Let’s talk about poverty, this week. My initial theme was “Poverty is a Crime”. I thought about it again, and since I could not put my finger on the ‘criminal’, I changed it to; to See Poverty, to have the ability to do something about it, but to do nothing, is a crime”. This picture was taken by Kevin Carter (poor man), who saw this and was constrained or tricked into not doing anything. The vulture was waiting for the child to die to pick at its flesh. The child was crawling to a UN food centre 1 kilometre away. It is not known if the child made it. Poverty!
(Picture: www.pulitzer.org)
This photograph is heart wrenching. I shutter to think about what finally happened to the child. So Kevin did nothing?!
ReplyDeleteAnytime I see this pic my hearts just breaks. This is worse than poverty. This is degradation, the loss of humanity.
ReplyDeleteLucci, it is not known what happened to the child. It probably did not make it to the UN camp. You see, some agency or other told Kevin and others in the Sudan not to go near the locals lest they caught some disease. Poor Kevin. Apparently he regretted his non-interference, and caught a disease anyway. Depression. He committed suicide 3 months or so later.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say, Myne? 100% correct!
ReplyDeletethis is what has been photograghed;only God knows what has not.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Anon. Thanks for the striking observation!
ReplyDeleteI learnt the photographer committed suicide and the picture won an award. In the end that's all they do with their aid and their 'help'. Someone is dying of hunger and you allowed him/her to die whilst you could have helped and you use that situation of death to win an award. Very brilliant.
ReplyDeleteNFA, he realized his mistake, got depressed for it and took his life. Sad story all round. I think that the child in the picture represents all the poor and needy people around the world, the vulture represents and well-placed people who can do something (but do nothing) to help, and the hapless photographer represents world governments, inter-governmental organizations and aid groups. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteStrange..blogger is allowing me to post on your blog today!! This picture always makes me really sad as well as the story about the photographer.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the new topic!
It's such a touching picture especially when you know the story behind it. A few years back I was going through a photo book of images from the Rwandan genocide and it mad e me feel like this. A what price to be a photographer in the midst of something horrific, what a horrible job. Your job is to be a photo journalist not to personally get involved. Could you do it?
ReplyDeletePoverty IS a crime. Ethiopia simply refuses to reform their Land ownership policy for political reasons, so farmers cann't sell their land n so they pass it on in ever smaller portions to their kids. Farmers r poor, cann't improve irrigation, no gov't help, no rain, pple die. Someone is a criminal! That is apart from the guy who steals all the money meant to build a school in that village and pay the teachers, condemning the illiterate child in that village to poverty for life! That guy is a criminal.
ReplyDeleteThe photographer won was a Pultizer I believe. I cursed him the first time I saw this picture, then cried when I heard the whole story.
ReplyDeleteThe photographer quite easily could have helped this child. It was 'one' child and he was 'right' there. But he chose to document the anguish and let fate have its way.
Poverty is a crime indeed, but as you apted put it NY, we need yet to find the criminal...
@ Abena, I hope I do not let you down. It's quite a sad topic, no?
ReplyDelete@Nsoromma, good, tough questions. I would probably have done no better in the same circumstances.
@Kwame, I found myself thinking something identical about Ethiopia this weekend.
@Anon, I now think that as many of us as can (but won't) help are the criminals.
I've always thought Kevin could've saved a life that day. If the poor child died, then he has two lives to account for: the child's and his.
ReplyDeleteYa Nana, now Oyibo is going abt cying for Ethiopia again. 24yrs after da first big one n periodically ever since. U wonder wat sort of brain matter r in da leaders' heads.
ReplyDeletethis indeed is heart breaking. i wouldn't have believed it if it was just a hear-say thing. i sit behind my pc now thinking about all the other children apart from this particular one, going through the same pain and anguish. POVERTY IS CRIMINAL, i must side with you.
ReplyDeletei run a poetry blog too, so you can all check it out some time.
www.poetic superman.blogspot.com