Medellin Colombia: faces of survival and hope

Medellin has been through hell. Suffering from years of fear and abuse under the hands of drug dealers like Pablo Escobar, private militias and the Farc gorillas, this city is a survivor. Once considered the most dangerous city in the world, I shot this image two days ago in Santo Domingo Savio, A poor shanty town that spreads up incredibly steep hills on the out skirts of the city. This was the worst of the worst. As recently as four years ago even the police would not dare to enter here. People describe sleeping on the floor while gun shots flew through their homes. The murder rate approached one hundred a month. The construction of a public cable car up the hills, a police force cleansed of corruption, the defeat of the Farc and the dispersion of the drug gangs, have all contributed the renaissance. They have also constructed a new public library and community center that is their pride and joy There was a palatable sense of hope in every one I met.