Juan Carlos Ruiz grabs onto the sides of the canoe and holds on. I’m sitting cross-legged on the boat’s leaky wooden floor while Mariluz and Miguel stand on the outer edges and use long poles to guide us through the waterlogged forest. The boat lurches under their weight and we duck to avoid passing tree branches. It’s flood season in Peru’s Amazon region and the area surrounding Mariluz’s community has become a swamp.
Juan Carlos gives me a sheepish look without losing his grip. ‘I’m not used to this,’ he says. ‘This is not what lawyers usually do.’
