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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Just 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 Truedoes it look like the swat team belongs there? (tropical background)
- Posted by BoviceIs there anyway to find out if they are okay, maybe a follow up story, with more info on the conflict?
- Posted by Jesse Smale[...] 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 Picture[...] 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'actualitéI 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 BrianSome 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 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 FlaggI don’t have even one word to say on this picture… It freezes mind.
- Posted by Ben JacobTruth 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 HenryHow 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 RobiPowerful 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.
“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 ZaphodThis symbolizes oppression worldwide. The Burmese and the Tibetans must be going through similarly.
- Posted by Chrisone word: wow,
- Posted by Television NewsAlmost looks staged in its composition
She needs to stop crying and move.
- Posted by Billy[...] 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 « crookedshoreWhy would you be anywhere near riot squads with your child?! MORON!! I have no remorse
- Posted by daddytThe picture is given without the context of the story.
- Posted by AcronymsIf 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_vor