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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You all seem obsessed with the facts vs the apparent context. I think the publisher of the image hit the nail on the head, instantly. What is inarguable is the faceless, clearly malicious, strength thrown against this woman.
Deciphering more is to put one’s own views in, and that is called spin.
Know the facts? Who cares - what system, where the rule of law prevails and human rights are sacred, would ever employ such a method? Look at modern-day England - nothing like this could ever happen.
Before you say too quickly she’s part of a terrorist organisation or campaign, remember Nelson Mandela - he educated the world that maybe it’s correct and appropriate to fight hard for your rights.
So for all of you that don’t slam the forces behind the oppression: shame on you, and may your wicked thinking weave its way into unfortunate events for you in the future.
- Posted by Walter Billington[...] striking photo from Brazil by Luiz Vasconcelos. Click for bigger. “An indigenous woman holds her child while trying to resist the advance of Amazonas [...]
- Posted by Emotionally charged photo of woman being evicted from private property in Brazilian Amazon | RatZine - Rat stinkin newsAll you commenters saying she should be arrested for putting the kid in harms way….you have no idea what life is like for the poor in third world countries. Constant police action against the poorest, willy-nilly with no consistency or reference to law at all. I’m appalled at the naivete shown here…you all should get out a bit more…too bad flying is getting so expensive….traveling and seeing Brazil (or any third world place) would broaden so many horizons here.
- Posted by third world“do we need to know the details of the dispute to have any doubts that what we are witnessing is wrong?”
Yes, you do. Furthermore, I’d be surprised if you didn’t call the cops yourself if you had 200 squatters on your lawn.
- Posted by haelduksfI would like to respond to the “You can’t steal private property” argument.
Yes stealing land is terrible.
So is genocide.
It’s also terrible if your parents, grand parents, and your great great grand parents stole land and handed it down to you or someone that looks like you.
One person argued that it isn’t fair for a group of people to steal something for which someone else worked really hard.
I think thats a great argument if you add some historical context to it.
The majority of land owners in Brazil did not in fact “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps”, work hard in a factory and eventually earn enough to buy a plot of land. This isn’t a middle class story about being a self made citizen. Land was taken at gun-point, and handed down through the generations, or handed off to big industry. It is indisputable that the poverty of the landless is a direct result of past and present injustices.
So what’s fair? A few rich people/corporations having small amounts of land taken away that they in no way deserve to have in the first place, or the picture?
Thanks,
-j
- Posted by jackoIts a nice picture and all but has anyone considered that the baby could be a fire bomb and that she is about to blow up all those innocent soldiers? I think we can all learn an important lesson about taking things at face value.
- Posted by Mycroft HolmesHere’s an idea…get off land that doesn’t belong to you…another idea, don’t hold your kid when you decide to attempt blocking a wall of police who are just doing their job…..evicting trespassers.
- Posted by Edgar[...] striking photo from Brazil by Luiz Vasconcelos. Click for bigger. “An indigenous woman holds her child while trying to resist the advance of Amazonas [...]
- Posted by News » Emotionally charged photo of woman being evicted from private property in Brazilian AmazonWow, upon reading these comments, I am once again reminded of how bigoted and soul-less so many Americans are.
- Posted by ElizabethI agree that it is a powerful photo, especially with all those faceless officers, but nevertheless, she’s not supposed to be there.
I have no sympathy.
- Posted by Rikushix[...] From Reuters [...]
- Posted by Landless at Productionfloor.comWow. The picture is indeed moving, though what’s fascinating is less how moving the photo than how rarely news journalists concentrate on the problems of the indigenous, the impoverished, and the landless.
Even more distressing is the astonishing number of hateful, angry comments here on this board, some of which are undoubtedly from members of Brazil’s hateful, racist ruling class. Are you seriously accusing this woman and her child of terrorism? Are you seriously accusing her of child endangerment?
If you have no clue about the MST or the Landless Peasants Movement, perhaps you imagine she is ‘choosing’ to fight these thugs for her pleasure, and she went home to a bourgeois house like yours and relaxed in front of her television?
People have a right to food, shelter, healthcare, and security. That’s not a political broadside, but a statement of fact under international law (heard of the U.N.?) This woman clearly has none of those things, and the right wingers here are taking the side of guns, shields, jackboots, and power over the side of unarmed women, starving children, and impoverished men, all of whom are far braver than the thugs in the picture, or ANY OF US commenting here.
- Posted by Erik DavisSo, uh, when her “indigenous” husband and his “indigenous” pals clear 1000 hectares of “indigenous” rain forest, you’re cool with that? Do you warm to the idea? While I don’t think shielded soldiers are need to control this woman, (so yeah it’s “wrong”) I can’t see outside the frame, who else is there, or what focal length lens is being used, with her being 200 feet in front of them, frightened but still able to get out of the way..
- Posted by More Info Neededfirst of all, a lot of you are assuming that land ownership is a right to begin with. who gave ANYONE the right to own a piece of the earth we live on? no one did! greedy pigs, the lot of you.
“oh…they’re squatting on someone else’s land”
boo-friggin’ hoo. shouldn’t have been so god damn stupid as to buy dirt to begin with…then no one can “take that away” by squatting on it.
get over yourselves.
- Posted by jackhmmm… heavy handed oppression or a woman actively resisting authorities and needlessly endangering her child?
- Posted by TrevorWONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?!
- Posted by Bob SagetThe wrongness here has nothing to do with her reasons for being there or their reasons for evicting her and her baby. The wrongness is in the completely disproportionate response and the self-exculpatory ‘just-order-following’ rationales of the vile, inhuman troglodites who order and enforce any policy that could possibly result in such a photo being taken. Make no mistake: this is a photo of terrorism.
- Posted by willieNo one is rigth so far.
- Posted by Bruno Tartari - lemelao.blogspot.comThis woman is an Indian during an invasion. They (she and other indians) invaded a land where they will build a dam for eletricity generation. It’s unbelievable that none brazilian said that before in the comments. The conflit is still going on at the Xingu. Recently an indian attacked an engineer with a knife.
In time, MST is no terrorist. Maybe comunists, but no terrorists. There are no charges agains them for killing anybody and, in the other hand, more than one time they we’re attacked and killed by farmers’ guard and even the police.
Alrighty, I’m going to go ahead and say it…we DON’T know what’s happening in this photo. It’s not a video. What we can see is that the woman isn’t fleeing and the soldiers aren’t running after her. Except those on the far left, they seem to be mostly standing still.
Her hand is against the back side of one of their shields - shields that they are using because, as stated, there were arrows being shot at them.
Everything seems to point to this woman pushing back against the soldiers, which in my opinion makes this an even better photo. She’s not fleeing in fear of a militant invader. She’s fighting back against a group of men who are more than likely from similar cultures and out of a necessity for income and assimilation must follow orders that maybe even they don’t agree with.
The picture is powerful…but that’s where it stops. It’s not a platform for building a message or fighting some cause because we DON’T KNOW what’s actually happening.
Just saying.
- Posted by AnonymousThey should really move out of the way. That does not look like abuse, it looks like irresponsible parenting.
- Posted by billy