Thursday, October 25, 2007

An Iraqi Boy Takes Cover Behind An American Soldier




































The kid took shelter behind a hero. The boy knows who will not kill him but will save him.

An amazing and touching set of photos! Look at the soldier standing upright and alert while everyone else runs! Some news photos are so rich in symbolism they're almost like Renaissance paintings in how much they communicate.

Such a photo appeared on the front page of the New York Times's national edition, a picture of the scene after a bombing in Baghdad yesterday. Adding to the chaos of the bombing which killed at least 21 people and injured at least 66 was a shooter, maybe targeting people in the crowd. Amid all the Iraqis who are running from the gunfire was a U.S. soldier, standing tall, perhaps looking in the direction of the gunshots, not apparently looking for cover.

An Iraqi boy seeks shelter behind the soldier, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. The first picture shows it all. The kid's face shows he is scared to death, and he's running to the safest spot he can find: this soldier who stands between him and danger.

It would be difficult to stage a picture that provides a more potent metaphor for the role played by United States in this wretched world.

... thanks to Pat Campbell, www.540wfla.com

No comments: