On the day of graduation from his photography degree in Honduras, Manuel got held up at gun point, beaten and robbed. “That was the last straw for my mum. She couldn’t stand the worry any more, so she put me on a plane destined for the UK.”
Honduras has become Latin America’s most dangerous country, with organised crime (maras) harassing small business and forcing young people to join the caravanas leaving the country or killing them. Manuel sought safety and a better life in London. He was working to pay his rent, with the idea of advancing his photography studies, but when lockdown came, and the work stopped, he began struggling to pay the rent. As an illegal, he had no access to public funds.
“My landlords threatened to throw me out. When I told them that the government said they weren’t allowed to do that, they laughed and said that obviously that didn’t apply to me.” Manuel told us, “so I began to work for them, and paying my rent that way. They paid me £7 an hour, but soon they stopped paying me all the hours I worked. At the end of each week they would tell me how much I owed them. They tell me I owe them more than I do, I never catch up with what they say I owe them, so I will never be able to get out of this situation move forward. I am trapped.”
Watch Manuel's full interview as part of Fuerza London - a film commemorating the experience of London's Latin community under lockdown, through music, dance, poetry and real life stories. Click on video below
