Scratching a living amongst the dead in Navotas Cemetery 
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In 2008 the Manila Metropolitan Area was ranked as the 40th richest urban agglomeration in the world with a GDP of $149 billion. To say that this wealth has failed to trickle down to the region's poorest inhabitants would be an understatement. The city of Navotas sits at the northern edge of Metro Manila. An important fishing centre, famous for its fish sauce and shrimp paste, the city also suffers from problems of pollution, poverty and overpopulation which has seen over 6000 people, many of them children, making their home amongst the tombs of Navotas Cemetery. Temporary shacks have been built on the tombs, washing lines hang between gravestones and there is even a makeshift basketball court. Children as young as four search through mounds of putrid garbage for glass, metal and paper to sell to a recycling agent. If they are lucky they will come back with $1 to show for a 10 hour working day in blistering heat. Giordano Cipriani's pictures of the residents of Navotas Cemetery capture the human spirit that continues to shine through such grinding poverty.
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