Counter-mapping: cartography that lets the powerless speak

How a subversive form of mapmaking charts the stories and customs of those who would traditionally be ignored

Sara is a 32-year-old mother of four from Honduras. After leaving her children in the care of relatives, she travelled across three state borders on her way to the US, where she hoped to find work and send money home to her family. She was kidnapped in Mexico and held captive for three months, and was finally released when her family paid a ransom of $190.

Her story is not uncommon. The UN estimates that there are 258 million migrants in the world. In Mexico alone, 1,600 migrants are thought to be kidnapped every month. What is unusual is that Sara's story has been documented in a recent academic paper that includes a map of her journey that she herself drew. Her map appears alongside four others - also drawn by migrants. These maps include legends and scales not found on orthodox maps - unnamed river crossings, locations of kidnapping and places of refuge such as a "casa de emigrante" where officials cannot enter. Since 2011, such shelters have been identified by Mexican law as "spaces of exception".