At first, we bought some food, I’m a stocker by nature so I already had most of the food in that picture.

Irina Werning

La Cuarentena

It’s the new normal ! Lockdowns are being championed as a solution to the spread of the number one enemy: the coronavirus. In developing countries like Argentina, where 40% of the population lives in poverty, it’s difficult to just stay fixated on the fear of infection when one realizes how daunting the economic setback of these strict lockdown policies are for most of the population. In these economies so many more workers carry out hands-on work which is incompatible with the new moral high ground of social distancing. So many more are also likely to be employed informally and thus are clinging to cash payments in exchange for the type of daily work which the government has black-listed and penalized. It’s hard to buy much time with lower income and lower saving or to wait for hand-outs from bankrupt governments. In addition, experts advise that the peak of the virus spread should fall in June, precisely as winter hits South America. When you add to this the fact that developing countries have less old population and less “diseases of civilization” like diabetes or heart problems, this makes you wonder if the solution is worse than the disease.  

Behold! My family in full lockdown in Buenos Aires (41 days and counting…)

I wish I could say I’m one of those great moms who creates an activity for their kids to play and heal in such difficult time, but I’m not. I just can’t survive without a project.

Bio

Irina grew up in Buenos Aires. She studied a BA in Economics and an MA in History. She began to travel in Asia and Middle East and ended up in London where she studied an MA in Photojournalism and lived for 7 years. She’s now back in Buenos Aires and focuses on personal long term projects. She loves to build sets and invent stages for her subjects. She can spend hours in a tool shop. 

 

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