Battleangel

By Michael Zumstein, Oeil Public

Liberia. 2006.

Liberia is the world’s largest rubber producer. However, like many other African countries, Liberia imports old and dangerous used tires manufactured in the U.S, used in Europe and then sold in Africa. In the middle of this chain is the Harbel hevea tree (rubber tree) plantation, owned since 1926 by the American company Firestone, sole exporter of Liberian rubber to the U.S.
With work conditions reminiscent of the bloody history of the Congo latex exploitation in the 19th century, 10,000 workers cut through the brushwood, make incisions in and treat the 8 million trees of the plantation for $2 a day.

Oeil Public carries a large variety of charged and socially conscious photo essays. Highly recommended.