Vultures! F#%KING Vultures!

[ManDownUnder]

Tell me, which had the greater impact, the photo or the fact he walked away?

Perhaps by walking away he inspired controversy and consequently more help and saved more lives than had he saved this single life only to die another day soon.

The combination of the two, but it's a big move to sacrifice the life of another for impact.

[Macktheknife]

Str8J Good on you for helping within your abilities. I do not understand how anyone could leave a little girl to die and be eaten by Vultures, not ever.

[Sniper]

As insensitive andf heartless as this sounds, we could solve all the worlds problems by getting the hungrey to eat the homeless.....

I have seen children like that, it isnt nice.
I have been to villages where there are things happening I could never wish on my worst enemy.
Unfortunatly for that little boy, he died
Maybe its coincidence the photographer commited suicide, maybe its due to this picture.

No matter what, human nature takes its course and some people cannot help when help is needed. Its easy to critisise when we shit at home or in our office and claim that they should have done more, or he should have done something to help. Its easy to say that you would have had you been there. Its harder when you are there.

Back in SA mum was a rural nurse. It wasnt uncommon to find children like that suffering from all sorts. Unfortunatly all you can do is try and make their passing easier. I have seen it done and helped, and each time you feel a little useless because you couldnt help.

Life sucks, we cant get our way all the time and that makes it worse. Its human nature to critisise, but its hard when you are there. I dont agree with Kevins actions nor do I disagree with them. But I have been there and it aint nice.

[riffer]

I think the Manic Street Preachers summed it up well:


"Kevin Carter"

Hi Time magazine hi Pulitzer Prize
Tribal scars in Technicolor
Bang bang club AK 47 hour

Kevin Carter

Hi Time magazine hi Pulitzer Prize
Vulture stalked white piped lie forever
Wasted your life in black and white

Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter

Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter

The elephant is so ugly he sleeps his head
Machetes his bed Kevin Carter kaffir lover forever
Click click click click click
Click himself under

Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter

[XP@]

When you see the scale of the problems in that neck of the woods with your own eyes you realise there is nothing you can do on a macro scale.

This photographer risked his life and sacrificed his sanity to bring these photo's to the world.

I want to see the film.

[The_Dover]

Never liked the Maniac Sheep Reamers but it does show an incredible lack of humanity to ignore the plight of another defenceless and suffering human being.

I'm a total heartless cunt, according to some people, but the only person I would walk past and not offer basic human needs to is a kawasaki rider. Darwin will see to that one.

I do not agree with child sponsorship or organised charity as I have lived in a corrupt african shit hole and seen the greed. A lot of these countries have the means to look after their own and if it wasn't for their lack of oil then I'm sure dubbyah would have intervened by now.

Maybe someone should suggest to Osama that if he is that concerned by the plight of innocent muslims that he should send his home boys over to africa to do some aid work??

[The Stranger:Me]

The combination of the two, but it's a big move to sacrifice the life of another for impact.

Yeah.
And what would I know of his motives.

Maybe he figured that if he gambled with this one he could save 10,000 more.

I don't know, I guess when I see something which is apparently beyond belief I try to rationalise it and this is the only rational explanation that I have cause i really can't believe anyone could be that callous.

[Sniper]

I think the Manic Street Preachers summed it up well:

Machetes his bed Kevin Carter kaffir lover forever

Gotta love the manic street preachers PCness.

[Lou Girardin]

Talk about conflicted, there I was going on about Inglis and co leaving Sharp to die. And my first thought here was 'how can you save one of millions'.
Damned if I know, but I don't want to be there and I don't want to see it up close.
The true vultures are the leaders of those countries that enrich themselves first, and then spend what's left on weapons to ensure their rule.

[The Stranger:Me]

I do not agree with child sponsorship or organised charity as I have lived in a corrupt african shit hole and seen the greed. A lot of these countries have the means to look after their own and if it wasn't for their lack of oil then I'm sure dubbyah would have intervened by now.

Whilst not necessarily corrupt, there are some eye openers at home too.

The clothing collection bins are an example. People think that they are donating there old clothes to some needy charity. No. They are going to rag traders and a ver small amount of cash is going to the charity for being the use of their name.

Ok everyone know that now, was exposed many years ago. but what about the hundreds of calls you get each year soliciting funds for every conceivable charity. I know a guy which runs one of these call centres, they charge the charity up to 70% of the funds collected. You think you are donating $20.00 or whatever to save kiddies or cancer research etc etc and in reality you are donating $5.00 or $6.00 bucks with the rest going to... who? someone you never heard of. I guessed they missed that part in the pitch.

[The_Dover]

Or the money the pigs tax of you for road safety and improvements.

I noticed uncle helens hair looked nice and............

[MrMelon]

I do not understand how anyone could leave a little girl to die and be eaten by Vultures, not ever.

Calm down mate. It's not like you were there or know any of the facts surrounding the photo. What was he supposed to do? Take the kid to a village so she could have a bit of company while starving? It's not like they're gonna pop round the corner for a cheeseburger. What about all the other kids who were in the same situation but didn't get photos taken of them? Does he deserve to die for not doing anything about them too? It seems there's a much wider problem that needed to be addressed in order for these people to be fed and have some quality of life. Perhaps the aim of his photography was to provoke emotions in viewers in the rest of the world in order to get them to be aware of the situation these people are in. By the look of it he did a pretty good job.

[ManDownUnder]

Calm down mate. It's not like you were there or know any of the facts surrounding the photo. What was he supposed to do? Take the kid to a village so she could have a bit of company while starving? It's not like they're gonna pop round the corner for a cheeseburger. What about all the other kids who were in the same situation but didn't get photos taken of them? Does he deserve to die for not doing anything about them too? It seems there's a much wider problem that needed to be addressed in order for these people to be fed and have some quality of life. Perhaps the aim of his photography was to provoke emotions in viewers in the rest of the world in order to get them to be aware of the situation these people are in. By the look of it he did a pretty good job.

So to clarify - you're saying that because he can't save them all - he shouldn't bother trying to save one?

You're right in that there is a larger picture here, but big puzzles get solved in little pieces. Back to my original point... if he helped this one, I help another one, MTN helps another one... suddly instead of a kid having it's live saved - we have a family...

It is still not worth while? What if we could start there, and move onto 2 families... 3 or 4.. then a village?

Is that enough then?

I hate to say it, but there is also a political answer needed - make sure the money promised in humanitarian aid doesn't magically transform into parties or military aid.

So we start at the bottomw - the pollies (who we elect anyway) start at the top and the problem starts to get addressed. But to put it in perspective - it's the ordinary people that help, little by little. We vote out the pollies that do nothing, we sponsor a child as we assist people in need... instead of taking a photo of them (which I applaud by the way... for raising the awareness) but then picking that poor girl up and walking with her to a place of refuge, however ill equipped it is. They're going to help a shitload more than that vulture ever will

[Beemer]

What a sad, but immensely powerful photo. I would find it hard to take a shot like this and not be affected. Whether or not the child would die anyway is irrelevant - but I do wonder how any human could leave another human, no matter how pitiful, to be a predator's next meal.

Photos like this make us stop and think and whether we do something about it or not (I'm not a supporter of overseas charities, preferring to help those closer to home), hopefully things will start to change.

I didn't know about the photographer but I can imagine it would scar you for life seeing humanity in these sorts of conditions. I'm not condemning or condoning what he did, because I wasn't there. This child may have been beyond help or just one of thousands in similar circumstances. I think the fact there is a bird of prey sitting there, waiting for the child to die, is what makes us all recoil in horror.

I have no idea why the photographer committed suicide but I don't think he can be solely blamed for this child's death. Yes, I would find it hard to walk away, but then I would not have the guts to be there in the first place.

[MrMelon]

I'm not saying he shouldn't try to save one since he can't save all of them, but without knowing the details of what was going on (eg. being there), then who knows whether he could have done anything that would have helped in this situation. It sounds like this guy was travelling around warzones seeing some pretty intense and disturbing things, who knows what state of mind he was in at the time? Judging by the fact he took his life a couple of months later, it probably wasn't the best. Having Macktheknife raving on about how he would have killed him if he hadn't himself is just absolutely ridiculous, but not particularly surprising judging from some of the views seen on here.