Jorge was born in a small rural town in Argentina with a congenital malformation caused by a medicine with thalidomide prescribed to his mother without any pharmacovigilance sanitary protocol, one year before he was born. He also has pterygium in both eyes invading his cornea which could mean a complete loss of sight; a pathological condition that worsened severely due to the lack of specialized treatments.

With only a few weeks of life both the doctor who brought him to the world and his own family environment, they told his mother that it was better if she let the child die because he would still be unable to survive in this world by himself given his condition.
But Jorge has an incredible liFe Force and his desire to live was so powerful that he persevered despite the circumstances.
He is studying at a Community school to finish his studies. He has the desire to be able to enter the Law School.
He is also married to Vero. She was born with mielomeningocele, which affects her ability to walk. They fell in love 12 years ago and the greatest miracle for them was the birth of their daughter Ángeles. When this little girl smiles at them, the world turns into a more habitable place and they manage to build, remain and even denounce with their presence the silence and the consciences of those who overlook them indifferently.
Sadly and unfairly they seem invisible to social services. They receive very little economic support from the Argentine state. Vero needs rehabilitation treatments but the health system imposes bureaucratic obstacles and Jorge was never recognized as affected by thalidomide by the Argentinian State.

Despite everything they have been able to build a world to live in and not just to survive. The bonds of love, the building of resilience and the unconditional support they have forged between them, are the pillars that allow them to stay strong and keep on going.

I started this project at the end of 2015. Initially I approached Jorge and his family from the place of classic photojournalism angle with the intention of photographing the tragedy and the victims of disability in Argentina. Then I understood that this was an important but non conditioning aspect and that despite having so much against, this family was trying to build a decent and possible life. I let some time goes by and I went back to photographing, but this time I did it after living with them for more than a year and a half.
I think that every photographer must know when to put down the camera and look through the eyes of the heart, empathize with the context and the people in front of them and then take pictures with sincerity, even if that implies running away from the pressures and expectations imposes by the media.

This story seeks to highlight the reparative force of desire and the bonds of love in front of social injustices that threaten life itself. Also seeks to break with the preconceived ideas and disapproving looks from many sectors of society called “normal” about the possibility of a person with a disability to develop an autonomous life in most aspects. Perhaps seeking to illuminate from the simplicity and authenticity of human relations, that which belongs to the order of the elemental so that our society is constituted in equality of rights.