The meaning of being mother

Photographer

João Coelho

Category

Editorial Photography - Documentary

Company

Submission Group

Amateur

Year

2023

Country / Region:

Portugal

She is a young mother, but she learned early on that she has to be a mother and a working woman at the same time. Since sunrise she has been working here, sitting on top of a mountain of empty seashells that her mother, grandmother, and aunts helped to grow. They all patiently broke each of these seashells with a heavy railroad screw, to sell the mollusks in the markets. All of them took care of their children like this, close to them while they worked hard until exhaustion became unbearable. They all knew the meaning of being a mother, they all came back to this place and were mothers like this every day