Why?

Photographer

João Coelho

Category

Editorial Photography - Contemporary Issues

Company

Submission Group

Amateur

Year

2025

Country / Region:

Portugal

They are still children, but in fact they all have to be adults and play the role of mothers and fathers, taking care of their younger siblings so that their parents can work from sunup to sundown. From a very early age they had to give up the moments when they could freely play and have fun without having a sense of time passing. They don't show resentment or any kind of revolt because it's always been this way, their fathers and mothers went through this too. Their vague, sad gazes reveal that they have grown up too soon. They all ask us the same question: Why?