Photos

zesopol (284) 2008-11-06 10:09

Looking at his face you couldn't really tell he is an hard working boy but his hands and shirt shows how hard his life must be. congratulation steve!

rds
ze'sopol

Roly (1958) 2008-11-06 10:32

Beautiful photograph with a strong message. Top notch photography here, the best image I've seen on TE in a while. As for the content, sometimes I feel rather uneasy when a kid not much older than this one hands me an ice cream at McDonald's. We are pretty harsh on other nations and with good reason, but what is the minimum age in these parts of the world for being allowed to take a paid part-time job?

     thea0211 (1355) 2008-11-06 10:46

gorgeous eyes. movie star smile.
beautiful photograph, indeed. (we get to see you in his eyes, too ;o)
bravo!

ps:
“The grown-ups are certainly very, very odd.”
@ Antoine de saint-Exupery - The Little Prince

     Sheraz (132) 2008-11-06 15:41

I felt obliged to post this lengthy reaction after having read a few cynical and one-sided comments. I agree that child labour ought to be abolished. It's abhorrent and totally unacceptable. However, it's very easy for those of us living prosperously to be judgemental without knowing the ground realities. This kid might not have any parents. It might be that the parents are disabled or old which is usually the case in poor and underdeveloped countries. Try to place yourself in the shoes of the kid. What would you do to survive? You'll find such kids all across the world in Africa, India, South America etc. They too are everywhere to be found. It's hypocritical to have a go at Pakistan in this regard. On a different note, I suggest to the people that purportedly care so much for the well-being of these children to adopt them or at least support them financially. Time to put our money where our mouths are. It's very easy to take a snap of a poor kid and post it with a short note that doesn't shed light on the situation. It's a meaningless gesture that doesn't solve anything. In fact, it's a mockery. Do we get pleasure and satisfaction by being critical and blaming nations for their failures? Why not take the first step instead of pointing fingers and being vocal?

I think it's also very cheap and biased to bring in the nuclear argument. India which is a back-door neighbour of Pakistan is also a place where there are similar and in many instances even worse conditions for children. A country with a population of more than one billion people. India is also a country that possesses nuclear weapons yet many Western people hardly ever criticize their regional ally due to political motives. Isn't it uncivilized that millions of people sleep hungry in slums and that the Indian state wastes billions of dollars on weaponry supplied by the West? Why do we judge by double standards? It's apparent that many turn a blind eye. It has unfortunately become a bad habit of Western people to only bash the select few nations for political reasons. The biased Western media is partly to be blamed for the one-sided propaganda. It has distorted the views of many. Regretful to say the least.

Steve Viscot, you should have at least taken the opportunity to inform about the conditions of this child. Your note only reveals one side of the story. Also, I find it quite astonishing that your visit to other regional nations didn't result in snaps of child labour. Just my two cents...

faubry (32281) 2008-11-12 0:44

wonderful portrait, communion between you and this little boy, deep glance
a lot emotion here
thanks
francine