1st place
gold star award
Alain Schroeder
belgium
title
Coal Survivors
Centralna Mine, founded in 1860 and operated by the state-owned company Toretskvugillya, is the oldest and deepest coal mine (1124 meters) in the region. Its infrastructure is dilapidated and in dire need of repair, but the company has no funds to invest. The priority of the central government in Kiev is to support its soldiers first.
The situation is tense and as of mid-February 2020, miners had not been paid for four months other than an advance of 10% of their salary. In the last year alone, the number of workers per 8-hour shift has dropped from 100 to 50. A shift at Centralna mine is paid 250 Hrivnia (+/- 10 Eur) for 8 hours of work in archaic, difficult conditions. Modern equipment is scarce and the majority of miners continue to extract coal with jackhammers.
Among miners, rumors of closure by the summer of 2020 are rife and Toretsk may soon know the fate of Walbrych, the city in Silesia (Poland) which went bankrupt in the 1990s following the closure of all its mines.
In 2013, he uprooted his life, trading-in his shares in Reporters, to pursue life on the road with a camera. Schroeder now travels the world shooting stories focusing on social issues, people and their environment. «I am not a single shot photographer. I think in series,» he says adding, «I strive to tell a story in 10-15 pictures, capturing the essence of an instant with a sense of light and framing.»
He has won many international awards including Nikon Japan, Nikon Belgium, TPOTY, Istanbul Photo, Days Japan, Trieste Photo, PX3, IPA, MIFA, BIFA, PDN, the Fence, Lens Culture, Siena, POYI and World Press Photo.
He is represented in France by REA.
Website: https://alainschroeder.myportfolio.com
Instagram: alainschroeder
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entry description
Scrapping a Living. The mining town of Toretsk sits isolated from the rest of the country in eastern Ukraine. There is no train station, no highway passing thru. The mines, that once nourished the local economy in this coal-rich Donbas region, have closed one by one since the 1990s. The two that remain are rapidly reducing the number of workers. Since the start of the (ongoing) Donbas conflict in 2014, young people have left and investors have shied away from the region due to the proximity of the frontline, just 10 kms away. Most of the city’s residents, directly and indirectly, depend on the coal mines.Centralna Mine, founded in 1860 and operated by the state-owned company Toretskvugillya, is the oldest and deepest coal mine (1124 meters) in the region. Its infrastructure is dilapidated and in dire need of repair, but the company has no funds to invest. The priority of the central government in Kiev is to support its soldiers first.
The situation is tense and as of mid-February 2020, miners had not been paid for four months other than an advance of 10% of their salary. In the last year alone, the number of workers per 8-hour shift has dropped from 100 to 50. A shift at Centralna mine is paid 250 Hrivnia (+/- 10 Eur) for 8 hours of work in archaic, difficult conditions. Modern equipment is scarce and the majority of miners continue to extract coal with jackhammers.
Among miners, rumors of closure by the summer of 2020 are rife and Toretsk may soon know the fate of Walbrych, the city in Silesia (Poland) which went bankrupt in the 1990s following the closure of all its mines.
about the photographer
Belgian photographer Alain Schroeder (b. 1955) has been working in the industry for over four decades. During his tenure as a sports photographer in the 80s, his shots appeared on more than 500 magazine covers. Book assignments and editorial pieces with subjects as diverse as travel, art, culture and human interest followed and in 1989, he co-founded the Belgian photo agency, Reporters. Schroeder led the business during the golden years of photography and into the digital age.In 2013, he uprooted his life, trading-in his shares in Reporters, to pursue life on the road with a camera. Schroeder now travels the world shooting stories focusing on social issues, people and their environment. «I am not a single shot photographer. I think in series,» he says adding, «I strive to tell a story in 10-15 pictures, capturing the essence of an instant with a sense of light and framing.»
He has won many international awards including Nikon Japan, Nikon Belgium, TPOTY, Istanbul Photo, Days Japan, Trieste Photo, PX3, IPA, MIFA, BIFA, PDN, the Fence, Lens Culture, Siena, POYI and World Press Photo.
He is represented in France by REA.
Website: https://alainschroeder.myportfolio.com
Instagram: alainschroeder
back to gallery