THE SECOND VULTURE and The life and death of Kevin Carter

THE SECOND VULTURE:

In the 1990's there was a widely circulated photo of a vulture waiting for a starving little girl to die and feast on her corp. That photo was taken during the 1993/94 famine in Sudan, by Kevin Carter, a South African photojournalist, who later won the Pulitzer Prize for this 'amazing shot'.*

*However, as Kevin Carter was savouring his feat and being celebrated on major news channels and networks worldwide for such an 'exceptional photographic skill', he lived just for a few months to enjoy his supposed achievement and fame, as he later got depressed and took his own life!*

*Kevin Carter's depression started, when during one of such interviews (a phone-in programme), someone called in and asked him what happened to the little girl. He simply replied, "I didn't wait to find out after this shot, as I had a flight to catch..." Then the caller said, "I put it to you that there were two vultures on that day, one had a camera".*

*Thus, his constant thought of that statement, later led to depression and he ultimately committed suicide. Kevin Carter could have still been alive today and even much more famous, if he had just picked that little girl up and taken her to the United Nations Feeding Center, where she was attempting to reach or at least take her to somewhere safe.*

*Today, regrettably this is what is happening all around the world. The world celebrates stupidity and inhumane act, at the detriment of other. Kevin Carter should have taken the girl away from that place, which will cost him nothing, yet he didn't. Here is the inhuman posture, "he had all time to take his shot, but he had no time to save the girl's life".*

*Thus, we must all understand that, the purpose of life, is to also touch lives. So are you too a Vulture. In whatever we do, let humanity come first, before what we stand to gain out of the situation. In all we do let's always think of others and how we can be of benefit to humanity, how we can lend a helping hand.

The life and death of Kevin Carter

Born in Johannesburg, Kevin Carter grew up in a middle class family in an all-white locality.
After high school, Kevin left his further studies and joined the Air Force. Four years later, he was beaten-up by servicemen for defending a waiter from abuse. He left without informing anyone to restart his life as a radio jockey.
In 1983, Kevin witnessed the Church Street Bombing and decided to pursue a career in news photography. Initially, he worked as a sports photographer and a year later he started working for Johannesburg Star.
In the mid-1980s he fashioned the first photograph of a woman, Maki Skosana, perishing by necklacing -- placing a tire, filled and saturated with gasoline, around the neck and torso of a person and then setting it alight.
Thirteen years later, he shot his prize winning and heart-wrenching photo in Sudan. The picture appeared in the New York Times in March 1993 sparked a series of questions.

WATCHING THE WATCHER: Rebecca Hearfield photographing Kevin Carter.

Kevin could not enjoy the "success". He killed himself by inhaling carbon monoxide in July 1994, at the age of 33.
A rather short-lived photographer, he was long exposed to the sufferings of people. The killing of his friend and fellow photographer, Ken, hit him hard. Then there was drug abuse.

After his death, many gave their tribute to Kevin Carter in different ways -- film, documentary and music. He became an icon and a tragic figure.
Sorry
July 27, 1993. Kevin drove his red Nissan pickup truck to the Braamfontein Spruit River and backed it up to a tree. He attached a hose to the exhaust pipe, ran the hose into his passenger's side window, got into the cab, and lay down using his knapsack.

Earlier, Kevin wrote: “I am depressed… without phone… money for rent… money for child support… money for debts… money!!!… I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain… of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners… I have gone to join Ken [late photographer] if I am that lucky.”
Underneath that knapsack was another note: “I'm really, really sorry. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist.”
Kevin committed suicide.