Proyecto personal, 2013. Color. 6×7
BALTI PORTRAITS
& GEMSTONE HUNTERS FROM
THE KARAKORAN
- Aquamarine on newspaper, Dassu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miner Mohammad Ashraf in mine, Dassu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Landscape from Concordia Motel, Skardu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Gemstone dealer Hadji Mahadim with aquamarine and quartz posing in his house, Nid, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Gemstone dealer Hagi Abbas posing in his livingroom, Nid, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Gemstone market found in the to Skardu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Gemstone market found in the to Skardu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miner Gulam Nabi and his family, Hushe, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miners Ibrahim Jalil and Gulam Nabi with jackhammer, Hushe, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miners Mohammad Yusuf and Zaman Dupta posing in house in Nid, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Mines in Dassu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Mines in Rondu District, opposite of the Karakoram Highway. Each hole is a different mine in which miners from different handballs work, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miner Mohammad Ashraf working in mine, Dassu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miner Mohammad Ashraf with his 8 sons posing in his house, Dassu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
- Miner Mohammad Isaac posing against the mountains around Shakg La mine base camp. Shakg La mine is surrounded by mountains and glaciers (dirty white part is one of the glaciers). Altitud here is 4700 meters, the mines are at 4800m. It takes the miners 15 hours to walk back to Hushe, their town. They only mine two months a year because it’s so high up that it’s covered of snow the rest of the year. When they go to mine, the miners leave for a month and sleep in the shack on the base camp. Baltistan, Pakistan
- Miner Mohammad Isaac cooking at miner’s base camp in Shakg La. The base camp is at 4700 meters altitud, and to get to the actual mine, they have to climb 100 meters with ropes. They live in the same space where they cook. Baltistan, Pakistan
- Gemstone dealer Rozi Ali showing gemstones in the livingroom of his house in Skardu, Baltistan, Pakistan.
“Contra pronòstic, Pakistan és el lloc on he rigut més treballant.”
El projecte Balti Portraits va sorgir d’una manera inesperada. Amb una setmana en vaig tenir prou per decidir comprar un vol a Islamabad que finalment em portaria a Skardu, a la regió de Gilgit-Baltistan a Pakistan. La idea inicial era fer un projecte sobre miners que no són miners. Ho dic d’aquesta manera perquè a Baltistan, la gent sobreviu com pot. Extreuen pedres precioses quan poden, cacen quan poden, treballen de sherpas quan poden. Viuen en una de les zones més muntanyoses i difícils del món, envoltats de neu la majoria de mesos de l’any. Els “miners” carreguen gran quantitat de dinamita –igual que la que utilitzaven a Lucky Luke!- i es pengen de cordes més que velles per posar els explosius en les parets verticals del Karakorum i extraure’n, si tenen sort, una aiguamarina, un rubí o quars. Ens vam passar un mes treballant en Gemstone hunters from the Karakoram i en les parades que fèiem pels pobles, aprofitava I fotografiava els personatges de la zona, que són molts i bons. D’allí, en va sortir un segon projecte, Portraits from Baltistan.
Una de les coses que em va sorprendre més fent aquest projecte és el sentit de l’humor dels pakistanesos. En arribar a Hushé, un dels pobles on vàrem estar més temps, en Simón, l’escriptor amb qui anava, em va presentar un dels seus bons amics. L’Apo Alí, era un home gran i elegant, que es passejava amb una llarga barba grisa i un barret Baltí. L’Alí ens acolliria a casa seva durant la major part del viatge. El primer que em va dir va ser: “Hello, I am Apo Alí and I am a Taliban”. En veure el pànic a la meva cara, l’Alí es va a posar a riure mentre deia: “Els occidentals sou fàcils d’entabanar, només us cal veure una barba llarga per creure-us que un àrab és talibà”. En Hassan era el seu gendre. Havia perdut uns quants dits de congelació, treballant de sherpa. Tornava un dia rient cap a casa. En preguntar-li de què reia em va dir: “M’acabo de trobar una turista que m’ha preguntat perquè em falten dits i saps que li he dit?!, que tinc un gran gos musulmà que menja dits”. El sentit de l’humor i l’estil Baltí és únic, sovint fosc i divertit. La veritat és que en tornar a Londres i veure el treball, vaig pensar que ni fent un càsting podria haver aconseguit personatges més autèntics que els que formen la serie Portraits from Baltistan. Contra pronòstic, Pakistan és el lloc on he rigut més treballant.
Gemstone Hunters from the Karakoram is a story that explores the lives of miners in the Pakistani Kashmir. It is a reportage about men fighting to feed their families in one of the most rugged and unfortunate spots on earth. But it is also the story of a country that is struggling to avoid collapse, the story of a nation of survivors.
Baltistan is one of the most remote and poverty-stricken regions in the Pakistani Kashmir. It is linked to the country’s centre via a single road that traverses the treacherous Karakoram mountains, and by a sporadic charter flight that only goes to Islamabad, when not busy flying elsewhere. The local population barely ekes a living out of tourism (which dwindled drastically after 9/11), logging, energy production-related jobs and gemstone mining. The “gemstone hunters” of Baltistan chip away at cliff walls while suspended hundreds of meters above the ground and securing themselves with decaying ropes and extremely old harnesses. They carry very heavy compressors with rudimentary anchors and make use of large quantities of a cheap explosive that is very easy to come by.
All of the men that the story includes are part of Baltistan’s “mining industry”, which, when looked at in-depth, is hardly an industry and really doesn’t revolve around mining. In a country that is always on the brink of tragedy, these men struggle against the misery and misfortune of the inaccessible mountain region where they were born. They test the boundaries of regulation on a daily basis. In this region, as in many other parts of Pakistan, survival comes first and abiding by the law, second.
Text by Simón Elias
Translation by Federico Corriente
Courtesy of
Astronaut Magazine
