Heartwrenching Photograph

[bonocrazy88]

I don't know if anyone has heard this story, but it is heartbreaking. A South African photojournalist, Kevin Carter, traveled to Sudan to photograph the local rebellion movement. He began to take photos of the starving Sudanese to document how horrible conditions were. Then, he heard wimpering and looked over. A little girl had stopped on her way to a feeding center. She was so weak she could not crawl any farther. Almost directly behind her, a vulture sat, presumably waiting for the girl to die. Carter said he waited to see if the vulture would spread his wings. When it didn't, Carter snapped a photo, chased the vulture away, and left.

Carter came under severe criticism for not helping the little girl, so close to the feeding center. When the photo surfaced in the New York Times, many people wrote to inquire whether the girl had survived. She had been able to walk away from the vulture, but her fate after that is unknown.

Carter won the Pultizer Prize for Feature Photography in 1994. Although journalists at that time had been warned not to touch disease victims for fear of contracting disease, Carter could not forget the little girl and felt extreme guilt for not helping the child to safety. Because of his guilt and other factors, Carter committed suicide shortly after he won the Pultizer. He was only 33 years old.

Here is a link to the heartwrenching photo.

http://www.cincyworldcinema.org/press/carter2_545x588x300dpi.jpg

 

[Jeannieco]

Ok, that is seriously depressing

 

[digitize]

So sad.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I've read a few articles about his story. Very sad.

The band Manic Street Preachers have a song called "Kevin Carter" as well (of anyone cares).

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yes I've heard about that and I have seen that photo. Just brutal beyond any words.

 

[love2bmama]

wow, looking at that photo was even more disturbing than I thought it would be.

 

[mandy1973]

Yes....very very disturbing and sobering.

 

[JCOSTER]

I can't believe anyone could walk away from the little girl. He got his picture which is worth a million words.
Unfortunately, he suffered quite a bit and punished himself for not help her.

Very sad.

This picture should be passed along to the world leaders from the G8.

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

I'm about to shoot that vulture with a 22.......

 

[ylimeU2]

If anyone wants to know more about that, check out "The Bang-Bang Club" by Greg Marinovich. It is basically a memoir of the four photographers that Kevin Carter was involved with. The pic itself is so moving, but the book really sheds some light on it all, especially how they dealt (or didn't deal, as with Carter) with seeing all those atrocities and not being able to help. I highly recommend it.

 

[Mr. Green Eyes]

The picture and the story is just so heart breaking. I agree that he should have helped the little girl. It is just so sad.

 

[ylimeU2]

I can't believe anyone could walk away from the little girl. He got his picture which is worth a million words.
Unfortunately, he suffered quite a bit and punished himself for not help her.

Very sad.

This picture should be passed along to the world leaders from the G8.

It is over ten years old, I'm sure they have seen it.

Also, I don't think that is fair to Carter. He left his profession and ended his life over that, and other violent acts he witnessed. It opened up a huge debate over the ethics of photographer. Their jobs were to take the pictures and open the eyes of the world to what conditions were like. It is simply another form of raising awareness.

Here is a pretty brief article on it that covers the basics.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/african_history/89317

And if you want to know more, read the Bang-Bang Club. Not everything is the way it seems.

 

[shart1780]

Good grief that's so sad. I can't imagine the guilt he must have dealth with. I bet he would have done anything to go back and save that girl., I could easily see myself quitting my career over something like that.

I do believe what he did was really wrong though. It's a sad story on all sides.