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Posted July 19, 2006
The Other Side Of Journalists People Don't Know
A tribute to fallen South African
photojournalist
Some people say journalists are curious people who
don’t mind their business. Others say journalists are watchdogs who go
behind the scenes where other people can’t go. Still, some people believe
journalists are advocates.
Sometimes those who receive press coverage under
desperate situations agree that journalists are people, who take the risks
to gather and disseminate information about current events, trends, issues,
and people.
When journalists are sent out, especially in desperate
zones, their lives are not only at risk, but they are confronted and hunted
by emotions, sorrows, and agonies from heart-breaking scenes of human
catastrophes.
But hear-breaking scenes are what journalists hope to
encounter when they are covering and documenting human sufferings. To them
and by virtue of their profession, documenting these scenes will create
world’s attention to the sufferings of others.
This is when some people categorize journalists as
human rights activists. Many journalists risk their lives in different ways
and situations-though some of them were not awarded Pulitzer Prize or
documented.
Twelve years ago, one of South African fearless
journalists, Kevin Carter committed suicide after he won Pulitzer Prize for
his photos showing a heart-breaking scene of starving Sudanese child who
collapsed on the ground, struggling to get to a food center during famine in
1993.
Kevin Carter, though won fame for capturing that
horrific scene, he could not overcome the nightmare from the scene after
watching a vulture stalked the Sudanese child.
Kelvin Carter was one of South African photojournalists
who fearlessly captured atrocities committed during apartheid throughout
South Africa.
Kevin’s death should remind people that journalists
don’t only cover events and people, but also share the sufferings of the
people they cover. Kelvin’s act of suicide should remind those causing
sufferings unto the people that the results of their actions are unbearable.
Writes,
Thomas Kai Toteh
tnyantk@yahoo.com
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