Stricken child crawling towards a food camp [1994]

Why do we have to wait for pictures like this to take action against injustice and crying need?

Surely, the western world would have moved far more quickly were the child white!

OH PLEASE, “were the child white”! This is getting old.

It’s the truth NoSayBlade, you never see pics of white kids suffering too much. Unless of course their white trash, and then that image is used to mock and ridicule those children.

If this had happened in America, people would be up and fighting, its happened before. people fight for far less.

The photographer guaraunteed has seen more than all of us has, enough to cause greta depression. Look what it drove him too.

I hope the photographer took the kid to eat. The strange thing is that the vulture sitting in the background is much clearer than the stuff lying on the ground around it, could it be inserted! Look this problem is bad enough and it is really a painful shame that it even happens in this world. If people would stop fighting there would be enough food and resources to feed everyone everywhere.

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No white children doing things like these eh?? Only “white trash” is that so? You are an ignorant fool. The starving children/people in Africa get our sympathy. They are born in to poverty so they can’t help it right? What about -all- colors of people starving in the USA…. come to think of it, the UN declared according to statistics that AMERICA has the highest child-poverty to wealth ratio in the world. Thats right, the entire planet. Yet, where are your tears for them? Humbly tucked away behind your racist preconceptions. Shame on you and educate yourself because your comments are ignorant.

Enough of the racism already. Everyone keeps talking about “if it were whitey, this wouldn’t happen”. The fact of the matter is the area full of famine is not occupied by white people or asians or mexicans or tiny green aliens. I feel sad for this kid & anyone who is suffering like him, but the fact of the matter is it IS NOT A RACIAL issue.. We all want equality & happiness in life, but because of this anti-whitey nonsense, we have become a hated minority because we know how to farm, build, create & manage & we use proper grammar without expressing an image of a criminal. The West is doing what we can to feed these people, but I believe we need to learn from the Bible here & instead of feeding these people, we need to teach them to feed themselves. We need to give them understanding, technology & trade skills that will help them fend for themselves.. Believe me, if nobody in America (whites, blacks, asians & what-have-you) stopped doing what we know how to do to keep ourselves fed & clothed then we would ALL look just like this kid. Besides, the way America is turning now, if it were a white kid, there would be more help to feed the vulture then there would be to feed the kid. So feel bad for the kid & the people living in that environment, but for the love of God, quit blaming white people for everyone else’s problems.

Poverty is drastically different in other countries such as many of those found in Africa. To draw a comparison to the kind of poverty found in the US is ignorant all in itself. Do me a favor and travel to a third world country before throwing in statistics.

SayBladeIsRacistAndIgnorant, how naive are you? To claim erudition and condemn others of being racist and ignorant based upon a statistic you don’t even fully comprehend. What do you think that statistic implies? Do you think it means we have more impoverished children per capita than all of the other countries of the world? Well? That ratio only signifies that we have a ridiculous amount of poor children for the ridiculous amount of wealth that we possess. Anyway, SayBlade, why would you want to incite anything but sympathy for a child struggling like this? You turn this into a opportunity to attack those whom you believe to be at fault but at the end of the day, this child, and all children like it, is still dying as your words fail to bring any relief.

sayblade even if it were an issue of race why do you see this as the US responsibility to fix(not sayin that the US shouldn’t help) but what is you country doing to help fix the problem?. Everybody expects America to solve everything while the rest of the world sits on their hands.Sayblade how about your country takes initiative rather than complaining for somebody else to do it,and if things only get done when white people are poor and suffering then explain eastern europe.

***Correction to my previous post***
I meant to say that if everyone in America stopped doing what they do to survive then we would all look like this poor child.. Instead of giving them a fish to eat, we need to teach them how to fish.. (I know exactly what you’re thinking… There’s no ocean for them to fish in.. This is a figurative statement to exemplify the necessity to teach them to feed themselves).. We should give them cattle & teach them how to raise & slaughter for food. We need to give them greenhouses & hydroponic knowledge to grow their own fruits & vegetables. If all we do is give them food day & night, they will never try to take care of themselves & quite frankly if any person is unwilling to take care of themselves & depend on others to feed them when they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves, then maybe they shouldn’t be here at all because they are just a strain on society.. This goes for Whitey, Blacks, Asians, Mexicans, Afghans, Bulgarians, Swedes & yes, even the little green aliens… May God forgive the ignorance of those who think this is a racial issue instead of a society issue..

What do you expect the US to do. Yea its a great unimaginable tragedy that goes on there but in the end the only thing society cares about is the money that will take to fix the problem. Yea it sounds like a good idea that we should send in troops or some type of military strike to stop the fighting but thats gonna be another Iraq situation. I wont forget to mention that the area does not even offer and strategical gain for the US and is basically a “big dont bother” with it. Yea we make enough food in this country to feed most of the people in the world but going and feeding an entire nation although it seems correct on the outside is probably the worst thing we can do. Since 3rd world nations depend on farming as a source of income you basically demolished their industry and set up free food. In essence you take away their free markets and provide them with what they should be able to do themselves to be a successful nation. This happens to many countries b/c of the UN and their farming subsidies.

Why didn’t the camera man take the kid tothe food instead of leaving him? Perhaps thats why he killed himself feeling guilty

probably, he said he was afraid of disease, read the wiki article.

How can you say that we need to give hem greenhouses and hydroponics. I think your taking for granted the little things you have such as water. these people live in incredibly harsh environments and have virtually no support. Unfortunately, like you were saying, if you teach a man to fish but there is no ocean he will still starve, truly does apply here. I live in America and we do do less to support others comparable to our wealth than many smaller nations. But instead of complaining on this forum go to a non-profit website and donate some of your own money. Everyone can make a difference and it is our civil duty to do something. Inspire people to help rather than putting them down for doing wrong (I know this seems hypocritical, but it is a good point that we should listen to). “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

There are a shitload of white kids living miserable lives in this world, you just don’t see them on TV, try europe, try middle east. Both white and black kids are learning how to hate, kill, do a great deal of drugs around the world. No one gives a shit unless there’s money involved for big companies to actually do something about it.

United Nations is just a name, they don’t amount to shit, they don’t save the poor, they don’t catch the killers, and they certainly don’t stop a tyrant from invading another country to cause genocide, they’re a bunch of pathetic people that are nothing more than a waste of life.

The fact is the hoffific image posted above is not even the worst of what is happening in some parts of Africa. We in the West (not just America, the Universe does not revolve around America…sigh) do not do enough to help, not by a long shot. Some regions of Africa are NOT in the state they are in because they don’t have the knowledge to farm their land. Years of interference from the West, greedy rich people, corrupt African leaders, and poor climate conditions are the main contributing factors. By the way, if there was oil in these countries, certain other countries would be rushing over to “liberate” everyone and sending troops in. I love the idea of flying over thousands of greenhouses..”and this is how you grow a potato” - problem solved.Genius. If you really want to do something, lobby your government, find a good charity and pay them monthly, tell other people to do the same.

Hello, ignoramuses…

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The tragedy in Sudan, of which this photo is but a glimpse, had nothing to do with “whitey” vs. anyone of any color. It was part of northern, elitist rulers’ decades-long push to impose Sharia Law on the rest of the country.

Things started to get really bad after Bill Clinton (that’s right… THE Bill Clinton) labeled Sudan as a “rogue state” and did all he could to keep any aid or investment from heading to the country.

The leaders of the western world enthusiastically joined their beloved leader in this embargo. They ignored the rapes, murders, intentional starvation, etc. as long as they could… until brave souls like Kevin Carter started to report it to the world’s citizens, who demanded some humanitarianism from their rulers.

The conflict continued for many years after this photo, though by this time the worst of the famine had passed.

It’s consequences will, however, continue for a long, long time:

google.com/s...
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etc, etc…

BLAH BLAH BLAH, all of you stop your complaining and go DO SOMETHING instead of arguing on a web page. Your all just blaming whoever, and your pushing the burdern of fixing the problem onto others.

yah blame the western world.. We have our own problems to fix in our country. its not our PROBLEM we did not cause it or force those people to bring on more children.

lets see you guys join up as Peace keepers and do your share until then shut the hell up.

fix our country before we fix others. its not the United states problem to fix, we have many problems in our own country that could make it so someday YOUR child could be in this childs position

you know what your right the western world would of acted faster if the child was white! All i have to say is im proud to be an american!!!!!!!!!!!!

Concerning Blame :
If you’re a consumer in North America, you’re guilty.

Now with the blame out of the way we can speak free of passion for a few seconds. It’s futile to speak of these things because we cannot change them. There are economic systems in place that employ a sort of perpetual motion that will never cease. Land is usurped by North American industry to sustain itself and satiate our wants. The charities and world help organizations are in place to make US feel better. For less than the price of a cup of coffee per day you can alleviate your guilt. There’s enough food to feed the world. There’s also enough corruption, war and political unrest to make sure that resources are intercepted and re-distributed to fuel the fire. I had some points and ideas to introduce but it’s all very futile and does little good other than to make me feel better about living. I’m a very lucky man.

Maybe this photographer could have given this child FOOD. The photographer is scum and I am glad that heartless peice of shit commited suicide.

It is all about race, white people have been raping people all over, including their own. Reading the bible doesn’t help at all. All I have to do is say Dinosaurs and the Bible should be long gone. But its not. Read REAL history and learn what white people have done, from slavery to segregation. But whatever, the world is still gonna turn the same way tomorrow. I just hope some you will lift your head out of the sand and realize that just because you were born into wealth doesn’t make you better than anyone. But thats too far over your head. Peace.

You are morons it has nothing to do with the race. Do not blame africa on whites. Africa has been fucked in the ass since the times of Carthage. The problem in africa is there fuking leaders do not have the brains to unite to solve there problems. Western nations give about a couple hundred billion dollers to africa every YEAR. Every 1 talks rasism (whites hating blacks/browns asains) try this bitch. In south africa whites are being kicked off there land/out of there houses. Places they have lived for about 400 years. Also there are tons of white poor people starving all over the world. the media just does not show it. What makes for better ratings????????Showing 100 whites starving??or 1 black person staving in africa?????The one black dude dying in africa is more importent to the media because it means high ratings plus they dnt want to seem rasict. Same with goverment jobs. If your white fat chances getting a goverment job. IF your black asiain arab. YOU ARE IN! Reality people is we should say FUCK AFRICA. White people have always been told to leave africa alone. OK I SAY LEAVE IT. Give them no money do not trade with them. The africa to get on its on feet if it can.

Truthsayer you bible loving hick F|_|CKk 0FF

stupid cracker dumb ass.

hope your kids end up like that

Too many people on the planet as it is. Death, disease, war, famine, natural disaters, plagues are all natural and Mother Natures way of saying “too may of ya’s!”.

Saving every single human ever born is the quickest and most efficient way of eventually killing every last one of us.

One less nigger. What exactly do these niggers do for the world again, except loosen the purse strings of knee-jerk bleeding heart liberals? Exactly. They do nothing. Take them out of the jungles and put them in an urban environment and you get skyrocketing crime and drug infested ghettos. Slavery is truly the best option for a nigger. Why? Because you control them, they aren’t allowed to breed wildly, and they get fed. It’s a win-win. So, take that little nigger there, lying on the ground, and either crush it’s head with your boot or lock it up and force it to work. Heh, work. Most inner city niggers think work is the preliminary steps one takes to recieve a welfare check.

PLEASE USE DECENT LANGUAGE !

don’t force deleting comments…

Stop sending food to these people; bring them to where the food is. Sam Kinison saidit best, We have deserts in the united states too we just dont live in them!

War, crop failure, disease… Sending food to these places is like sending someone in hell an ice cold coke. A moment of relief and then the suffering begins again.

These ppl need real social economic change that can build infrastructure, not your $1 a day bs, not your reading the bible + accepting jesus means a free meal, not the vatican’s birth control is a ticket to hell bs.

Btw, Last time I checked, there were tons of places in the US were the poor can get free food. If a child is starving in the US it is because the parental unit has failed, not because it is not available. In many of these third world countries there is not even food to steal! Thousands of different insects that kill kill you. Drinking the water is a health risk.

Is it ‘our’ problem? Depends on your view of things. If you think in terms of ‘us and them’ then it’s not your sword. I tend to thing in terms of ‘us’. All of us are one people. A dying kid is a dying kid, and to think otherwise… well, just makes you a pretty shitty human being.

We need racial diversity in order to survive as a species. Ozone layer disappears? People with dark skin and tall bodies will be better suited for the environment than those with fair skin. Volcano erupts, blocking the sun? fair skinned short people will do better.

When you are thinking your racist thought, remember, it is all pink inside. There are some extremely attractive women of all races… How can you hate something you are dying to breed with?

I lol’d.

ok listen up!

1. the reason africa is as it is is because the colonies (i.e. the dutch spanish english etc) tried to colonise africa, but then went off home. if the africans had been left alone they would have been doing fine.

2. if you’re going to give aid then it has to be appropriate. there’s a leader in north west africa who built a motorway for his people with the money from aid. its okay, except there are no cars. one hospital recieved 10 state-of-the-art incubators to help decrease the IMR (Infant Mortality Rate). they’re now gathering dust becasue the hospital doesn’t have enough electricity to power them! so while all this talk about giving them technology is good, it has to be APPROPRIATE!

3. america. you say why do we expect america to do the most in aid. well, seeing how america considers itself the ‘world police’ and the main fighter against terrorism, why shouldn’t it hep as much as it interferes? also, the war in iraq as we all know costs some ridiculous amount. people are complaining about how america is the most impoverished compared to its wealth (or something like that), if they spent their money on their own people rather than weapons, well every american would be living the american dream.

btw good one adversary, about your last comment!

Blacks cause their own problems. If whites get involved… they will be damned for interfering in another nation. If they dont, they are racist.

Any white/Asian who knowing even an inkling of current and recent history knows this.

Only people interested, not in facts, but in moral aggrandization - do not.

That kid is black?

That’s right, I’ve decided to go public and end the mystery once and for all… the answer is yes; and although I do prefer “whitey” meat, this boy was especially delicious(although not very filling).

How many times, driving trough our big cities, have we noticed that we r sorrounded by enormous advertisements posters? Concerning fashion, unuseless items and so on…The new generations remain this way with values such as mobile phones, signed clothes,etc…They will get more blind than the old generations towards these realities. I guess that pictures like this one should be exposed instead of these big idiot advertisement.Perhaps just for a period.Just when our kids will look around to see if there is a new model of mobile phones, and they will see the really important matters of this world, our society could begin to improve. I hope u people think the same. Farewell

Please do your part in this world

Those who are moved by the picture are people who have a heart and still care. I appeal to those people to do their part in helping out those who are in need in this world.

I am an Indian. I try to live a frugal life although I have the means to live extravagantly. I try and contribute to people who are in need by donating money. I refrain from buying a birthday dress or celebrating my birthday extravagantly and instead give a free meal to the needy. These are just a few things I do. I am happy to contribute what I can and I wish other people would too. Please instead of seeing the poor child as a “black”, see the human soul in that frail body. What is colour, race or social position but a deception to our eyes. Ultimately, it all boils down to what we are deep inside. The same feelings that I am emote, are felt by you all.

Life is fleeting. And all we can do is to do our best.

Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

It is appalling. Go do something

thehungersit...

Lets help one another, stop complaining..

Cole Merk said, “Maybe this photographer could have given this child FOOD. The photographer is scum and I am glad that heartless peice of shit commited suicide.”

That is remarkably naive and heartless of you. That photo shed more light on the problems in the region than you realize. Do you think that one child is the only one in the region who was starving? Was he supposed to take every one of thousands of starving children to find food? He was a photojournalist, and his camera was the tool he used to try to help people.

Also, since YOU know there are problems like this in Africa, what are YOU doing about it? Nothing? That’s what I thought…

Why didn’t Kevin Carter took that child WITH him?? what a loser! And.. we are praising the guy for taking this pic??? the guy is a Moron.

Welsh band, the Manic Street Preachers wrote a rather superb song about this very picture.

ACE; Kevin Carter shooed away the bird after he took the picture and his powerful imagery has highlighted the plight of many children in such a way that has lead to many many dollars worth of donations.

Every time I see this photo in a forum, the comments are full of racism, arguing and unforgiving anger.

Kevin is dead. We can’t change that and we can’t undo what he did or failed to do. Sometimes it is necessary to feed the hungry so they can live long enough for you to teach them how to grow their own food. It’s hard to know the “right thing to do” for each person unless you’re in their shoes. Some people I know have sent money to a tribe in Africa which enabled them to buy chickens and goats and thus breed more animals for self-sustaining food.

Others have “adopted” orphans by donating money toward their education, medical care and food supply. I am blessed to be able to actually go to Africa later this summer and work firsthand with the people who have been helped my so many others in so many different ways. Some of us will construct housing and a school, some of us will help on a medical team teaching about health and hygiene issues and some will help teach women how to plant their own gardens and grow food on their limited water supplies.

It is not for us to judge how our brother or sister can best help someone else in need. part of my job down there will be to take photos. In some ways, it feels like a more difficult position than my work with the medical team because sometimes the only way to get a widespread message is with a painfully impacting photo. I would never leave a child in danger as Kevin Carter did, but part of his lack of action gives me even stronger compassion for those in need. Criticizing the government, the people, the poverty, the circumstances won’t help anyone. Learning from it will.
I have learned a lot about the mentality of others and I could try to leave some heartfelt quote but it might only sure to start bigger flamewar.

If anyone wants to research, Kevin Carter brought light to some important issues that had never been photographed before. Additionally, at the time, photojournalists were instructed not to touch famine victims for safety reasons against disease. That doesn’t make his inaction any less wrong but if his life had only one purpose, I don’t think anyone would ever leave a starving child without help again.

No one knows what happened to that baby girl except God. but the fact is, even if she had lived, the world still wouldn’t have forgiven Kevin and he still would probably have killed himself, for a multitude of reasons.

WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE! DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHEN?

why dont you all shut up.

ive got a resolution to it all if youre going to blame white people for inaction. why dont YOU do something? if you wanna make a long comprehensive argument citing sources and stats why dont you stop wasting your time and spend that time HELPING THEM?
this is one of the most disgusting photos ive ever seen.
the only other picture in my mind is the polar opposite fat rich moguls in capitalist america

“The strange thing is that the vulture sitting in the background is much clearer than the stuff lying on the ground around it”

it’s called “macro effect”, no digital inserts, just a photo technic

The description is inaccurate. The child, which was a girl if I remember correctly, was not simply left behind…

So easy to pull the race card. You are sick

A disgrace that anything like this should happen with individuals in this world with incomes that exceed that of some third world countries.

Amazing photo. Poor child. Hope hes still alive today.

Very interesting and intelligent photos which
shows human feelings like sorrow,happiness,love,hate,hope etc.

. I agree, with some people that have also said this, although Kevin Carter may have done more to help this girl, the fact that he freely chose to face the horrors of our world face to face was more valient then any of could ever achieve in a life time. I find it incredible how any of you could insult him when all most of you are doing are sitting on your butts and venting on about racism and hate. Your comments show exactly what this picture is symbolizing. No matter how this picture may be interpreted or no matter the race of this child, it shows hate in one of the many horrific pictures that photographers take. THe proof of the necessity of these photos depicting the hate and sadness in are world are shown exactly in these comments that show the massive awareness that has shown in just a few people out of the whole world. Imagine how much awareness this photograph conjured as the world looked and studyed it.

Story behind the photo isn’t true. Looked for the snopes link, couldn’t find it. However, it pretty much goes without saying that the caption is false.

lucky for us you’re smart and you know the real story, could you share?

A child suffers, and you want to argue about race? Does it matter? Evil will flourish so long as good men sit and do nothing. Arguing about race, or the validity of the photo/story amounts to exactly that: nothing. The same goes for your clever thoughts and self-righteous ways. It’s easy to ignore when you aren’t faced with it. But in an age with information so freely available, people still scoff at the atrocities being committed as if they were some elaborate story with good CG to make the viewer feel like it was real. Wake up. We’re all going to stand at judgement someday, even if you don’t believe it. How do you want to be found? You’re guilty, just like me.

there are so many ppl who say they are gonna do something about these type of tragadies in the world but they just sit around on websites and look at pic. and argue about it. get up off your but and take action so less things like this could happen.

i dont like thast pic

tooooo bad!!!!!!!!! no steps had been taken since.world rich countries must help them

has anyone read the book house of leaves by mark danielewski? this picture plays a really important role in the story…

Kevin Carter took this pic and 3 months later commited suicide his last words were
Dear God,

I promise I will never waste my food no matter how bad it can taste and how full I may be. I pray that He will protect this little boy, guide and deliver him away from his misery. I pray that we will be more sensitive towards the world around us and not be blinded by our own selfish nature and interests.

I hope this picture will always serve as a reminder to us that how fortunate we are and that we must never ever take things for granted.

Please don’t break.. keep on forwarding to our friends On this good day. Let’s make a prayer for the suffering in anywhere anyplace around the globe and send this friendly reminder to others “Think & look at this… when you complain about your food and the food we wasted daily……..

I just want to say that fighting about this picture is fairly aimless - the picture encapsulates an issue that affects all parts of the world - and this starvation and poverty is something we can do our best to aid by providing some of our time and money to causes that work to address this.
Rather than arguing about it, let the picture do what it was taken to do - touch you. If you are moved by the immense poverty and anguish that riddles this intense and evocative photograph, be moved to do something about it. Use this image as a starting ground, an inspiration, to change your own habits.
To change things you need to do it yourself, and to do it you have to want to do it. This photograph makes me, and many other people who have seen it, sick with upset. This emotion should be taken hold of and rationalised, and subsequently influence people to give something to those (like the child in this photograph) who are starving and in need of help.
Be aware, but most importantly, be active!

From what I’ve read on credible sources: The photographer took over 20 minutes to take that photograph. The child died shortly afterwards. It haunted the photographer for the rest of his life until he committed suicide. A similar story of a tormented photographer is told in Savatages, “Poets and Madmen.” A link to their site should appear as my website. I am just a fan, but it’s probably their best album. You have to create an account with them, but they give 2 full mp3’s from the album. I’m not sure where the story can be found, other than by buying the cd. It’s worth it if you are a fan of progressive rock/metal, and really even if your not. I got an A for annalyzing it for an philosophy class. Good material. Great photo. From a utilitarian perspective, the death of the child was worth waking up the world. From an existential perspective, the photo journalist just couldn’t stomach it and died of guilt.

With so much sorrow i sent out an email yesterday(probably to late to ask) but I asked if the child managed and anyone can proved that and if the child is still alive. and now there is a source saying the child’s dead!
Kevin is gone, no point saying anything abt him now. He did what he supposed to do. But if only he has done a little bit more, it wld be more than a pulitzer award could bring.How long can a award keep u happy? In Kevin case abviousbly never..If only…this can never end..

sadness, loneliness, sleepness night, i felt it most of the time and i believe everyone will feel the same for those unfortunate children left to die. and here we are unable to do anything but to see the terrible ailing pictures of these children. sometimes i wonder if it is worth showing the world of what is happening - the real shocking pictures of dying children, as it is still going on - no matter how many times the world try to rectify. u just name all the meetings, concert, etc etc… but how much have been saved so far??? i am not condemning but really how far and how many children have been save?

This child is so innocent , God has given her a better place where she will no longer suffer or feel hungry. We are all responsible for this,our taxes & inability to question governments who like the USA continue to sell arms to any low life who serves their interest regardless of who they oppress. The boombs drooped in Iraq for the last 3 years could purchase enough food to feed Africa for 5000 years.

i just wanted to tell this out - maybe people might laugh at it. if only IF ONLY a person in this entire world adopt a child from africa - will there be any more starvation? billions of people against this country surely can reduce the suffering. but is there anyway, anyone out there willing to do so.

again i am not condemning anyone out there, especially the “stars” who are adopting 1 or 2 and then overlooking the rest of them. i just whonder who is going to help the others..

i am now searching for a base for the sudanese children. i hope i can find a way to it and to me a little contribution is better than nothing at all and may god bless the childrens

I recentlly heard Pulitzer Prize Winning photojournalist Paul Watson (who too the picture of the burned Americans in Somalia) interviewed on CBC Radio Canada. He knew the photographer who took this photo and who later committed suicide. Watson is a very credible individual and insists that this picture was actually taken close to a camp, much closer than 1 km. In fact there were people nearby who assisted this child shortly thereafter and in no time was the child in danger from the predatory bird. The photo is indeed stark reality and portrays and suggests many horrors. But the reality outside the immediate scale of this photo is not as some would suspect. It is unfortunate that the photographer also succumbed to the effects of war, as did, and still do, so many innocent other lives. Watson said the decision to take and publish the photograph was a source of anguish to Kevin Carter, and the toll of all he’d witnessed drove him to despair.

I still don’t understand this stuff. People taking photos of people in trouble, animals about to like drown, why don’t they help them?

as mentioned by Adrien, that there were people nearby who assisted this child shortly thereafter…the main thing which always play in mind is that the word ‘20 mins’ - which Kevin waited to take that photo. anyone can imagine this:- within the 20mins anything can happen to that poor child. as you can see that how weak she was at that time and the condition of the child was so unbearable to a stage that unable to hold her head up…what was she thinking, or can she think? what if at that time - she fall right infront of Kevin and die? sorry to say this but 20mins is such a long time to wait and see her plight before taking that shot! hope in future no other journalist will come to this kind of situation..

WE in India have a very similar problem with similar severity in pockets. Now instead of crying over the sitiation, we, a group of friends are trying to find out how much money does it take to save a child from dying of hunger. And trust me, it is a very small amount. We are starting to collect money to feed the children that we know. We know that the world is very large. But still, if we save even 50 kids, they will be a part of the world with us…

Gauri, great job, and keep it going, over here we still working on the project. it’s true that no point crying over the situation but sometimes is does hurt seeing that kind of pictures.

This picture touched me, it is sad and so realistic… I studied the situation and yes we had send out food too late thats a thing we can be blame on… But u must understand there is almost nothing we can do, most of those people choose te fight, they want to live conservative, they dont want to use new techniques but stick with the old… whats dangerous in combination with: floods, famine’s and wrong harvests…

I know its sad, but some things happen, and there’s nothing u can do about it… thats the sad thing of this world

mood killer

This clearly shows the indifference of journalists to those who are either in danger
or in need of help. Hope that Allah forgives Carter.

I know we dont want to see this happen but we cant always because we dont have the resources like money etc. We all want to help but sometimes we cant just hop onto a plane annd go give that kid a decent meal or a hug and say its ok. But we can make a diffrence where we can. Stand up for the little guy protect the weak. It takes a stronger person to stand up against the crowd then to go with the flow. Things like this we cant change and they wont change until the people who can make a diffrence do. But from seeing this we should strive to be better people and act as one.

Famine and poverty are famine and poverty, and it is true that there are different scales and levels. However, these levels have only to do with the intensity of the situation, not the skin color of the victims. To compare “white trash” in america to the starving children of Uganda and other african countries is obviously ludicrous. This is not an argument of race, but simply of human compassion. The famine in ireland could possibly be compared to the situation of africa, and there is no need to try to one up each other in the face of human suffering.

i cant believe the photographer left after taking the photograph. the human thing to do would be to help that child. makes me fucking sick.

[…] link to the Kevin Carter photo and story that I was looking for is here.  A sad story, but interesting. It says much about the prevailing spiritual emptiness and/or […]

Mr. Kevin Carter, the photographer did his duty… Through that, he figured the situation in Sudan Famine. This is just one frame, and he showed the fate of one child…. but he could narrate the sitauation of all the poor people of that country. This photo helped to open the eyes of other countries and they got many financial assistance also.

The photographer could have done nothing for the child-just ask your doctor to view the photo he will confirm, it is long past any medical help- the vulture knows this too- that is it’s business to know.

Before the ‘Evil white colonists’ came, these blacks had kept their population in check by periodic slaughter, wars, famine and disease. Within the first 100 years (of 450) the blacks prevented from slaughter and better fed increased in numbers massively. Thanks to the whites- medicine, better farming supression of tribal war, which the blacks have bred for the last 7,000 years and have a talent for (see your local inner city) by the time the Europeans had succumbed to American/ Jewish pressure and left the Blacks numbers were un sustainable, made worse by aid. They proved incapable of sustaining the hard work of agriculture and killed each other, got diseased and starved.

I live in poverty, but i’ve never seen anything like this, i am only 13, and i have many poor friends, if the food center was only a km away the guy could have taken the kid there, i feel for Africa, and there is still some racism, but white people suffer, yes its true if the child were white there would be more fighting, but still its africa, they can barely afford anything, that is common, i don’t know if your really understanding me, but just pray for Africa.

even though the kid couldn’t live anymore the guy could have taken him there just for his last moments! He could have had love for once in his life, i see suffering everywhere, no matter where you go you see it, in the states or Canada. we are all equal.

Am African and i have never seen such poverty with my own eyes, its not that we have no food or reserves we have idiots for leaders who wait for times such as these to lick the boots of the west. And we say we are liberated! thats a bunch of bull, this photo only shames me!

Carter hosed himself in his cab of his vehicle because he knew what he should have done. I was a “shooter” for 25 years. Humanity overrules. Shoot the photo, yes, but don’t just leave. Carter, correctly, corrected his inhumane actions.

Oh, and Watson is wrong. No controversy would exist if people were just outside the frame. It is a ridiculous claim for him t make. I’ve been to a number of NPPA, Flying Short Courses conferences where this picture, and the ethical situations revolving around it, were discussed. No, there was no help nearby.

Is world poverty solely the fault of Western countries like America and my country, Australia? No. Can we do something about it? Yes, but sadly we choose token courses of action albeit by well meaning people. Is it a race issue? no, it’s a people issue. We have the means to make world trade fairer and to bring infrastructure to these nations, but we choose not to. Take the Iraq war as an example, imagine the $600 000 000 000 spent on that conflict, spent on finding solutions for poverty. There is a way, unfortunately there is no will.

Why is it that people are bringing up racism? This has nothing to do with racism!

I am glad to see the way these comments turned to more important messages near the end. At the beginning of this thread, I was amazed what people were willing to say. It made me ashamed of the human race. But people have turned it around, thank you!

Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that the common mentality of many people of the world is that their own contribution is so small, it won’t be noticed. Or they think that there are billions of other people out there that can help, so no one will notice if they don’t. Even the smallest contributions are worth it. You can go to thehungersit... and click to give food. It is free to you and only takes 10 seconds out of your day. Also, World Vision has a way of sending certain gifts to people around the world. Instead of sending money, not knowing how it is being divided, you can buy a certain gift such as a dairy cow or water or education. www2.worldvi... . You can do this in the name of others and make a great Christmas gift out of it.

Think about it…

obviuslu every problem has a solutiom, including the poverty issue. Povert will never end as long as the west continues their exploitation of the third world. We need another system, a system that focus on peoples needs rather than the money pouch of rich white capitalists so that these african children can starv.

We need to do something basic with our economic system, rather than competition we need progress. Meaning: we need socialism, rather than capitalism to combat these problems. Problems that in capitalism is impossible to solv.

does anyone have feeling for these people that are stuffing there so many children in this world that are dying because they dont have food or something to drink and having sickess okay how u people feel if that u and no one helping u.

really its things ike these that make people think about the world and how lucky we have it in the US, sommetimes we need an eye opener that will make us want to do something and really want to help out yea people say “oh we need to do something about it yea..we all need to do something about it stop saying it and do it” and no disrespect to the photographer yea u got the pic and great picture …im sure you probably got some money but what happens to the child? STILL SUFFERING OR ALREADY DEAD…im not saying you didnt care even though yes it is an option but you just probably cared more about the picture and to the people saying “oh if it was a white kid he would have been saved well no diss to you but it probably would have been the same exact situation and so you know im not racist im mexican whit and half black my life is really mixed juss part everything i dont think anyone has the right to say its cuz hes black…. or if he was white…i dont have that right and no one should

the funny thing is this is normal, it happens all the time, it happens as u read this. but we just sit here and watch
we get sad because we see one picture like this yet its happening a hundred times daily

I am outraged and saddened by the rasist, ill educated and ignorant comment left by “over lord” people with such veiws should be locked away. We live in a multi cultural world deal with it and imbrase it, you ignorant veiws will not get you far in life and iam sure u still live in the small town you were born and i am sure you will also die there look into the big wild world instaed of just at your wife/ cousin, you should be ashamed of yourslef,

The New York Times says that he was not supposed to help any victims because of disease. When you see this every day as he did, how would you feel?

Some people say that he was the other vulture in the picture. I think we all are just a little bit or we would be on the phone right now sponsoring a child. Maybe a thousand people more have sponsored a child from this picture. Maybe Kevin Carter is a hero

Really this photograph would have made some influence. At the same time we need to see that this is where the world is going. This picture shows the need of the help from out side. How long people could help? At the same time is this natural disaster where people could pour out money like in the time of Tsunami. No this poverty is caused by some leaders of the countries, the leaders have enough to eat, they will not starve. What can we do? Will the leaders of the respective countries hear the cry of the poor? If the child were his or her own then what could be his/her own approach? Let us help; this could be the last help we could render. Those who have wealth and heart try help by putting your hand in your pocket, but if you have only heart, please try to help those who are around you, and who would need your love and concern. I sincerely thank all those who helped for this cause. I appreciate your kind heart and valuable service. Even great hearts need some support and appreciation. (As I write this I am working in Africa)

i know it was a while back that he left the comment but ‘i say the truth’ , your talking utter shite!
sure we all need to do something rather than just saying we will.
but all that crap that your saying about it ‘ not being our fault or problem’ is quite ignorant. were you never taught history? or are you merely too ignorant to understand it. countries like america ‘lending’ third world countries money that they will never be able to afford to repay. with an interest rate that will be imosible to ever pay back.
sure we do need to look out for our own countries interests. but when we can afford to do both… after looking at photos such as the one above… why not do both.
it may interest you to know that spread over ten years,the cost to the UK taxpayer of CANCELING £1.3billion debt, is £171million a year, or £2.85 per UK citizen (this is the equivalent to the price of a pint). now, when you consider that america has a FAR larger population than the uk, think of how much it would cost you?!
when it is us that put these countries in this state, should it surely not be us that helps resolve it…?
and apart from anything else , this hole ‘we have our own problems in our country’ shit, wel yea, sure we have problems. but we sure as hell dont see images like the one pictured above in our streets on a daily basis do we!

your ignorance is that of a ten year old child (although admitadly, at least they would have more compassion).

mankind you all are seamless.god must be send enough food for us.But this child took the taste of death only for our distributing mistake.world is crying with her bloody rad tiers.young man !! keep quiet.can u hear the distraction.be careful to save our lovely world.

Learn to type. Learn to read. Learn to understand that it’s not the world’s mistake and that it’s the mistake of birth and the place in which it took.

It doesn’t how much debt is cancelled, aid is given, or concerts are held, the core cause of suffering in Africa will never change. The governments are corrupt and merely pocket or misuse the resources given. The Red Cross does what they can until they are kicked out or impeded by the dictators in charge of whatever country they are trying to assist. The United Nations? Please! A more impotent “force” the world has never seen. I’m sure one day the US will be called upon to take action in Darfur (because it will suit the rest of the world in this instance).

sorry…i didn’t get a chance to read through all the posts…..but did anyone ask or wonder why the Photographer didn’t help this child get to his destination?

this photo will haunt me for a long time…..

Africa is beautiful and bountiful country (the U.S. is build Military Installations there) full of Oil, Gold and Diamonds.

If they had a strong government, they would prosper…but that would not sit well with the U.S…..why empower a country you are trying to claim? (Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan…get the picture?)

i only glanced the thread, but here’s my general take on africa. nobody is going to clean up that entire mess until the lower two thirds of it are necessary. meaning, once the developing world (and africa isn’t really developing yet) has learned how to make a decent living, and westerners need still cheaper labor to keep them in the latest cell phones and shoes.

then, and only then will the corruption and deceit be taken care of. and it will–of course–be done through wars and bloodshed, furthering the suffering of the weakest and most poverty stricken. but we still need the pacific rim to price itself out of competition, to say nothing of the decades or more that will be the “westernizing” of china.

so in reality, our great grandchildren will more than likely still be seeing images of africans suffering at the hands of their own. they will send billions and trillions of dollars of aid that will be stolen and used by those who are corrupt. they will watch self aggrandizing celebrities build schools and other facilities, only to see corruption run amok inside these institutions.

I.E. we will see more of the same until WE need them. it is racist, it is sad, but at the end of the day, it is true.

Suffice it to say, the ‘humane’ thing to do once he (Kevin Carter) had taken the photograph would have been to go to the aid of the little girl.

But objectively speaking, as crass an analogy as it may indeed be, if the scenario were a wildlife documentary where the vulture was replaced by a lion & the girl an ‘innocent’ deer, would the doco makers be expected to intervene then…?

Ethics Vs morality.

Why did the photographer leave he saw that he needed help i wonder why he commited suicide three months later…..!!!!!!!

i don’t understand why people are throwing the blame around.i don’t hear anyone saying I should take action,I should DO SOMETHING!everyone’s blaming everyone else while they console themselves that they’re ok coz they SYMPATHIZE with the suffering people in the world?Give me a break please. We should be thinking of how to make the world around us better , and if everyone does that then the world WILL be better and we wont have kids strving or taking drugs or taking guns to school or the mall.And to those people who think the UN doesent do anything to help, they should ask themselves what THEY do to help the suffering in the world.PS- AFRICA DOES NOT NEED YOUR HALF HEARTED SYMPATHY!

I think everyones missing the point behind the picture and the authors story. Your all blaming the photographer or going on about racism and famine. The truth is that nobody’s can truly know why Kevin Carter choose to take this photo, or why he left the child (except for the fact that as a reporter he is not allowed to interfere). All of your ideas play a role, but his picture is just trying to show a reality and a story of THAT kid, not necessarily all of the colored people or starving people or whatever. Its a sad story, all of it, but sometimes things happen and theres nothing anybody can do about it.

I do not know why the photographer did not help. It is mentioned in the comments he was told to stay away from the people due to diseases they carry. Maybe this child was one of thousands he seen and it was such an everyday occurance that it he felt helpless in any effort. But it is such a sad tradgedy. The racist remarks make no sense. Comments lke, “if this were whitey everone would be helping”, make no sense. This is a 3rd world country that has starved and murdered it own people. It is the worlds responsiblity to stand up to this and put a stop to it, not the white race, but the human race.

i agree with you motto! and a special shame on you SayBladeIsRacistAndIgnorant because do you not get the fact that when you go to the states or if your already in the states you dont see photographes of children like this, non to very few of the children in world are starving like this if you dont count the teenage girls who choose not to eat for looks! and yeah, africa doesnt need your half hearted sympathy, and if anyone dares to ask me what i have done to help then listen here, i convinced my sister and my parents, (not to mention i do it) to start paying through a non profit organization. STOP SENDING THROUGH UNICEF! it is a profit organization 14% of the money they make goes to the people who need it! and did you know that 43% of it goes to ADVERTISING THE WHOLE DAMN THING! and guess where the rest goes, to the pockets of all the people waiting on the phone for you to call their toll free number and fall into the trap

“If everyone in America changed…”

“If the western world…”

Why wait for the world to change?

It won’t.

You have to make the first change.

if someone ever reads this, im writing from Guatemala a country of the third world, that isn´t as shocking to me as it is to you. Guatemala is situated right below mexico no far from US an believeme… we have children living in that place that I don´t know how to say it but is where all the trash of the city goes. they live there fightin agais those °Birds° (dont know the name in english) for FOOD!! yeah we live like that so dont be so shocked about what u see in that picture because is not only happening in the other side of the world, it is also happening right next to you and you aren´t doing anything!

I usually try to be more tactful and much less preachy, but after viewing this picture over many years,and reading so many comments similar to these shameful posts, I have to rant a bit. There are pictures of children in similar plights from all over the world. These pictures represent all sexes, races, religions, nationalities, or any other differential we have created to divide ourselves! When reading these snipes about anything but how disturbing and how this picture should move us to act is as repulsive as the picture itself. My god the photographer committed suicide soon after the picture was taken (and he helped the child). What horrifies me even more is reading these bickering comments about American class wars, racial equity and foreign dissidents who hate America because they have been told to by peers. Other than whining about how bad we have it, what have any of us done to remedy this situation (yes me and my family actively assist unfortunates living in other countries, but not enough). Doesn’t it shame you as fellow Americans that Bill Gates and his ilk could use their money and influence to build infrastructures and educate foreign nationals so they are self sufficient and contributers to the global economy, rather than motivations for ineffectual commentaries. Gates and his cronies give their money to education trusts here in America….where the only education the masses pursue is emulating the lifestyles of coked out Hollywood bimbos, wall street get rich quick schemes crooks and snake oil politicians. So that other than the wealthy, powerful and intellectual elite, America breeds ignorant rather than an educated populace.

No, I am not any better than any of you, I just realized that we are the problem, and not working towards defining and implementing common solutions to prevent seeing pictures like the one displayed. I am only morose that I did not act to help until my life was committed to the typical western way of life. I am not ashamed to be American, but I am ashamed of our ignorance.

I agree with you whole-heartedly JSB, and you are quite right in your analysis. Although, I am ashamed to be American these days, as it seems that America only cares about the things you have already stated above, with the addition of only caring that their favorite sports events are covered for their weekend hibernations from the rest of the world.

Never in my time have I ever seen the news media so censored, controlled, and manipulated to misrepresent the facts about what America is really doing, or not doing…, around the world. The news media only tell the people of America what they have been told to tell the people by the greedy multi-national corporations that now own the American government. And Americans only believe what they want to believe, and fail to question authority anymore on the actions they take… even when those actions are unconstitutional and illegal. A country whose people live in a self-imposed bubble… that is as sad as the image in this thread.

I have been searching for the current copyright holder of this photo, as I would like to use it in one of my artworks that I use to make statements, as this gets much greater attention than the old school protest. I want to use this image now to protest the current and growing trend to use food for bio-fuels, which does nothing to help solve either world famine, nor the global warming issue that knows no nationality or borders.

People, especially Americans, are brain-washed into thinking that buy purchasing a ‘flex-fuel’ vehicle, that they are helping the environment, when in actuality, they will be contributing to a whole new set of problems. Food should be used as food… period.
Anyone that uses ethanol or other biofuels to power there big, gas-guzzling SUV’s, and then can view Kevin’s photo and state that they care, are only hypocrites and liars… for they are just as guilty for this starving child as anyone.

Let us all remember the legacy that Kevin has left behind, and insist that all our governments use food only to feed the hungry, and not power the toys of the privileged elitist.

the photographer that took that picture didn’t took the kid after he shot the picture. days later that photographer suicide himself cause of a deep depression. what a mean guy

i hate that so much. i dont blame the guy for commiting suicide but why the hell didnt he give the kid food what moron!?

Think about where in the world this is. It has nothign to do with if the child is black white blue or purple. Think about how poor that country is, think about how much people in Africa suffer in locations like this. If the child were white it wouldn’t matter. It’s just where they live. Again color has nothing to do wiht it. At all.

why didn’t the photographer carry the poor child to safety? or did he after he took the photo?

GrouchyOldHippie. You are the one brainwashed one here!

Really shokking why the photographer didin’t help that poor child he has to feel ashame of his work………….

We should all suicide ourselves because we let this happen in the world…Everyone are responsable equaly.How many of us did something to help those people?!I didn’t…It is easier just to ignore things like this and live our small stuped lifes…Just one USD can buy 10 kg of rise in this part of the world and feed around 30 people…

that was sad!!!!!

but don’t worry guys…

the girl is fine now!!!!

I’m ashamed of those ashamed of America. And this horrific photograph is just another example of a photojournalist snapping a pic, and running away to tell the world (whilst picking up his paycheque).

I’m sorry he committed suicide, but it seems there was more than one vulture in the neighbourhood.

To all those who crucify the person who took this photograph, those in the world, white black, asian, eastern, western, or whatever other category. You do not know other’s situations, you do not understand other’s situations. You view the world through your own biases and you are attributing your own biases onto others. You should ask these questions and any more you may stumble upon that would help you to understand this situation and why, or why not, people may help or refuse to help.

Do you donate? (I don’t donate enough)
Have you volunteered in a way to support people in these situations? (I don’t volunteer enough)
Have you experienced these situations firsthand, either in the job of a photographer, a relief worker, or someone from a region such as these? (I have no idea at all what living like this, or experiencing a situation like this would effect me. )

Stop blaming. Start talking rationally. Then, stop talking. Start acting. We all need to do more. (Including me, and in case you didn’t get it, the answers in parenthesis () were mine.)

Thanks for your time,
David Huber
domin212 with a gmail account (Because I refuse to post my thoughts from behind the veil of secrecy that is the internet. A tool that lets us act like, well, tools.)

I read on flatrock.org... that kevin carter did in fact chase the vulture away and made sure the girl made it to the feeding center. after that, he sat under a tree, smoking and crying.

just so you know…it appears he did what he could in that situation.

I think you are blinded by that flag you are waving, Coldshot…

I am highly educated with a 142 IQ, and I search for truth both amongst and away from the mainstream media. I am not brainwashed, only educated and curious for truth, and the truth is out there. Truth can usually be found between the left and right extremes. But that’s OK, Coldshot… feel free to live in your illusionary bubble and further prove my point.

We see this poor child dying and the only thing we do is see and make fun of it just decause he is not white and if he was white of curse we have to save him but noooooo! he isn’t. but i hope the person that made this picture gave him something.

black, white, it doesn’t matter.
people dont care because it doesnt immeadiately affect them.

This really shoked me.This picture is depressing. Like someone here said why
didnt the camera man did not take the poor child to eat . I cant believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The child wouldn’t be suffering if the country he lived in wasn’t so overpopulated. The only ones to blame for his suffering are his parents. We have no obligation to take responsibility for someone else’s decisions.

In reality, helping this child to survive would mean that he would just live to repeat the cycle of suffering with his own children. If you want to stop the suffering of innocent children like this one, then you must educate the people there and that isn’t something that most of us can do. Heck, I can barely manage to keep my own family from starving to death.

JSB, I HIGHLY resent your comment. Not the first part, but this: “…Bill Gates and his ilk could use their money and influence to build infrastructures and educate foreign nationals so they are self sufficient and contributers to the global economy, rather than motivations for ineffectual commentaries. Gates and his cronies give their money to education trusts here in America….where the only education the masses pursue is emulating the lifestyles of coked out Hollywood bimbos, wall street get rich quick schemes crooks and snake oil politicians. ” I’m sorry, it’s a long quote, but it’s everything I disagree with.
First of all: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donate a large share of the Gates’ wealth to poverty, medicine, and education, which i consider the three biggest “evils”. As with the impoverished, we must first get them back on their feet literally- by providing them with medicine and immediate aid. Then, we have to get them back on their feet with their life, which requires long-term health, which, in turn, calls for a steady supply of food. And this brings me to my next point: a steady supply of food comes from a steady job, which comes from a solid education. And by building the base, then can we move forward from there. The very last part to long-term recovery is a sort of push: We can give loans to small businesses to help jump-start their business, and get them moving in the right direction.
That’s that. But that’s only the half of it. I also highly resent how you implied that the Gates should do more. Excuse me if I’m wrong in saying this but, if the Gates donate more and more to help the poverty in Africa and such, then eventually, well, why not go for a world where everyone has the same kind of wealth, and therefore the same kind of chance for prosperity? ….because that’s communism. And if we went for that, what would be the point of the longest war in history- the Cold War? Essentially, everyone would have the same wealth, the same pay, the same education…and become the modern Soviets from the mid-20th century!
And..as for my last point: America turning into couch-potato-drama-watching channel-flippers. I do believe that a lot of American society is (for some reason) tuning in to that kind of entertainment, but I think that that’s highly selective. You forget about the millions of other people who DON’T think that being a coke-addict is particularly amusing, who DON’T think that being a politician is the way to go, and who DON’T want to be a wall-street junkie. In fact, I should dare say that the majority of the population doesn’t tend towards that sort of “education”. You seems to be missing out on the hard working, college-aspiring, get-rich-through-hard-work young men and women. I’m not sure where you’re living, but I should hope that there are a couple of those kinds of people around. …(I’m sorry, that was a bit un-called for)
As I deviate more and more from the photograph, I get more and more worked up: I apologize. I do believe that there are things that we can do to help/alleviate, and eventually fix such situations, but I don’t think that those kinds of solutions can come with simple “donate and it’s done” type of attitudes. This is not to say that donating doesn’t help, but just that it doesn’t provide a long-term solution. And that’s what I’m hoping the biggest outcome from the responses to this photo will be- that we NEED a long-term goal and solution to this kind of poverty and illness, and that we need a way to get there.

^ Like I posted before, it boils down to a ‘ethics versus morality’ debate. Ethically he shouldn’t have helped the child because he was merely an observer. If you’ll excuse the analogy, much like a games keeper in nature reserve. As an ‘observer’ he should only observe, not interfere. If it were a deer would he be expected to help…?

Morally however, of course he should have helped her. How could his natural human inclination be otherwise? But the quirky thing about morality is, it’s a human construct. Some people adhere to their own set of moral standards. Only religions and such mandate a certain criteria by which believers must abide by. Secular societies/people concoct there own. Maybe he felt it ‘morally’ right for him to leave her to her fate….? Who knows. He took the truth to his grave.

I personally WOULD have helped her.
a) Because I simply couldn’t live with myself (coincidentally!) if I’d have left the poor thing in that predicament, and
b) On the grounds that the picture itself was taken for the sake of the cashet capturing such a moment in time would invariably yield and the issuing financial gain, therefore it in effect was a ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement. That is, ‘You took your pic… now get me the %@#$ out of here!’

horrible, this is just truley horrible.After viewing this image i feel sick to my stomach and have tears in my eyes.

What the hell! They were right there yet they didn’t save the child. If it is against the law then HOW!? Are we not supposed to mess with the way of life??? We do it all the time! This picture makes me soooo freakin mad

You know what? It does not matter that it is a child (except it tugs a very particular chord),; it does not matter that the child is black (except it places him/her into a particular place in particular minds) and it certainly doesn’t matter what the photographer did or didn’t do (unless, in particular minds, it’s a convenient displacement of guilt). And (this, in particular to the poster who insisted we ‘pray’ in order to help) unless ‘God’ is a vulture, that sure as shit isn’t going to help…

why in the world would the photographer leave this spot when this child is obviously in pain?! that is outrageous. he couldn’t have helped him?

I have carried this photo around with me as a screen saver on my phone and in my wallet, it spurred me to action to donate time and money. Not knowing the fate of this little angel will forever haunt and tear at my soul until the day of my death!

this is so sad! i wish i was the photographer,….i would have gave him something to eat. or something….it makes me mad. no one should suffer like this!!!

This alternative explanation may help some of us deal with it, but I internalize misery and suffering, which will ultimately lead to my early demise, natural causes of course.
en.wiki -
Alternative interpretation of the photograph

South African photojournalist Joao Silva, who accompanied Carter to Sudan, gave a different version of events in an interview with Japanese journalist and writer Akio Fujiwara that was published in Fujiwara’s book “The boy who became a postcard” (Ehagakini Sareta Shōnen).

According to Silva, they (Carter and Silva) went to Sudan with the United Nations aboard Operation Lifeline Sudan and landed in Southern Sudan on March 11, 1993. The UN told them that they would take off again in 30 minutes, (the time necessary to distribute food), so they ran around looking to take shots. The UN started to distribute corn and the women of the village came out of their wooden huts to meet the plane. Silva went looking for guerrilla fighters, while Carter strayed no more than a few dozen feet from the plane.

Again according to Silva, Carter was quite shocked as it was the first time that he had seen a famine situation and so he took many shots of the children suffering from famine. Silva also started to take photos of children on the ground as if crying, which were not published. The parents of the children were busy taking food from the plane so they had left their children only briefly while they collected the food. This was the situation for the girl in the photo taken by Carter. “God was smiling on Kevin.” A vulture landed behind the girl. To get the two in focus, Carter approached the scene very slowly so as not to scare the vulture away and took a photo from approximately 10 metres. He took a few more photos and then the vulture flew off.

Silva stated that he also took similar photos, but didn’t win the Pulitzer Prize. “That’s just the way things go.”

i just love the fact that this child is being hunted down by a bird and the photographer is just watching

i find this photograph higly disterbing
i am 15 live in the UKand came across this photo while studying carol ann duffys poem the war photographer.
i find it hard to belive there are people suffering to this extent.
according to information i have found the photographer didnt help the child, simply walked away….but are we the western world any better.. what are we doing to help?? the uk is rich, america has its poverty but is very rich
think of all the things you own
do you need it all??
in the words of carol ann duffy we see this picture “”our eyballs prick with tears beetween the baths and pre lunch beers”"
we see this it hurts for a second just for that second we feel a tiny fraction of this childs pain…then… we simply walk away

we dont help that child in need.

i stop and think
What kind of person am i

are you??

how can we ignor these peoples pain

One solution is to take to revenue being generated by oil and buy food and medical necessities in the short term, the long term solution require education and a massive building campaign for poorer regions of the Sudan, in particular the south. The dilemma is how do one wrest this revenue for the genocidal regimes operating in many African nations. There is a solution, but one that will require a sustained effort among the many nations, but I as long as China, Malaysia and other foreign entities prop up these blood thirsty regimes, we can dismiss these solutions in their entirety. China has/had a golden opportunity to prove to the world, they were are the march toward democracy and a free society by dictating to Sudan and Angola that military operations against its neighbor should cease and immediate aid given to to those folks, but what is that I hear, the sound of a train pulling out of the station, I guessed China missed that one!

What I find distressing is not the image, but the fact that the photographer LEFT WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING. Why didn’t he take the child to the camp? Or at least scare the vulture away (not that would have been very effective)?. He just left. Perhaps he deserved his depression - he could have saved that child.

what does this have to do with white people. I am white and much better looking than a girl who is named jasmine shandle

soul crushing image …and some make it an issue of race?fucking meatheads.

POOR KID!!! WHY DO YOU ALL JUST TALK ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER LEAVING HIM TO DIE?? HE PROLLY WOULDNT LIVE ANYWAY! DONT THINK IM HEARTLESS BUT IF YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT HE WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED OUT THERE.

I have mixed emotions regarding this. Its easy to condemn Carter for taking this photo, maybe putting his career first but had he not then we wouldnt be having this discussion and its powerful pictures like this that stir up anger in us to react and act in a positive way. However, if what i’ve read is true and he fled the scene, deserting the child then that’s unforgivable. This is possibly the saddest picture i’ve ever scene. I also think ur black/white arguements are pathetic.

the man who took this photograph was Kevin Carter. and yes it was of a little girl. i know a lot of you are disgraced at the fact that he lift this little girl after he took the photo. after the photo was taken he was given a lot of critisism by the media for not helping her. he later committed suiside as he had depression and took what he had done very hardly. but what most of you must think about is that he was there, as a photographer, doing his job. he had been given strict instructions not to touch of interfere with the people over there. he wasnt really allowed to help her, and if he did interefere, he put himself and others at the risk of spreading disease and infection to many other people. i dont think he truely forgave himself for leaving that little girl there, but there is a fine line between human ethics and a photographers job. i sure if given the chance to do over, he would have done differently.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER COMMITTED SUICIDE.
He was given the prize and was asked what happened to the kid. He remembered that he left the child there because of he was running late for his deadline so didn’t take the time to take the kid to a safe place.

The photographer, Kevin Carter, returned to the scene where he took the photo and saw the skeleton remains of the child. He was so guilty that he took his own life.

THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE OF RACISM. IT’S AN ISSUE BETWEEN SOMEONE’S LIFE AND YOUR DEADLINE.

I have never in my life seen such rubbish or read such utter ****. Where do any of you get off judging anyone else? From all the bull **** i have read I can see why people say Americans are arogant! If you want to blame white people for raping, murdering etc. take a look at South African History… Not just apartheid… Before then when white settlers came to SA hoping to find a land they could live in and were brutally murdered, woman and children included because of GREED. Not willing to share their land black Zulu warriors slaughtered the white settlers. So stop this blame him blame her nonsense and look at the real issues… The fact that there are millions of people starving whether they are black or white makes absolutely no difference. Whether they are male or female it makes no difference. The fact of the matter is that they are HUMAN BEINGS all of them. Your pathetic race issues should be left on your own doorstep. Get over your hurt and start thinking about those less fortunate around you. What is this world coming to when the greed of any country wanting to rule over the rest. God gave this world to all of us to live in. Not one person alive has any exclusive rights to ANY piece of land. The problem here is food people. Stop at your bank and donate money. If someone who lives on the streets can donate what little he has you can put aside some too. Buy one less chocolate or packet of cigarettes… Wake up all of you!!

Kenyan children will soon face similar situation if our igocentric leaders do not change.
My fellow youths, lets come out and change the world.

you people make me sick
anyone who has something negative to say about people who suffer the way this kid did should deserve to die the same way the boy in the photo did
this is a really sad image and people are making racial slurs about it
fucking heartless.. .

the photographer had it coming for him…karma..he should have helped the child to the food camp! 1 km isn’t that far at all..I sure hope he made it.

i think its bizarre how all of the photos famous and 99 percent of them are relative to grief, violence, and sandess

actually these are the photos to be put as wallpapers of mobiles and stuff like that…..i feel so….guilty that i am not doing anything aganist proverty and racism.I don’t know what i can do…but i can cry for them and ican pray for them…..and then what else a silly man like me can do?There are people in the word who is worrying
about thinking that they dont have a mostmodern BMW car…and there are people like this…..what a world…why god creating lives like this?don’t they have any right to live?perhaps all these are the justification of reincarnation..then what else we can say…anyway thanks to the photographer for making me understand that this is my world

do you even know the story?
The photographer commited suicide later because of his big regret of not helping the kid

What the hell is up with the dang photographer. I would’ve of carried this child to the United Nation food camp. Even thought it is a kilometer I would’ve carried this child. Poor kid.

I have noticed that hundreds of comments have appeared saying things like “why didn’t the photographer take the girl to the UN food camp?” ect. Before you start ranting and raving, take into consideration the reasons why he didn’t help her. He was running late for a deadline, he was not allowed to intervene because of him being a reporter, and he was also not allowed to intervene due to disease. He left the scene after chasing away the vulture. After, he felt so guilty about not helping the child, he commited suicide.

I feel badly for both the child and photographer.

Instead of insulting me in your next comment, you could perhaps get off your backside and help.

Great photo by the way. It really helped show the world the shocking effects of war, famine and poverty.

Mikey Reilly, aged 14, Scotland.

you say that saving other people will only kill us faster, but they are living people too, black, white, or any color. at least if we help them, we will all die together, and not have to watch other human beings die alongside us, knowing damn well that we didn’t do anything to help. give the help to those who want it. those that don’t, won’t get it. its as simple as that.

its not a matter of us living longer, being racist, or even money. honestly, who gives a shit anymore? do the right thing.

shouldn’t this picture inspire you to do what the photographer didn’t do? even if you aren’t going to make the change, at least respect those that do, because they’re putting a lot more effort out there than many of us. shouldn’t we be mature enough by now to realize by now, in 2008, that God put us here to help EACHOTHER?

i apologize to kevin carter.

you did a wonderful thing by opening our eyes to the troubles in Africa.

may you rest in peace, for your most famous photograph was a bittersweet ending for all.

Looking @ the recists comment aimed @ the poor kid unfortunately shows the world we live in. in a world where dogs have more choice of foods than human beings,where dogs have their own chefs and food is used for so many useless beauty products that pic condemns many to hell. SHAME on the United-nations and other so called peace keepers who show if theres precious minerals. UN troops conbined could easily liberate sudan but i guess theres NO PROFIT ON PEACE. Africans are some of the most skilled farmers in the world even without machines,all they need are a few farming tech to help when when the seasons are hard NOT money

I admire people like Kevin Carter.

Although he did not save the child in this particular photo (only because journalists were forbidden to touch famine victims for fear of disease) he saved a lot more lives than we would like to admit. People like that create realization of what is going on in the world.

My heart goes out to every suffering being out there and to Kevin Carter’s family and his daughter, Megan.

The girl in the photo was never found and no one knows what happened to her, but I cannot help but feel as if someone reached out to her, even if it is God. Maybe the millions of people who prayed for her after seeing this photo may have actually been answered in their prayers. but we will never know, will we?

I have been researching Kevin Carter for quite a wile for one of my books. I am myself an author and an aspiring photographer and would like to follow in Carter’s footsteps in creating awareness in the world.

He is one man who shall never be completely forgotten and I applaud him and every other photographer out there.

Peace be with you Kevin and the girl in the picture!

Sincerely
Ariel

Just so the people who commented far up above about why the photographer didn’t take the kid to the United Nations camp know…

The child was not the only one on that field in that condition. There were thousands of others. Otherwise I’m sure he would have helped the child. He just chose to take that particular shot - perhaps to make us feel like we can make a difference as thousands of children would have been overwhelming

I don’t care what color he is, he’s just a child and the truth is is that there is children out there dying this way and I can hardly even make a difference…

Why couldn’t the photographer even carry the child…?

the photographer of this photo waited 2 hours to get the perfect shot.
he watched this child suffer for 2 hours.

no, i don’t think his depression was caused by what he witnessed in sudan.

Truthsayer, you live in cozzy little world. empowering the poor to feed themselves. what a lovely idea. If you really believe in god than you must search for the truth and not think as you are expected to by the world’s wealthy ruling group.

you know what the sad raw fact is that it western governments are not only doing nothing to help these people in Africa, whom they led to utter poverty during colonialism but they are also keeping them poor because that suits them. Africa, left alone, without western provocations that cause war and tension in the region, is a rich continent which may just be able to catch up with the world an make up for the unfair shove that the West gave it at the beginning of the race. left alone t will able to feed its people.

But that is wishful thinking to suggest that it will be left to itself.