Would I walk away?

I think if confronted with this I might run. To my shame.

Brad at Broken Messenger posts this horrifying picture and the story behind it. This picture was taken in the Sudan in 1993. The photographer who took it, though winning a Pulitzer for this photograph, took his own life in 1994 (for many reasons).

Let this sink in.

Lord, knock me out of my complacency. I pray this little girl survived and is healthy and happy today.


Kevin Carter’s Pulitzer prize winning photograph of a Sudanese girl in the spring of 1993 was instrumental in brining international attention to the growing hunger crisis in Sudan. Despite taking over 20 minutes to take the photograph and eventually chasing the vulture away, Kevin ultimately only watched the little girl continue her struggle on to a U.N. food station (estimated at about one kilometer away) and then left her, never to know of the girl’s fate.

Why didn’t he help her? This has been the question of many since learning of Kevin’s story following his award. Why didn’t he take that frail, precious little girl up into his arms and carry her to safety?

His inaction is not all that hard to imagine after learning about his past experiences and of his work. Kevin witnessed and was exposed to attrocities that occurred routinely in his own nation of South Africa, before even seeing the horrors of Sudan. Like any seasoned pro, he had learned to keep an emotional distance from his subjects in order to stay focused on his work.

But Kevin was never able to put a full emotional distance from the events in Sudan following his return back to South Africa. Soon having brushes with death himself following his work in Sudan, and witnessing further horrors surrounding apartheid, his vices and personal troubles were only heightened by the day-to-day image capture of human tradgedy. Kevin was also known to suffer from frequent mental breakdowns following photo shoots, including those in Sudan. Sadly, his elation of winning the Pulitzer in 1994 was short lived, as it was soon followed by his suicide only two months later. Many believe that he took his life as a result of what he experienced in Sudan, some believe that his past failings led to his death, others believe that it was a combination of past and recent events.

7 thoughts on “Would I walk away?

  1. This is powerful. I’m shaking as I type this. Complacency is such a scary thing. What things are we complacent about that would shock others?

    Thank you for sharing. (I think.)

  2. Thanks Bethany

    I understand your “I think”. I hesitated to post this, and I’m sickened every time I look at it. Part of me wants to post a bunch of more posts just to move it down the page.

    It’s a picture of hell. I hope that precious little girl survived.

  3. I linked to this article. Thought you might want to know.

    I understand what you are saying…but sometimes we need to see tought things. It keeps us from getting so fat and lazy.

  4. There is a similarly disturbing movie called “invisible children” it is made on the uganda orphans, it is a documentary.

    the feature film is coming out February 2006, so make sure to check it out.

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