Suspence But Sadness

A tear drops down my cheek every time I read the sad story of this little child. The year is 1993 and famine is hitting hard the horn of Africa. In South Sudan, the vulture is waiting for the child to die and eat. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who left the place as soon as the photograph was taken. A vulture landed behind the child. 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 meters. The photo was published in The New York Times in March of 1993, and sparked a wide reaction. People wanted to know what happened to the child, and if Carter offered any assistance. Journalists in the Sudan were told not to touch the famine victims, because of the risk of transmitting disease, but Carter came under criticism for not helping the Child. “The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of the child's suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene,”read one editorial. Carter eventually won the Pulitzer Prize for this photo, but he couldn’t enjoy it. “I’m really, really sorry I didn’t pick the child up,” he confided in a friend. Three months later Kevin Carter committed suicide due to depression.
This was found in his diary,
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.
Have a graceful weekend ahead!

Compiled by Adesanya Adeshola