Whenever I think of poverty, there is one image that invariably pops-up. Yes! That photograph is the one you see below.
The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can survive. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child.
This photo was the “Pulitzer Prize” winner taken in 1994 during the Sudan Famine by Kevin Carter. The picture depicts a malnourished child crawling towards a United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away.
Kevin Carter
I had seen this stomach-wrenching image before. But what startled me was when my dad gave me a paper clip on the story behind this photograph. This is what it said, “In March 1993 Carter made a trip to southern Sudan. The sound of soft, high-pitched whimpering near the village of Ayod attracted Carter to a young emaciated Sudanese toddler. The girl had stopped to rest while struggling to a feeding center, wherein a vulture had landed nearby. He said that he waited about 20 minutes, hoping that the vulture would spread its wings. It didn't. Carter snapped the haunting photograph and chased the vulture away.”
The photograph was sold to The New York Times where it appeared for the first time on March 26, 1993. On April 2, 1994 Nancy Buirski, a foreign New York Times picture editor, phoned Carter to inform him that he had won the most coveted prize for photography. Carter was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography on May 23, 1994 at Columbia University's Low Memorial Library.
Carter came under heavy criticism for just photographing — and not helping — the little girl.
On July 27, 1994 Carter drove to the Braamfonteinspruit River and took his own life by taping one end of a hose to his pickup truck’s exhaust pipe and running the other end to the passenger-side window. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of 33. Portions of Carter's suicide note read:
"I am depressed ... without phone ... money for rent ... money for child support ... money for debts ... money!!! ... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners ... I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky."
Dan Krauss shot a documentary titled “The Life of Kevin Carter” which released in 2004.
I feel that people are ignorant of the fact that some of their fellow humans don’t even get a mouthful on many days. And when they see the truth in front of their eyes, they are LOST. Lost for words. Lost for actions.
By Guruvardhan
8 comments:
This photograph of Sudan famine haunts many really. Kevin Carter was undone by the curse of unwanted fame. The picture and the consequent criticism of Carter owes a lot to the selfishness of this satiated world...I totally agree Guru.
Guru, But the question comes did we took any lesson from this( Hope we know the answer),I saw this pic a year Ago.
Level 1 - Feelings of guilt and satiation often comes from not realizing your role in this world. We have been bought up in small cities and we have seen poverty since childhood. To be honest, this picture doesn't horrify me. I've witnessed equivalent instances in my life. At some point of our lives we have helped the needy through money or food. Because we are earning now, we have the ability to help more.
Level 2 - How much are we willing to sacrifice must be considered, absolutely mandatory. Some may donate money and continue to lead their lives, some may do some volunteering and some may give up all to join a red cross or sans de frontiers.
Personally, monetary assistance and maybe some voluntary work is what I'll do best because I'm clear about my role in this world.
As long we know that during our limited scope of life we have done all we can I think we should be alright and not point fingers at others.
I too have seen this photograph several times and read the story associated with it. I feel that humanity has adopted apathy as its shield, and it is not easy to break through that. Apathy is the hardest of all enemies to vanquish.
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