Hats off to Luis Vasconcelos for this powerful picture.
The caption says, “An indigenous woman holds her child while trying to resist the advance of Amazonas state policemen who were expelling the woman and some 200 other members of the Landless Movement from a privately-owned tract of land on the outskirts of Manaus, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon March 11, 2008. The landless peasants tried in vain to resist the eviction with bows and arrows against police using tear gas and trained dogs. REUTERS/Luiz Vasconcelos-A Critica/AE (BRAZIL)”.
Images of heavy-handed oppression really don’t come much better than this - defenceless, screaming woman clutching naked child is shoved and beaten by faceless, armoured authority.
The symbols are reinforced by the strong composition. The woman and her child appear all the more vulnerable as the only elements of humanity and colour against the advancing wall of shields and boots.Such a potent image leaves very little room for any doubt. In such circumstances do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?
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The land owner exploits the land according to regulations, leaving 60% of the original rain forest in place. The invading MST cut down large parts of the forest, thus forcing the authorities to take measures to avoid criticism from countries that cut down their own forests hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Dramatic photo but not depicting what really happened. Countless efforts have been made to offer these groups vacant lands that they can exploit, but they insist on invading the most productive and lucrative, fully equipped plantations. Also, you can hire these groups if you are in project development. They will secure ownership (after 5 years of occupation) and take care of environmental issues (maximum construction %) for you. No government wants to be associated with photos like above, so they are mostly left alone. Good business!
- Posted by Marcosagree on this, I think you don’t need to have a caption, because images speaks to itself.
- Posted by DubaiBy viewing this photo zhe first thing I asked myself was “What has happend to this woman and her little child after taking that photo?” Can anybody tell me?
- Posted by Thomas RauschThe photo is great. But i feel sorry with that woman and her child
- Posted by Orlando WeddingThis photo is stunning! And unfortunatelly it depicts very well what’s going on in Brazil. I sincerelly hope to see this extraordinary photography among the awarded ones when they decide which is the best picture of the year, at the Grand Prix of Photo-Journalism competition.
- Posted by Josh Silva[...] September 3rd, 2008 | Fun Tech via“Pictures Worth A Thousand Words” series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, [...]
- Posted by Pictures Worth A Thousand Words - Post 16 | The Current Buzz - TechI think that the photo is great. However, merely looking at the picture and then assuming that one can easily judge the morality of the situation is ridiculous. Yes, the photo is dramatic. Yes, there is text-book juxtaposition. But to say that the picture proves that squatters should be allowed to take what is not theirs makes no sense.
It is too bad that Brazilian laws do not aid the Landless Movement more adequately so that they do not need to break the law. But they are. This is simply a picture of one woman (of many) involved in a large scale eviction.
In response to the original question, “do we need to know the details to know that this is wrong?”, the answer is Yes! Would you have faith in the fairness of a court decision if you knew the judge was never present for the trial? Maybe, the picture in question is of a human right violation or maybe of a severe lack of empathy but to judge that we need not question the circumstances is blatant naivety.
- Posted by Capt. Dallasphotographs really talk about reality and touch lives.
- Posted by wedding photography san diego[...] striking photo from Brazil by Luiz Vasconcelos. Click for [...]
- Posted by English Education Professor » Blog Archive » Don’t Need Words for This