Hannah Reyes Morales is a Manila-based Filipina photographer who seeks to ‘document tenderness amidst adversity’ and explore ‘how resilience is embodied in daily life’. This image of Emilia, possibly lost in her own thoughts while on a tyre-swing outside her home, is a testament to survival. Emilia is part of a group of over 90 women, called Malaya Lolas (or ‘Free Grandmothers’), who sought in the 1990s to tell their stories of surviving sexual assault by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War through the media, hoping for support and some form of justice. Today, the majority of the group has passed away, while any form of reparation is still not forthcoming.
Reyes Morales has worked for numerous international publications and is currently involved in long-term projects, focused on safe-space making and caregiving. hannah.ph
