On the day that the workers left for são paulo, there was a long line of buses outside of the church. Families waited on the street with lugage, until it rained and they all fled for a dry place. Workers sat at the bar, drinking, laughing and crying. "i am excited to go," one worker said,"But i know that even though I have friends there, even though i go to church there, after two months i will be dreaming of returning."

The population of Araçuaí is about 7,000 . People say that about 3,500 leave the city to work in the sugar cane plantations.

letter from Laura and Clebeson

Laura´s father left last month and her mother works so these days Laura spends most of her time with her blind grandfather. Sometimes her cousin Isabela plays with her during the day too.




Letter from Clebison:
After Clebison´s father left, his mother brought chickens from the farm. Clebison likes to laugh at them. He likes to throw rocks at them too.

Clebison´s mother is 17 years old and she says, thank goodness my husband´s mother lives nearby. She helps out a lot with Clebison.

letter from Roseline

My husband left last week and I asked the doctor if he could make the baby come early so he could be here with me and see his child. I am due next week.

"My love, i just wanted to show you these things. I bought some clothes and a washtub and my friend made a mobile. These days i am staying at home alone. I was at a friends house but its crappy to have to wake everyone up when i have to go to the bathroom. I think its better at home where i can turn on the lights whenever i want. I havent found anyone who can go with me to the hospital yet. My friend Rosa has kids and she said that she will do her best but she cant leave them at home. I am scared but excited too."

Letter from Samira

[This is paint made from Araçuaí´s dirt]

Samira has changed a lot since her father left. She is madly in love with her father and misses him a lot. She will cry for no reason like she has never done before. She didn´d react like this last year when he went away. I had to hang the picture high on the wall, in a place where she couldnt reach it because I was afraid she would ruin it.

letter from juan carlos and jamerson

Dad, don´t worry, i am taking care of the house.

"My husband is soft like butter. He melts. When he calls he wont let me hand over the phone to the kids because, he says, he knows that he will cry and cry and cry. He says he doesnt want his sons to hear him crying."

letter to César

[you will always be in my heart]
[Cana cutter--good luck father, god will look after you]

ambiente de Nova Esperança

These are images of Nova Esperança, one of the neighborhoods that I visit frequently to visit families. I am intrigued by this environment. It feels very harsh, raw--- unfished and falling apart at the same time. Pockets of lushness, of flowers and well watered fruit trees and there are also piles of trash, dead dogs, and rivers of dirty water flowing down the streets. I often stumble on the small loose stones on the roads and tumble into barbed wire fences when I am trying to find a way to enter a closed in home that has no gate. I hear stories of drug gangs, of a husband who shot his wife the other day, and of theves who crawl into unlocked windows at night.
People moved here about 7 years ago when the government opened up the lots for whoever arrived there first. Many of the families are young couples who moved to the city from rural areas to find work. Most of the houses dont have running water yet and it is a long walk to the river in the sun.