In March 2023, Nina Fritz and her project partner Marc Hunziker visited the Philippines to document the landless movement and its political struggles, forms of organisation and everyday culture. The country has a long and entangled history – of colonisation, US interventionism and foreign rule. The country is heavily involved in world trade and is regarded as a contested centre of international superpowers. At the same time, the political landscape is characterised by organisations, NGOs and social movements that have declared war on inequality within the global capitalist system. During their stay, Nina Fritz and Marc Hunziker were able to visit several projects, meet activists and gain a deep insight into the Philippines' culture of resistance.
A central terrain of the social conflicts is the struggle for nature. From indigenous peoples' land rights and anti-mining activism to the protection of the marine environment and environmental legislation, the ecological movement in the Philippines encompasses diverse groups and communities.
The two fishing villages of Bayo Bayo Uno and Bayo Bayo Dos are located on the island of Coron and are under acute threat of land grabbing. Alternately, large Chinese and American corporations and state-owned companies are challenging the livelihoods of the people living there. They privatise bodies of water and try to raze the villages to the ground to make way for shopping centres and luxury hotels. The inhabitants of the villages have joined together in a fishing and farmers' organisation and are fighting for their right to land and against the sell-off of their waters. Land and water are essential livelihoods for the population. Eliminating them would also destroy social cohesion. Their fight is therefore a fight for survival.