Invisible or deliberately overlooked, they are not simply on the peripheries; they inhabit and fill in the gaps between wor(l)ds. They bleed in and out of our consciousness.
From paper collectors of the Middle East to migrant informal caregivers, this column brings into focus workers and urban dwellers in the margins.
Selin Sahin / SMArchS '23 / occasional digital nomad
Mexico City feels like a forest, roots and green bursting out of every corner, this palimpsest of a city has been, for some time now, devouring itself.
"In neighborhoods where mostly single people live, the tea comes in bags. Beşiktaş is a special case: There, they drink coffee instead.”
Traditionally known as the paper collectors (kağıt toplayıcıları) among other names, the informal recycling workers of Turkey walk four to twenty kilometers a day, pulling their heavy loaded cart to earn their bread out of trash. They form a patchy network, often invisible by circumstance and by design.
