In the 1960s, this man, then a young photographer, would just walk around the village. The kids in the streets followed him; they all got to know him… - Mary Burton

At the end of my life, they will put on my tombstone: ‘She did not take a government car!

Well, it’s very difficult because socialism hasn’t really made a big difference in many parts of the world. I just think an awareness needs to be instilled in people who have wealth, that it is to their benefit to share some of that wealth. That if they want safety and security, it costs you. It’s all a question of people stealing at the top, their wealth is stolen wealth. It’s taken from the lives of the poor. So whether the wealth comes from mining or natural resources exploitation, agriculture and so on, people make fortunes at the cost of other people’s labour. The discrepancies are too great. It can’t possibly be just.

“I feel more hopeful with the new government,” she says. “What with competent people slowly, terribly slowly, being put into place. But it’s awful how long it takes. Getting rid of people who are – or have been – complicit in corruption seems to be difficult to do. I suppose there has to be proof, and that takes a long time. But there doesn’t seem to be enough urgency about the economic and social conditions of the poor. I think that is the trouble.