MOTIVATION It was the photographer‘s first assignment from the newspaper's director. The elderly gentlemen in the chair was trying to find a photograph that showed technical virtuosity, visually expressing an idea in a simple, straight forward way. He finally recommends the photographer shoot a close shot of a pigeon going into flight. The director believes this image will impart peaceful wishes to the readers of his paper’s up coming anniversary issue. The photographer has recently arrived to this city from another country; drawn by the love for a particular woman. He doesn’t know where to find a pigeon. While searching, he meets an ancient veteran from the Chaco War who advises going to the Paraguayan Army’s “Communications Battalion“. According to the old man, they had a number of carrier-pigeons. These message carriers were used in the last war but currently only kept for sport. The following day at dawn, the photographer arrives to the main building of the “Tacumbu” neighborhood Battalion. There he is received by an army official. He triedsto explain his mission better than he can. The official thinks for a moment and subsequently shouts to the first soldier he sees: “You have one minute to get me a pigeon!!!!” The officer makes his command in Guarani, the country’s indigenous language, which is not yet understood by the recently immigrated photographer. Seconds after the commanded minute, the soldier reappears with a dead pigeon, dripping blood, in hand. He shamefully explains it’s the biggest bird he’d encountered on the roof. In this instant the photographer realizes there is a deeper narrative to be told and one image will not unfold all the metaphorical facts. A different approach needs to be employed to photographically reveal the story of life and relationships within the army ranks of his newly adopted country. It is with inspiration, the passage of time and perseverance the photographic account he envisions is ultimately achieved. By the way, the photographer did find the living pigeon requested by the newspaper director, far from the army barracks in a flour mill; after he walked a lot, worried! Jorge Saenz, June 1995.
Political context Paraguay’s civil society suffers from the ideological supremacy of the military. This process was started in 1936 when the Armed Forces made a coup d’etat against the civilian government. The dictatorship lasted 53 years. The military established their rule based in the use of the violence to solve conflicts. Their paradigm was characterized by promoting antagonism, setting up the world in blacks and whites, prioritizing hierarchal structures and monopolizing power. Militarism imposes civil society blind obedience and submission instead of creativity, individual responsibility and free will. They strongly support chauvinism instead of equality between genders. Military is accepted by the rest of the society partly thanks to the compulsory military service. Men must join the ranks at 18 years old, the age in which young men tend to start shaping their own ideology. Military training at early age breeds human beings incapable of taking their own creative decisions and they tend to obey orders without questioning them. In the long run, these young men transfer the military paradigm to the rest of civil society. Moreover, during military service the young men are separated from their social and familiar context to be submitted to a regime of personality’s brainwash. This taming process has a high human cost because it includes psychological and physical abuse, torture and killings in the shadowy barracks. An average of 8 deaths by abuse of recruits per year have been denounced in the past decade. A photographic approach to militarism Documentary photography can help us understand injustices, putting in front of society’s eyes, with simple and straight strategies, the necessary documents. That was the basic work plan I followed for six years with the Broken Ranks project. Each one of the pictures was collected with patience and perseverance. The project started in 1989 partially helped by the start of a newly born democratic period. The problems left over by 53 years of dictatorship continued, but the freedom to talk about them was bigger than before. Consequently, the freedom to take pictures increased and I had a good harvest. In 6 years I was able to gather enough images to depict the problem broadly. I worked for a year carefully selecting the images to finish a book that would create a complete discourse of the essay. This essay has been used in Paraguay by those who object to the mandatory military service to discuss the issue with groups of young men, specially in the country side because 70 percent of farm workers are illiterate and the visual message of the photos estimulate the discussion like no other educational tool. The books’ hard covers, 2000 of them, were made with the same cloth used to make military uniforms. That way the books made it inside the barracks hidden among the recruits belongings. Jorge Saenz , July 2007
Child soldiers Military service is obligatory in Paraguay for men over the age of 18. However, in practice children between the ages of 12 and 17 are recruited, either through force or by persuading their parents to authorize their recruitment (see case study). In 1999, it was estimated that 84 per cent of those recruited into the military and police were 17 years old or less and 36 per cent were 15 years old or under. Since this time the number of complaints relating to forced recruitment of children into the armed forces has diminished, but the practice continues. This was documented by the Inter-Institutional Human Rights Commission for Visiting Barracks when they carried out a series of visits between 7- 29 March 2005 and interviewed 1,458 conscripts. The Commission found that 168 children hadbeen enlisted. While children are carrying out their military service they are obliged to perform forced labour, which benefits their superiors and for which they are not paid. SERPAJ Paraguay registered 52 cases of forced labour involving at least 643 soldiers between 1991-98. SERPAJ- Paraguay also documented 110 cases of individuals aged between 12 and 20 years old who were killed while performing their military service between 1989 and 2005.71 Some of these cases are currently before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. The Government has argued that children are in the armed forces either because they want to be or because their parents have placed them there because of their own poverty. However, the issue of consent is not relevant when Paraguay's own regulations state that no one under 18 can be recruited into the armed forces. The Government must remove all children from military service as a matter of urgency and ensure that the recruitment of minors is completely stopped, in compliance with domestic and international laws. Child soldier case study Pedro Antonio Centuri贸n, an Argentine, was forcibly recruited for military service when he was 13 years old. His mother said the boy was virtually kidnapped by the army who said he was tall enough to do military service. In September 2000, the boy was killed by a single shot to the head. The authorities claimed his death was suicide and tried to block an autopsy being carried out. It later transpired that the boy's documents had been falsified in order to present the boy as an 18 year old Paraguayan.
Background The economic crisis which hit the southern cone in the late 1990s affected Paraguay particularly severely because of its large informal economy and weak political institutions. Democracy was only re-established in Paraguay in 1989 after a prolonged period of dictatorship under Stroessner (1954-1989). The economic crisis resulted in per capita incomes falling by 15 per cent between 1999 and 2003.In 2003, President Duarte Frutos was elected with a clear popular mandate to sort out the economy and tackle corruption. However, poverty and crime increased without any appreciable impact on corruption and this undermined faith in the democratic process. One survey found that 90 per cent of the population was dissatisfied with the way democracy worked in Paraguay and 44 per cent believed that authoritarian government can be preferable to democracy (the highest percentage in Latin America).This disillusionment is clearly linked to poverty levels which rose to affect 34 per cent of the population by 2001, 16 per cent of whom were in extreme poverty. Three quarters of those in extreme poverty lived in rural areas. Inequalities of wealth are stark with just 10 per cent of the population receiving 58 per cent of the national income and the poorest 50 per cent getting just under seven per cent.4 Development indicators Classified as a moderately indebted lower middle income economy ($826-$3,255 GNI per capita). Population: 5.8 million Urban population: 57 per cent of total population GNI per capita: US$ 1,170 Poverty: Not available Life expectancy: 71 years Infant mortality: 25 per 1,000 live births Child malnutrition: Not available Access to an improved water source: 78 per cent of the population Illiteracy: 8 per cent of the population over 14
000- newspapers children waits during military ceremony at “Heroes Pantheon” in Asuncion, Paraguay on 1990.(Economical problems conditionings drive young population to military ranks)
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm) 001 – School children participate in a Spring Parade military dressed. At Asuncion’s downtown street, 1991. (Military education starts very early) .
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm)
002- Marine soldiers at bedroom. Some of them were under-aged to take the guns. Asuncion’s Marine, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
003- Soldier’s shower at Recruitment Barracks, Asuncion 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
004- Artillery soldiers during exercises at ParaguarĂ, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm) 5-
Bullet’s factory soldiers do exercises at Piribebuy town , 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 49.08 cm x 60.01 cm (Printed Area = 35.7 cm x 54 cm)
006 – Military Engineering Battalion soldiers at train session. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
007 - Presidential Guard regiment soldiers at instruction class. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
008 – Young Offenders Jail’s Guard, cleaning his rifle. Most of the jails guards were National Police’s recruits. Asuncion, 1993.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm) 009- Air Force’s soldiers waiting for lunch. Luque, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
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010 – Cavalry’s soldier at 1945 German tank. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 49.08 cm x 60.01 cm (Printed Area = 35.7 cm x 54 cm)
011- Presidential Guar’s soldiers at lunch. Asuncion 1990
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
012- Presidential Guard’s soldiers pray at military school class. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
013- Defense Ministry’s guard. Asuncion, 1994.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
014- National Police’s recruit guards Tacumbu National Jail during visit time. Asuncion, 1991.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
015 – Officer’s greets a soldier during lunch at Infantry Regiment. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 60.01 cm x 49.08 cm (Printed Area = 54 cm x 35.7 cm )
016- National Police’s recruit participates in the eviction of peasants without lands. Mariano Roque Alonso, 1992.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm) 017- CIMEFOR Special Forces’ recruits at exercises. Asuncion, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm)
018- Presidential Guar’s soldiers at latest settings for National Day Parade. Asuncion, 1992.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
019-A typical “Thousand rounds” punishment at Recruitment Battalion. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
020- Artillery Battalion’s soldiers at exercises session in a rainy day. Paraguari, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 60.01 cm x 49.08 cm (Printed Area = 54 cm x 35.7 cm )
021- Fishing at Paraguay river shore during soldier’s free day. Villeta, 1991.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm)
022- A soldier works on old Military Hospital building’s demolition. Asuncion, 1992.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm) 023- Soldier works in a General’s private sticks factory. Tobati, 1991.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
024- Soldiers from Cavalry Battalion work at gardening. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm) 025- Marines clean Marina Central Regiment. Asuncion, 1990.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 49.08 cm x 60.01 cm (Printed Area = 35.7 cm x 54 cm)
026- General’s personal assistance soldier gives a soft cool drink, popularly called “Terere” at Paraguay River coast. Concepcion, 1992.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
027- Soldier Lucio Gimenez gives blood for an analysis at Clinical Hospital . He presents under nutrition and psychical disorders. His relatives presented a demand at National Congress for bad threatening. Asuncion, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
028- Soldier Freddy Avalos was a bad medical practice’s victim. He receives an anesthesia in bad conditions and lost his communication skills at Military Hospital. Asuncion, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
029- Soldier Dario Vera was amputated from his leg , to consequence of threatening from an officer in Infantry Regiment at Tacumbu, Asuncion, 1994. He deeds after two months of suffering, on April 15, 2004.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
030- Cavalry Regiment’s Soldiers prepares a bull’s performance for General’s birthday at Asuncion, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 60.01 cm x 49.08 cm (Printed Area = 54 cm x 35.7 cm )
031- Soldier Florencio Mendez, centre, looks from a Neuropsychiatry Hospital collective cell. He presented visual hallucinations and mental disorder by stress. Asuncion, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm)
032- Soldier Nelson Ibarra was rescued from Hospital by his father. He was attacked and shot by an officer; consequently he lost one of his kidneys. Asuncion, 1994.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 30,4 cm x 23,9 cm (Printed area = 27,00 x 17,8 cm) 033- Soldiers mourn the dead body of Ariel Noguera, deed at 17 years old to consequence of a threatening from an officer on January 10, 1996. Asuncion, 1996.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm)
034- Victor Maciel soldier’s relatives, cries at burial. He deeds by threatening on October 2, 1995. Edelira, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm)
-035 Lucio Gimenez soldier at Neuropsychiatry Hospital. Asuncion, 1995.
Fiber Gallery Paper, 60.01 cm x 49.08 cm (Printed Area = 54 cm x 35.7 cm )
036- Maria Noguera , the mother of deed soldier Ariel Noguera is helped by son’s companions, at burial. Fernando de la Mora, January 12, 1996. She founds a Military Service Victim’s Relatives Movement.
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm) Optional 037. Make love not war
Fiber Gallery Paper. 23,9 cm x 30,4 cm (Printed area = 17,8 cm x 27,00 cm)