I recently rewatched Avi Lewis & Naomi Klein’s The Take, their documentary from 2004 on Argentina’s reclaimed factory movement that rose out of the ashes of 2001′s economic melt-down (imposed by speculative neoliberalist policies, not surprisingly). I was particularly moved by the scene towards the end of the film which shows Buenos Aires street protests against a government shutdown of the worker cooperative Brukman —a textile factory run by its seamstresses— at a similarly desperate time for the film’s protagonists, industrial workers struggling to claim legal the legal rights over their autoparts factory, Forja. Lhasa de Sela’s version of the song Yo vengo a ofrecer mi corazón, popularized by la negra Mercedes Sosa, is definitely among the emotionally strongest I’ve heard. The next day I was saddened to learn that Lhasa died only days ago, on New Year’s Day – following a long struggle against breast cancer. Here’s to her—Bless her soul!

.

This is a train of thought
a long line of thinking that goes back to the way free people thought before jails were invented.
No matter how tired they were, they never stopped thinking the same thought:
What if someone took them away? Took the thoughts away?

No matter how tired I get, I’m never too tired to forget the dead friends I still have
You see that village on the hill that isn’t there? It used to be mine.
You see that house, buried like a hibernating frog in the sand?
That was my house.
I can prove it. I still have the key.

I wish I was still alive so I could confirm once and for all that I existed,
instead of being this memory that no one can prove, nor disprove.

Perhaps it is enough then to belong to the memory.
Perhaps you only see the ground above the frog,
the ground is enough,
the ground is a memory.

This is a train of thought,
a long line of thinking that goes back to the time before there were jails.
To a time we were so small we did not even exist.

I wish I was still alive,
instead of being where I am.
Imagine that -
being where i’m not.

.

Words by Larry Towell, from his ‘Train of Thought‘ – thanks to Magnum in Motion you can see this story there; Larry Towell’s words, sound recordings and photographs documenting the aftermath of an assault on a Jenin refugee camp in 2002 by the Israeli Defense Forces. Larry Towell is a remarkable photographer with an rare instinct, and sensibility. His talent for storytelling is a truly inspirational for me, whether documenting quiet domestic, rural life, or critical social issues abroad. For his photos and essays, here is his portfolio at Magnum – subtle, poetic work all way through. (Any errors in the text above are mine). Alright,

back to work..