000.000 inhabitants, is an extremely poor country where 20% of the population live on 1,25 dollars a day and 30% suffer from malnutrition. Almost half of the population lives on top of each other in the capital, Ulaan Baator, which hosts over 1.200.000 citizens. Most of them lives in the slum which has developed around the city known as âGher Districtâ. It takes the name from the traditional Mongolian tents the herdsmen abandoning the rural areas bring with them, being the only property they have left. The climate changes this country is experiencing reinforce an already dramatic social situation and pose a serious challenge for the pride and identity of a nation which finds its roots in the nomadic lifestyle. With the Dzud, the hard Mongolian winter, becoming longer and snowier, thousands of nomad herdsmen, who saw their animals die of cold (temperatures reaching -50Â°), were forced to move their Gher to follow the abundance of the pastures or to migrate towards the capital. These people share a common destiny: severe winter conditions undermined the

Alessandro Grassani è un fotografo italiano nato a Pavia nel 1977. Dopo aver studiato fotografia all’istituto Bauer di Milano e aver lavorato con la fotografia commerciale, ha deciso di dedicarsi ai reportage raccontado storie da più di 30 paesi nel mondo. Un suo progetto molto interessante si intitola Environmental migrant: The last illusion, un lavoro molto complesso che Grassani porta in giro da qualche tempo e che è stato esposto l’anno scorso al festival di fotografia Cortona On The Move.

Alessandro Grassani documenta la relazione tra uomo e ambiente e cosa succede quando certi eventi catastrofici, certi atteggiamenti, determinate condizioni portano alcune persone a migrare proprio a causa del mutamento delle condizioni climatiche.

Il progetto è articolato in tre tappe: Ulan Bator in Mongolia, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Nairobi in Kenya. Grassani prova a rappresentare una gamma di cambiamenti climatici e rischi naturali che influenzano il fenomeno delle migrazioni verso le città (il 2008 ha segnato il punto di non ritorno: per la prima volta nella storia dell’uomo la gente che vive nelle città ha superato quella delle campagne).

Alessandro Grassani si autofinanzia e per portare avanti il suo lavoro si affida al crowdfunding, raccogliendo soldi online. Così è stata possibile la sua ultima tappa, il Kenya. Grassani racconta:

“Si tratta di gente comune, privati cittadini che credono e desiderano vedere realizzati idee e progetti. Nel mio caso in cambio ricevono una ricompensa, come una foto o il nome incluso nella pagina dei ringraziamenti. Negli ultimi anni la fotografia è in crisi e si fa molta fatica a finanziare progetti costosi. Questa è stata la mia prima esprienza con il crowdfunding. Mi ha emozionato vedere il fermento che si è creato intorno al progetto e soprattutto avere avuto la possibilità di entrare in relazione con persone completamente sconosciute a cui mostrare il lavoro.”

Tra settembre e ottobre prossimi, Grassani andrà in Kenya proprio durante la stagione secca, per completare il suo viaggio. È possibile seguirlo durante la sua ricerca attraverso il suo sito, la sua pagina Facebook e Twitter.

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