Poll: Worldwide Issues

One Picture Can Change Everything

This Pulitzer Prize winning photograph that portrayed Sudan's starvation changed everything. It changed the way we look at poverty, it changed the way we feel for others, it changed people's hearts in good and negative ways. You might be confused after reading that sentence, but after reading my views on this picture, you would truly realize the truth behind poverty. Kevin Carter, the photographer of this photo, was born in 1960, the year Nelson Mandela's African National Congress was banned. As his parents were religious Roman Catholics, Carter often argued with them about African rights and why they all couldn't do anything about it. Even as a teenager, he clearly believed in righteous and just issues. Kevin Carter struggled finding the right job numerous times. However, he finally became a journalist, taking pictures with a group of Caucasian men who wanted to expose the ferociousness of apartheid and discrimination in parts of Southern Africa. They were arrested a couple of times, but they never gave up in what they genuinely believed in. On a trip to tropical Sudan,Carter took this influential yet extremely cruel photo shown above, careful enough not to disturb the vulture in the setting. After taking the photo, he flew the vulture away and just watched the little girl struggle to reach to her feeding center. Carter then sat under a tree, cried, and prayed to god. Silva, his partner, recalled that Kevin kept on saying that he wanted to hug his daughter, most probably the one that he never ever saw. This photograph of carelessness was then added to the New York Times on March 26th, 1993, but thousands of people were under criticism at Kevin Carter because he took no initiative to help the starving girl. He was depressed, frequently doing drugs, and having weak, negative thoughts. For example, when his friend Ken was shot, Carter told his group of friends that the the bullet should have been shot in him. And at the young age of 33, Carter committed suicide. His suicide note was dark and haunting. He wrote, he was, "depressed . . . without phone . . . money for rent . . . money for child support . . . money for debts . . . money!!! . . . I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain . . . of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners . . . " And then this: "I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky." Carter had a intellect and a desire. His mind told him to sincerely help the young child, but his weak desire told him to hurry and go back to taking more shots of starvng people. Unfortunately, he listened to his desire, the one that was so weak that it simply and eventually dissolved into depression, darkness, and death. 

Read more at: http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/KCarter.html
(suicide note of Kevin Carter and facts and information taken from there)

Citation of Image: 

"Iconic Photos." Iconic Photos. N.p., Scott Macleod. Web. 31 July 2013. <http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/vulture-stalking-a-child/>.

Girl Rising

A Girl Rising is a powerful topic, a peculiar one starting from the beginning of time across the globe. That is, why doesn't a girl rise in strength and education in the Middle East, Haiti, and India? And, how can we change that in positive ways?  These ideas started to float in my mind ever since the 2013 documentry, Girl Rising, came out. Nine successful actresses including Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, and Bollywood Priyanka Chopra narrated true stories of nine girls from nine different countries. These females grew up going through child marriage, being abandoned as a baby, and even getting severely judged by society. However, where are these amazing, smart role models now? After reading passages in http://girlrising.com, I learned that almost all of them started excelling greatly in school and standing up for causes that they courageously overcame. Now, even in the future, most people in poor countries, especially women, are going through unbearable sufferings. Programs such as Girl Rising are working hard to provide education and financial support for these families. Moreover, when other governments encourage equality for all genders, our international society will become a better and safe place. For instance, groups like the Taliban believe that it is in their religion to give no respect to females. Women are frequently beaten up for no specific or valid reason. If these horrifying beatings never occurred, then people wouldn't treat women differently than men today. However, there is certain hope that not only these nine girls can rise, but also every girl who has a soul of hope and faith, just like a free bird. 

                           

Here is the trailer for Girl Rising. It is amazing! :)



Read more at: http://girlrising.com/ 

Citation for Image: 

Http://dayatrust.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2013. <http://dayatrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Girl-Rising-Poster-3.jpg>.