Sudan-Famine: Vulture eying the emancipated girl Photo: Kevin Carter
Is there anybody who is not familiar with this pic? This photo won the Pulitzer Prize. The photo was taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine.
The picture depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards an United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it.
This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child. The New York Times who published this photo had to run a special editorial saying that the girl had enough strength to walk till the food camp but no one knows the Ultimate fate.
Kevin Carter
The photographer Kevin Cartercommitted suicide three months later due to depression. He not only received the prize but also drew a lot of flak for not helping the child and instead using the 20 mins to adjust lens which got him the prize. Recently on one of the Facebook albums this pic was posted with caption that questioned the human values of Kevin for having taken this photo instead of helping her which prompted this post.
Had he helped, he would have helped one child but this picture caught the attention of an entire world! which is a better outcome and let us not forget his job was to take these pictures. That was his objective of being there. He was DOING HIS JOB!
It is much easier to judge Carter’s values sitting in our air-conditioned rooms and researching the history on our computers using Google. Ever wondered what it must be like to be a war photographer? To see people die in front of you, to be in the line of fire yourself, to see your colleague and friend die in a firing while taking those pics. How easy it is to see suffering like the kind in Sudan and still continue doing your job with the same passion.
Portion of Kevin’s suicide letter 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 [recently deceased colleague Ken Oosterbroek] if I am that lucky.” He was a white male who protested against apartheid. He was a member of the “Bang-bang club”. Through his photography he also exposed many other evil practices like Necklacing.
Ok now back to our “Judge others from your comfort zone” club. Here are a few questions for you.
- When was the last time you contributed to a relief fund and how much(this by the way is the least you can do)
- When was the last time you even visited any affected area? Even if you are given a chance most of us would be busy with our own lives or give up the chance for fear of contracting a disease or getting into the chaos
- How much do you contribute to your local society welfare
- Are you associated with even one NGO and what is your contribution to it?
- When you see a begging child, what do you do
- Comment on the sorry state of India
- Give the child a rupee or two and get rid of them
- Take a child to your house and give a job
- Take the child to an NGO and try to get help to get make them employable and give the child make it literate
- Stop the child for a minute and speak to it about the concerns and why the child is forced to beg
Answer these questions and compare yourself to the above Kevin’s work and read the suicide note of the foolish guy who committed suicide even after receiving an award and compare who is more human. The answer would obviously be “The Judge Club”. Of course yes isn’t it more human to be selfish and judgmental! It requires more sacrifice and guts to do what Carter did than just being human!!
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