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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94 comments so far
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- Posted by This one is worth a thousand words | Blogs | Reuters.co.uk | The ClickA tremendously powerful image. This is an important photograph and I hope it will be seen by the world. I’m sure it will affect many.
- Posted by Kit Collinsgreat photo¡¡¡¡¡.
Manu Lozano
- Posted by Manu LozanoServes her right she should not be there anyway!!!
- Posted by TrueDavid,
You have done it again. That is one of the most powerful photos I have ever seen.
Do you know what happened to mother and child? Is there anyway I can help?
~Brandon
- Posted by Brandon TautimerWhat a brave woman, putting her child in harm’s way like that. I bet she even had his consent to risk his life in that futile manner.
- Posted by Ernie OportoThis is a lesson about private property. She has none.
- Posted by Stolie“In such circumstances do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?”
You should always know the details. At least, know that the MST (Landless Movement) is a semi-terrorist organization that frequently kills farmers and land-owners, and work close to another organization which has destroyed 20 years of genetic engineering research a couple of years ago. This does not mean that what you’re witnessing in the picture is right, but it does mean that reality is much more complex than the picture shows.
- Posted by Roberto De AlmeidaIn such circumstances do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?
YES
- Posted by UndertoadThe problem with pictures is no context. There could be a lot more to this picture.
- Posted by noneVery powerful
- Posted by Development CrossingTremendously powerful and radicalising image. Will give a significant boost to the MST in Brazil. Imagine the concern of the Brazilian Government with this image spread across two pages of today’s Guardian newspaper in the UK and I’m sure figuring in the press across the World. Good luck to the MST and their fight for the landless!
- Posted by Tony Lloyd-Jones“A tremendously powerful image. This is an important photograph and I hope it will be seen by the world. I’m sure it will affect many.”
Sadly, it will affect nothing…
- Posted by stdoubtThe powerful prey on the weak. A scenario that repeats itself time and again among animals as well as humans. You think some powerful person will see this image and have a change of heart? Keep dreaming.
Emotional, yes. Sad, yes. Frustrating, certainly. But in your own description, this woman (and her colleagues) are being evicted from “a privately-owned tract of land”. Where is the story about the person who worked hard to buy this land and then watched it get trampled and used by these squatters from the Landless Movement? Perhaps I could feel more supportive if they settled on Public Lands rather than stealing resources from another _individual_ human being.
- Posted by Not IndifferentThere is not much you can do to help directly. Indirectly you can help by changing you habits of consumption. The efforts against the Landless Workers Movement is mostly spurred on my large American and European corporations looking for cheap land and cheap labor in foreign countries. The only real way to distance your selves from these companies is to consume locally. Try the 100 Mile Diet. Only by Fair Trade certified products. Don’t support any company that denies its foreign workers access to unions and a living wage. American habits of consumption are the key factor in driving these mega-corporations to do all the horrible things they do.
- Posted by TomI mean, couldn’t she be protesting without putting her baby within arm’s reach of batons? I feel for her, but seriously…
- Posted by IanThis is a powerful image. However, your conclusions bother me:
“do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?”
Um, yes. Yes we do.
Allowing your emotional response to an image to overwhelm your reason is precisely why propaganda works. In this photo, the story is “helpless woman oppressed by faceless regime.” In others it’s “snarling black man/muslim/etc. clearly sub-human.” In either case we most certainly “need the details.” I would suggest it’s a mistake to allow good photography to determine right and wrong.
- Posted by LeadblindShe has the power.
- Posted by Big AlBrandon, you can help by going down there and buying her a tract of land to live on. Not only that, but you must build her shelter, and train her how to run a business or derive enough income to raise enough money for the taxes to the government. Harder than throwing a few cents a day to some charity over the telephone, huh? People have become so numerous that less and less land is available to them, and unfortunately the worth of a single individual human has become near worthless - almost seen as an infestation. I don’t really know what to do about that.
- Posted by ChloeWhat is the point of this?
- Posted by KennethAn infinite number of these type of photos exist but what good has come from them?
Why do people still vote in politicians that support such a system?
I hope they arrested her for child endangerment.
- Posted by JesseThat is just sad.
- Posted by LiberalsVSConservativesDOTcomInteresting. So if one takes a clever picture, it’s no longer necessary to know the facts in order to judge the pictured event?
Personally I think it’s always necessary to know the facts in order to form a valid judgement.
It certainly is an awesome photograph, but it offers no answers, only questions. What was this woman thinking when she endangered her child this way? Does the ostensible landowner have a valid claim on the land, or was this conflict the result of some kind of collusion between the landowner and someone in local government? Why did the police use such overwhelming force?
For that matter, how many police were present? This photo shows only nine or so, but since the photo was composed such that the nine span the full width of the picture, it creates the impression that there must have been many, many more officers present. Similarly, how many other civilians were involved? We see only two, but it’s unlikely this woman and child are representative of the whole group. And what is the nature of this “Landless Movement”? Is it composed of people who have been deprived of their natural right to own property, or of those who wish to deprive others of this right?
So yeah, it’s a great photograph, but it’s also propaganda apparently designed to convey a misleading picture of events and distract attention from the real issues here.
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- Posted by Peter G.This looks bad, but you don’t know what the full context is. That woman might have been trying to attack those officers with that naked baby. You don’t know.
- Posted by PENIX[…] Posted by Mike E on March 15, 2008 Tahawus sent me this picture. […]
- Posted by A Picture of Modern Class Society « Kasamawhy didn’t she just move out of the way?
- Posted by dbagWow, Now this is a very very powerful photo. This lady is hopeless and so is the child. thanks for this great but sad image.
- Posted by BennyWow, they were attacking police with bows and arrows and the police are restraining themselves and not shooting back. And I doubt these police with their shields rushed this one woman. What the hell is she doing with her child getting so close to these guys.
- Posted by RonClearly they are using an appropriate method to clear the space. There are far more violent alternatives and if it is true that the squatters are being evicted from private land, she should be thankful it is a wall of flesh and not cuffs and foster care.
- Posted by jayThis one is worth a thousand words…
This one is worth a thousand words…
- Posted by pinoymug.comI think this is a powerful image, but it was a planned protest and I can’t believe that this mother brought her child into this environment and enderaged him or her like that.
- Posted by Jeremy SIf the piece of private land she was squatting on was your front yard, how would you feel about her presence? If you didn’t remove her, she might eventually be able to claim ownership of your yard by law under squatter’s rights laws in some countries.
So yes, the context of the photo is absolutely needed, and anyone (like the original poster) who claims otherwise is either a fool or some other synonym for the word.
- Posted by Bensucks for this lady, but thats what happen when you knowingly break, then resist, the law. trespassing, and then squatting, is jail worthy.
- Posted by JustinPowerful image. It is a shame it is not of higher technical quality because I think you would really have had a shot at a Pulitzer.
- Posted by Christopher BoffoliPhotoshopped
- Posted by anonTHE ENTIRE POINT is that the context and specifics does not really matter.
It is a picture, a form of art, that usually exists to symbolize something.
It is what it symbolizes, and what it can offer you (and how well it does just that,) which matters.
- Posted by dystisis“In such circumstances do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?”
Congratulations. You’ve just crossed the line between journalism and manipulative propaganda.
For all I know just looking at the photo, everyone in it could be a paid model. For all I know, it’s been Photoshopped. For all I know, there are a hundred people standing off to one side with “what an idiot” expressions on their faces, which would have given the image a whole new meaning before they were cropped out.
No single image tells the whole story. Most importantly, we never see the things the photographer chose to omit from the final product.
If you think pictures can’t lie, you’re sadly mistaken. If you think a powerful visual is an adequate substitute for knowing the real situation, you’re stupid.
- Posted by Mike StoneI have to agree with Peter G.
I’m sure that many good, kind-hearted people will look at this image in horror. They will react emotionally. They will probably feel the desire to help the woman and her child. However, they won’t know the facts and you can’t truly have justice for all without all of the information.
- Posted by Slade WaltersThis is right up there with the Tiananmen square photo of the protester standing before a tank. It’s moving because, at once we have, in a photo…the worst yet the best of the human spirit, captured in one photograph. People can be so pathetic, and yet so brave.
- Posted by Edmund J.A well composed photo, but yes, you do need context of the situation. Approproaching any situation with that floating, contextless mentality will only end up with bad conclusions.
Wrong? By which standard? In what context?
- Posted by sobokhanThis deeply saddens me and ……..that’s it! So out of control…
- Posted by recovery33Why doesn’t she just, you know, move? I’m sure that line of officers isn’t like a mile long.
- Posted by ZachI don’t understand why that lady is putting her child at risk by confronting armed police with an infant / toddler in her arms.
Secondly, they are on someone else’s property. I understand it may not be the most humane thing but they are squatting someone else’s property.
- Posted by Alcoholism“In such circumstances do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?”
Wow, that’s stupid. It’s almost like you’re *asking* to be manipulated.
And to answer your question: yes, we do.
- Posted by Mortimer N. CobblepopFirst, MST is not semi-terrorist organizacion, second this is not context, this woman is not from a Landless movement, third this is not the state Police force. This picture is problaly in the amazon, where the “Força Nacional de segurança” (Nacional Security Force, a special federal Police Unit) is ansingment against the illegal wood extraction called “Operação Arco de Fogo” (Arc of Fire Operation) in an attempt to reduce the destruction of the florest. This woman is problaly from a family of those whom works in the wood extraction, a workmanship whose is been manipulate by local politicians and their employer to protest againt the police force presence.
- Posted by Paulo VasconcelosThis woman is obiviously a victim, but not necessarialy of the police, she was throw into a situacion that she doesn’t understant, thinking she is fighting for her right to work, without the knowlegment of the ambiental awareness of the wood extraction, and don’t understand that in fact she is been manipulated.
http://news.google.com.br/news?q=Opera%C 3%A7%C3%A3o+Arco+de+Fogo&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf -8&rls=org.mozilla:pt-BR:official&client =firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn
Sorry for the spelling flaws..
- Posted by Paulo VasconcelosSomeone else owns the land. If brute force is the only way to get her off it, then so be it. I’d do the same thing to her if she walked into my house and wouldn’t willfully leave.
- Posted by AaronOut of context!
As I can see, no one but Roberto de Almeida is a Brazilian citizen, and he’s totally right! I’m Brazilian too and I know very well what the MST (the landless movement) do. They are a terrorist organizations, and uses the old fashion comunist’s strategies to disturb the public order, invade and destroy private properties and even kill people, and they need MARTYRS obfuscate the public opinion. They are not popular here in Brasil. They are not a small group of poor people who lives in the middle of the jungle, far away from the eyes of the media (TV and newspapers) and the public opinion. They are a very well organized group, which has connections with dozens of left movement around South America like Hugo Chages and Colombian terrorists FACS. They are all over Brazil. The receive money from the federal government and they are creating a University to spread their ideology throw our society.
Please, read about it! It is very important to us, Brazilians and South Americans people that everybody in the world realizes what’s going on around here!
PS: Sleep on it: What a woman with her child in her arms is doing in the front line of a brutal police force?
- Posted by Daniel Lins de AlbuquerqueIt is sad. I just watched a really interesting documentary on Current about the Amazon and how many animal species are wiped out yearly. Only about 5% of the biodiversity of the Amazon has been documented, yet a parcel the size of New Hampshire is cleared yearly, mainly for cattle grazing (yet another of the myriad reasons I don’t eat meat.) Given the large number of medicines that have natural origins in tropical life, allowing this to continue will undoubtedly result in delays in curing the world’s most pressing diseases.
Not sure if this is what the woman was protesting, but it graphically describes the futility of private citizens fighting against greedy, corrupt government and big-industry interests.
- Posted by Desert Tripperawesome pic, yet it saddens me.
- Posted by joel reyes[…] 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. http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2008/03/1 2/this-one-is-worth-a-thousand-words/ […]
- Posted by FuzzLinks » This Picture is Worth a Thousand WordsRoberto De Almeida: “You should always know the details. At least, know that the MST (Landless Movement) is a semi-terrorist organization that frequently kills farmers and land-owners, and work close to another organization which has destroyed 20 years of genetic engineering research a couple of years ago. This does not mean that what you’re witnessing in the picture is right, but it does mean that reality is much more complex than the picture shows.”
I think you need to do some research yourself Roberto. Wikipedia is not the best source of information on the internet. You should try and diversify your sources perhaps to get a better overall view of an issue. Just a suggestions bud
- Posted by Blairthis is insane! how can they do this to an innocent with a baby in her hand! do they have any human rights in their country ?
- Posted by AbdulReminds me of this picture:
- Posted by aishelhttp://aishel.wordpress.com/2007/04/17/p hoto-from-amona-struggle-wins-pulitzer/
“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 author’s personal view is terribly twisting the facts. Please don’t use sensationalism to promote anything if you believe in it.
- Posted by Jef DavidHoly Toledo
- Posted by EesaTrue enough, the image is propaganda. But that doesn’t change the image or the story behind it. It becomce propaganda when people do not bother to know the story. It exists because someone had a camera at a time & place where something was happening, not because someone set up a staged shot.
Endangering her baby? What the? Are all of you on drugs? What, was she supposed to leave the baby at the local day care center???
My God I think most of the world is insane but that takes the cake. You do not know. So instead of acting as if you DO, why not act as if you don’t?
Indigenous peoples do not OWN land. That is the whole point. They live on the land and they move around and they don’t try to own it. So where is it that you think they should go? The only comments here that make sense are ones that confront the idea that this is too large an issue to figure out in a blog post. But that doesn’t make the picture bad or good. It only emphasizes the need for more people to actually care what is going on in the world around them. And to the people in that world.
What would be powerful would be to have a serious journalist at the side of teh cameraman to provide an in-depth background story for the viewing audience.
Child endangerment, yeah, that’s it… Good grief. I think the idea of the woman attacking the dudes with shields and boots with her naked baby is more plausible, frankly. Or are you thinking she should just have given THEM the baby so it could be “safe”? How exactly would she NOT have the baby in her arms based on who she is and her status in the world? A nany perhaps??? What on earth are you people thinking?
What I love about that idea actually, is that it is the perfect new world answer: babies are to be protected, but their mothers can be shot or run down with tanks, no problem… and IF they happen to have a baby with them when that is happening, well, by all means, blame them for “child endangerment”. Now that is spectacularly brilliant. Babies and puppy dogs. oh, and kittens, don’t forget kittens…
http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/2007/0 4
- Posted by anonymousthe 2nd picture in that link gives more than the picture here.
I do think this is horrible pic and a horrible way to try to say something about the situation if you dont know what the LANDLESS MOVEMENT IS. Imagine you buy land… Its yours… You dont want to develop it, it’s STILL YOURS right? So, how would you feel if 100, or 1000 people just invade it and start to develop the property you bought with your money? Think about it before make any judgment.
- Posted by Livia EatonShe’s being evicted off of private property she is trying to steal with the other members of the landless movement. Somebody worked hard to buy that land, she has no right to steal it. Good riddance.
- Posted by Jenson ButtonBecause that could never happen in the USA.
Oh wait, it just did.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/c ontent/south/epaper/2008/03/12/0312vouch ers.html
- Posted by FloridianIf this picture is worth a thousand words (and it is a powerfully moving picture) then where are the words? Yes, I know the colloquialism is meant another way, but there HAS to be a story here worth telling. If it is the one the picture is portraying of state violence, rejection of human right and intentional endangering of a helpless child and its mother, then tell it and make the picture all that more powerful. If the story contradicts the power of the picture then the picture is false propaganda until put in its correct context. Either way speak the truth and then do something about it besides inflaming emotional reactions without backing it up.
- Posted by the_vorThe picture is given without the context of the story.
- Posted by AcronymsWhy would you be anywhere near riot squads with your child?! MORON!! I have no remorse
- Posted by daddyt[…] Posted by crookedshore under Uncategorized This came my way via peregrinatio from the photographers website. On so many levels this is worthy of iconic […]
- Posted by Innocence Crushed « crookedshoreShe needs to stop crying and move.
- Posted by Billyone word: wow,
- Posted by Television NewsAlmost looks staged in its composition
This symbolizes oppression worldwide. The Burmese and the Tibetans must be going through similarly.
- Posted by Chris“In such circumstances do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?”
ABSOLUTELY. No matter how compelling an image is, it does not tell the entire story. In order to make an informed judgment, you need to be able to put the image into the proper context. To do that, you need more information about what is going on.
- Posted by ZaphodPowerful picture that was not taken by an environmentalist.
- Posted by hoyleysoxAmazon deforestation affects the whole world, but is also a livelihood for many people.
Not sure how to balance the interests of feeding people and rainforest preservation.
How can anybody own any part of Earth? You can own only what you made with your own hands which is also doubtful because you need materials produced by Nature (God) to make anything, even a child. This “civilization” will end like many similar before.
- Posted by RobiTruth is, that woman has every unalienable right to protest the destruction of her natural home. The focus is not on the photo because what the photo has is more than obvious, but what the photo represents, what it’s trying to communicate should be the focus.
First thing, the Amazon being the last large reserve of oxygen the Americas (not the world) have and representing over half of the worlds remaining rain forest, the idea of tearing more of it down is already preposterous.
Second, that woman is doing whatever she can to stop major corporations from buying the land she lives in. As a human being, she has that natural right to keep and fight for her home.
“You should always know the details. At least, know that the MST (Landless Movement) is a semi-terrorist organization that frequently kills farmers and land-owners, and work close to another organization which has destroyed 20 years of genetic engineering research a couple of years ago. This does not mean that what you’re witnessing in the picture is right, but it does mean that reality is much more complex than the picture shows.”
The Landless movement should be considered, in any way, a terrorist organization. It is merely defending its right to keep its home. It may target people who are, without consent, violating protection laws and their native lands. Should any company, governmental body/organization or anything related want to initiate some sort of action, diplomacy should be enforced, as they would with any other nation. So why won’t they? (I’ll answer that: Because the MST won’t be recognized as a power and they’ll be trampled over.)
- Posted by Ferdinand HenryI don’t have even one word to say on this picture… It freezes mind.
- Posted by Ben JacobI hope that the woman was beaten, arrested, and had her child taken away from her by the authorities for child endangerment.
This is one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen performed by a protester…using their own child as a shield against the authorities.
How could someone do something like that and how could anyone even remotely think that she is deserving of ANY sympathy?
- Posted by Randall FlaggSome of the disgusting responses (for example: “she deserved it”, “how could she have put her baby in such danger”, etc) are proof of the poverty of bourgeois society with its ‘private’ property. Truly despicable.
- Posted by ZackI feel for the woman absolutely but you can not judge this situation by a single photo and skewed media reperesentation. By what i read it sounds like these people were illegal squaters on privately owned land and were refusing to leave in accordance with the law. Maybe they brought this on themselves. I am not saying that is the case but from this sole article and one picture how can we make a judgement?
- Posted by Brian[…] La photographie, qui ne peut être reproduite ici, peut être vue sur le blogue de Reuters. […]
- Posted by Informartorien » Blog Archive » 5 clefs pour comprendre une photo d'actualité[…] The picture, which cannot be reproduced on this blog, can be seen on Reuter’s photo blog. […]
- Posted by Compartorian » Blog Archive » 5 Keys to Understand the Aesthetics of a News PictureIs there anyway to find out if they are okay, maybe a follow up story, with more info on the conflict?
- Posted by Jesse Smaledoes it look like the swat team belongs there? (tropical background)
- Posted by BoviceJust a quick one for Zack, if someone started squatting on your front lawn what would you do??? you would probably call the police and have them removed, this is the same situation! She shouldn´t be there she doesnt own the land and if force was needed then she was out of order.
- Posted by TrueHow unbelievable….So many cowards in the world. None are men enough to show their faces
- Posted by BetsyThough the title of the post is cliche the picture is definately not. It speaks volumes….
- Posted by Diana NgilaI saw this few days ago in my local paper.hope this photo will win many awards
- Posted by ahweiCheck out the club coming from the shields right above her head :-p. Bonk lol.
- Posted by JamesWell done Luiz Vasconcelos and Reuters for a materpiece of a centre page spread in the Guardian March 13th 2008 (Manaus, Brazil). Just brilliant. Geoff Ryan
- Posted by Geoff RyanI have read many of your comments on this
- Posted by Truepicture, many of you have called this woman
brave aswell as saying that the picure saddens
you. Im sure the lady realised that squatting there
would result in her being removed and if we where
to be honest with each other putting her child
in that situation is not very brave is it??
it evokes so much compassion. very moving.
- Posted by Jess:’(
- Posted by someonethats so sad
[…] Reuters Ação da polícia contra os sem terras no Estado do […]
- Posted by A Marcha da Insensatez - Brasil » Blog do Mesquita «Admittedly, I have not read through all of the comments which came up since I first looked at this post, so pardon if I’m reiterating what someone else said.
As a reporter it is important to acknowledge how photographs can paint a story, true. But politics aside, this image shows a single, simple scene, and it conveys the emotion of THAT ONE SCENE amazingly well.
And, most importantly to myself as a photographer, it is an amazing photograph.
- Posted by Skyler Reidwhat are the simultaneous informative and expressive levels of meaning within this image?
- Posted by soniaEesa, you have it so wrong, you’re so far off the point and so ignorant of the environment where this happened and of the political and social circumstances, I don’t even know where to begin. In fact, I won’t.
Yes, the Landless not only are a semi-terrorist group, they have been linked over and over again with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a full blown terrorist group. And by linked I don’t mean “talked about in the same sentence”, I mean drug money and guns back and forward between the two groups.
She’s a martyr, all right. One of those martyrs used by these very humanitarian organizations to promote their cause through sensationalist media and by causing guilt on well fed Europeans who will weep and ask “is there a way find out if they are ok?”, but not bother to read up on the whole issue.
- Posted by Vivien[…] in vain to resist the eviction with bows and arrows against police using tear gas and trained dogs. REUTERS/Luiz Vasconcelos-A Critica/AE […]
- Posted by » Meanwhile… » A totanus in the net » Blog Archivegreat photo, so what? sure it means something to you and me, as we are of a culture that values human life and human rights, but you don’t really have the same attitude here and you can’t really impose tthese values on people who have no interest in them, really.
unfortunately, little can be done to lessen these situations here in Brasil. The government and the wealthy individuals that run this country have no incentive to change their system or practices. It is a very corrupt and established caste system that uses the population for their own benefit without regard for their welfare or the value of human life. little support and infrastructure for the country’s population is provided, i.e education, healthcare, roads, sanitation, etc. It looks like a beautiful country, with happy, compassionate and caring people (and many are), but live here for a while and you will see the real Brasil, a third world country with tremendous resources controlled by a few families and million of poor people with no chance of an improved quality of life ever! Why do you think a majority or the great brasilian athletes live in Europe?
unless you take the money and power away from those in control and reprogram the minds of the brasilian people, nothing will ever change. so good luck.
- Posted by wayne smith