In 1993, the "New York Times" published a photo titled "The Hungry Sudan". In this photo, a skinny girl squatted weakly on the ground, and a hungry vulture followed her staringly behind her. Waiting for her to die for a good meal.
The photos are very impactful, making people watching them feel immersive and shocked. People seem to realize that in a corner of the earth, there are some people who are hovering on the edge of death because of war and hunger. .
"The New York Times" is the most authoritative newspaper in the United States, and it is also quite influential in the international community. As soon as this photo was published, it immediately caused a strong response in the international community. The tragic situation of children in Sudan shocked the whole world.
In 1994, this photograph reflecting civil strife and famine in Sudan won the Pulitzer Prize for Press Photography that year. The author of the photo, South African journalist Kevin Carter, is also a household name.
However, what people did not expect was that while this photo brought Carter honor, it also brought him deeply hurt and even took his life.
In 1993, Sudan, an African country, suffered frequent wars and severe famine at the same time. Countless Sudanese people were struggling with death.
A journalist born in South Africa Kevin Carter sent an application to the United Nations African Assistance Organization with his duties as a journalist: he is going to Sudan, he wants to take pictures of the real Sudan, and let the world know about it through his own camera The suffering of the Sudanese people has attracted the attention of the world.
Kevin Carter
Carter came to Sudan with the UN humanitarian plane. When he got off the plane, Carter was shocked by the miserable sight of this war-torn and famine-ridden country:
On the barren land, Crowds of refugees were waiting outside the tent of the United Nations Humanitarian Relief Organization. One by one, they had yellow faces and thin skin and ragged clothes. Many of them could not stand because of hunger.
As a reporter, Carter didn't care about taking a break, so he immediately picked up the camera in his hand and recorded the pictures.
Outside a tent, a little girl caught Carter’s eyes, this girl who seemed to be only four or five years old,Her whole body was naked. Due to severe malnutrition, her stomach was terribly swollen, and the ribs on her skinny body were clearly visible.
Maybe it was too long because she was hungry for too long. The little girl couldn't stand, crawling on the ground, supporting her thin and large head with her hands.
Suddenly, a vulture flew over in the distance. It fluttered its wings and stopped behind the girl, watching her.
The vulture feeds on the carcasses of animals and people. This vulture must think that the girl is about to die. It is waiting patiently for her to die, so that she can have a full meal, even if the lunch is not so rich due to the girl's frailty.
The little girl hobbled forward and moved her legs. The girl moved two steps, and the vulture followed the girl with two steps.
The girl couldn't walk anymore, she lowered her head deeply, as if her shoulders could not support her head. The vulture looked at her like this, ready to pounce upon the girl when she fell.
Carter was stunned by the scene in front of him. He stared at all of this, watching the little girl and the vulture. After a long time, he thought of taking out the camera in his hand and filming the scene.
Hungry Sudan
After shooting, Carter immediately put down the camera, ran to drive away the vulture, and then sat under a tree, lit a cigarette, and two lines of tears flowed down his cheeks Down.
His hands trembled slightly, and his face was full of misery. The tragic scene in front of him strongly stimulated Carter's heart. He finally couldn't help covering his face with his hands and crying loudly.
At this moment, he thought of his daughter in South Africa at this time, his daughter is so old, he really wanted to go home immediately, hug her, and give her all the love.
But the little girl in front of me, whose daughter is she? What has she experienced?
The trip to Sudan overturned Carter's worldview and made him doubt his beliefs and ideals.
Back in South Africa, Kevin Carter sent the photo titled "The Hungry Sudan" to the US "New York Times". With the widespread release of the "New York Times", this photo spread all over the world,Aroused a huge response in the world.
Carter’s photo intuitively shows the world the tragic situation of Sudan, an African country, and enables the world to understand the tragic situation brought to the Sudanese people by war and famine. It is precisely because of the widespread dissemination of this photo that the international community Aid to African countries has been further increased, and more humanitarian materials have been shipped to Sudan.
African children
In 1994, "Hungry Sudan" won the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, which is the highest award in photojournalism, but this honor did not make Carter what he deserved Praise, on the contrary, a lot of doubts.
People guessed from this photo of Carter that the little girl in the photo was dying, and the big vulture behind him seemed to immediately pounce on the girl's body.
People turned pity for girls into scolding. They compared Carter to an executioner and blamed him for not reaching out to the girl. Some people even directly said that Carter was "a grand prize obtained by stepping on a girl's corpse."
Faced with the condemnation of public opinion, Carter couldn't argue. He explained to people over and over again that the little girl was walking towards the UN aid tent. After the photo was taken, the little girl was rescued.
But people don’t want to believe his explanation. In this photo, the harsh living environment, the girl’s skinny skin and the huge vulture staring at him strongly stimulate people’s nerves. People seem to see the vulture tearing the girl. Their body turned a deaf ear to Carter’s explanation.
Carter collapsed. He fell into serious self-doubt. The scenes of the African desert country continued to appear before his eyes: crowds of refugees, hungry deaths by the roadside, and the poor girl.
People are full of abuse, Carter can't sleep at night, he can barely work, and his nerves are extremely weak.
Kevin Carter at work
One month later, Carter and his friend Ken came to Tokoza for an interview. On this day, Carter returned to the city in advance. In the evening, Ken who stayed behind was armed The elements shot,Carter had completely collapsed after receiving the news. He repeatedly murmured that Ken's death was caused by his departure, and he thought it was him who was shot.
Carter has fallen into serious self-doubt, he blames himself, he even thinks it is his own fault that he has no ability to change all of this.
Sudan's tragic scene, people's accusations, and Ken's death, these are like a pair of scissors inserted into Carter's chest. He can't breathe and completely loses the confidence to live.
On the afternoon of July 27, 1994, Carter went to visit Ken's wife.
At about 7pm, just two months after winning the Pulitzer Prize, Carter, who had not been sleeping for a few days, drove his car to the Bremfontein Splot River, and he exhausted his car. I connected a hose to the car, closed the doors and windows, put on my favorite music, then started the car and lay down quietly.
He was tired and lost all his strength.
The next day, people found Carter's body. Next to his body, he left a note that read:
I'm really sorry everyone, the pain of life far exceeds the level of joy .
Kevin Carter is dead. He died of extreme disappointment in this world.
Kevin Carter was born in Johannesburg, and joined the South African army as a soldier as an adult. Because he opposed racial discrimination and sympathized with blacks, he was excluded from the army by white soldiers.
After retiring from the army, Carter became a photojournalist, and he was exposed to many dark sides of society. He was used to riots, plagues, wars and deaths.
As a journalist with a conscience, he sympathizes with the weak and has been working to expose the apartheid system.
His camera is full of suffering victims and poor people.
African refugees
The world will show the ugliest side in front of Carter,As a small person, Carter both sorrows the world's cruelty to the weak and hates his own powerlessness.
The strong contrast always impacted Carter's mind. When the picture of "Hungry Sudan" brought him stormy criticism and abuse, Carter's torn nerves finally collapsed.
As a photographer, Kevin Carter is loyal to his profession. He uses his camera to tell people that there are still people living in war and starving in the world.
Through his photos, he reminded people that somewhere on the earth, the shadow of war is everywhere, and people are struggling with life and death due to lack of food and clothing.
Kevin Carter hopes that people can see children who are threatened by disease and death due to severe malnutrition through his photos, and hope that he can touch people's hearts that have been numbed by money and greed.
However, he was still disappointed. People seemed to selectively ignore the tragedy reflected in the photo, and wondered why Carter didn’t help the little girl and give her a bite, even if it was caused by this photo of Carter. The attention of more people in the world has led to more people being rescued.
The depression and anguish brought to people by photos made people eager to vent, so they aimed their finger at the photographer of the photo, Kevin Carter. Kevin Carter, who has been tortured so decently, can't hold it anymore.
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter is gone forever, but the suffering has never been far away from mankind.
When a person is inferior to a vulture, when life is like grass, and when life is no longer life, what is the meaning of human existence?
This is a problem that Carter did not understand even when he died.
Many years later, when Carter’s daughter talked about her father’s death, she said that her father died of extreme disappointment and powerlessness in this society. For the world-famous photo, she said that her father was more like the one that was about to die. The little girl, and the ugliness of the world is like the vulture about to move behind the girl.
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