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08/27/2005:

"Who decides how we see Africa?"

In the spring of 1993 South African photojournalist Kevin Carter was covering the famine in Sudan. While visiting a feeding station, a starving child crawling through the dust caught his eye. Behind the child stalked a large vulture.

The resulting image shocked the world. It did much to raise awareness about the plight of the Sudanese and increased the potential for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to raise money for relief and feed the starving.

Carter won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for his picture and his career seemed to be reaching its peak — but then the recriminations started. How could he photograph the child instead of helping? How could he profit from such an appalling tragedy?

The pressure eventually took its toll and Carter, who suffered from emotional problems and drug addiction, took his own life a few months later.

The debate that Carter found himself unwittingly thrust into the centre of rages to this day. When does interest become exploitation? Where do you draw the line between news and voyeurism? Do images of starving children help the victims of famine in Africa or enforce an unfair and possibly racist stereotype?
Full: socialistworker.co.uk