Shellfish Pickers of Tumaco

TUMACO, COLOMBIA - JUNE 12: A Colombian man shows hands full of shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called ëpianguaí. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty. (Photo by Jan Sochor/Latincontent/Getty Images)