2023 / LAUS BRONZE APORTA (CONTRIBUTION)
At Buenaventura, we have always felt the need to reach out to the most vulnerable in society. Childhood has always been a priority. And within childhood, those children who have nothing and no one.
We’re referring to the girls and boys who once traveled alone to our country and are under guardianship until they reach the age of majority. These girls and boys whom bureaucracy nullifies as individuals under the acronym MENAS (unaccompanied foreign minors).
Therefore, presenting Seres de Luz within this 360 framework is an immense pleasure. A self-financed project born from the heart with one objective: to help combat the messages of contempt, resentment, and lies generated towards this group.
How do we fight against hate?
Lies are fought with truth. As simple and complex at the same time. That has been our commitment with Seres de Luz, to offer real evidence about the lives of these minors. To narrate frank, sincere, and certainty-laden stories that dismantle the discourse of hate. The question was, how do we convey that truth? What medium was the most suitable?
The protagonists: Blessing, Abde, and Mabel
For us, the solution was obvious. To debunk the lies, visibility to real stories was needed. That’s where our protagonists come in: Blessing, Abde, and Mabel. Nothing better than their narratives to make the discourse of rumors collapse like a house of cards.
Like many other boys and girls, the three arrived in Spain with a single dream: to work to build a future for themselves, and above all, to work to help their families. Surprising and sad, you might think, right? Especially if we consider that none of them is far from childhood. They are our beings of light. The beginning and end of this story.
Dual medium: audiovisual and editorial
The project was articulated in two documentary pieces: one audiovisual and the other editorial, complementing each other. The choice of these two mediums was purely practical.
Initially, we thought the logical solution was to create an audiovisual piece, but we saw there were limitations. In a way, on one side, we had the sweet face, and on the other, the bitterest point.
Audiovisual piece
In the documentary Seres de Luz, our protagonists Blessing, Abde, and Mabel narrate their respective experiences in first person. They do it over four moments after being welcomed at the San Ramón and San Fernando de Lasalle Home in Loja: arrival, adaptation, education, and integration.
These are three stories of overcoming, resilience, and empowerment. 30 minutes of unfiltered narration, where tutors, educators, lawyers, and the team who worked with them daily also participate until reaching that ‘happy ending’. That’s the sweetest part, but the other part; the bitterest side, was still missing.
Editorial piece
Paper was the medium we chose to contextualize the toughest part of the story. Those moments before arriving in Spain, which for the girls and boys are a true hell.
If we think about it for a moment, it’s chilling. Can you imagine if your son or daughter had to leave their home, their family, and their country at just 7, 12, or 15 years old? Can you imagine that for 9 months (or even years) they had to cross inhospitable deserts and countries at war? Can you imagine that their only way to get a ticket to their destination was to succumb to the dictates of the mafia bosses who trade in people?
Seres de Luz, the magazine, had an extremely careful editorial treatment. The clean and innocent gaze of Blessing, Abde, and Mabel, and their respective stories, were captured in a document that gave them a voice with all the sensitivity they deserve.
When creativity involves listening
Unlike other Buenaventura projects, Seres de Luz starts from the simplest possible creative process: listening.
Through a one-hour interview with each one, we invited them to tell their respective stories. What causes motivated their migratory process? How was their journey? What happened after their arrival in Spain? What bureaucratic, learning, job integration challenges, etc., did they face? How was that moment of forced emancipation and having to fend for themselves, without anyone’s support, when they turned 18?
The importance of changing tone
When we hear the term MENA, a collective mental resource associated with delinquency, gangs, theft… is generated. That’s why, in addition to changing the narrative of those stories, we knew the tone had to change too. Now, how to do it?
The key to changing that discourse was the choice of a series of ingredients that are very unusual in any communication related to the migratory or tutored kids sector: design, music, photography, clothing, styling, and fashion.. All together made the harmony in the scene magnificent.
The best travel companions
Now you might be wondering, how did you get the necessary resources to carry out the project? That’s where we realized the importance of friendship and the kindness of people. Seres de Luz is the result of the effort in which new travel companions have voluntarily joined:
• Buenaventura in project management
• Lori Meyers provided us with a fantastic soundtrack
• Jordi Terry did not hesitate for a minute to collaborate on photography
• Ecoalf contributed the wardrobe
• Conchi Rosas did a very fine job with styling
And so on until configuring that creative crucible to tell these three stories from a different perspective. Real stories, but very appealing so that they can reach more people.
We especially want to thank the Granada Provincial Council and the Loja City Council, because without their help and support, Seres de Luz would not be a reality. After three years of work, it was a pride that this project was published.
One piece of information (which we believe is important to share), before saying goodbye. Only around 0.5 percent of unaccompanied foreign minors commit crimes, a percentage even lower than that of Spanish youth.
Our hope is that, when we see the news, we don’t just stay with an isolated headline. Let’s think of Blessing, Abde, and Mabel’s stories as a mirror of the truth.
Mª Ángeles Domínguez
