Kevin Carter was a wonderful South African photojournalist who won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for his photograph depicting the 1993 famine in Sudan. The photo depicts a starving Sudanese with a living vulture behind her waiting for a meal. When interviewed he stated how he followed the sobbing sounds and thus discovered the scene. He waited a little longer for a perfect shot while hoping the vulture the spread its wings in attack mode. He claimed to have chased the vulture away a rested under a tree to compose himself before heading to the airport.
It was only when the photograph made the newspaper front pages that he was in high demand for interviews. It was in one of the interviews when a caller called in asking about the girl. He said that he doesn’t know whether she made it to the UN food aid station as he was late to catch a flight home given the conflict. The caller stated that there were two vultures preying on this girl, the other was behind the camera. The negative remarks made Carter take away his life in July 1994 and die of carbon monoxide, a mere four months after the photograph made headlines.
Carter’s Upbringing
Carter was accustomed to being in such situations. Despite being raised Catholic and questioning how his “liberal” family, could be what he described as ‘lackadaisical’ about fighting against apartheid. He witnessed the mess-hall waiter being insulted, and tried to defend the man, resulting in him being beaten badly by other servicemen. It was after witnessing the Church Street bombing in Pretoria in 1983, that he decided to become a news photographer and journalist and worked for Johannesburg Star. Carter was the first to photograph a public “necklacing” execution by black Africans in South Africa in the mid-1980s. Carter later spoke of the images: “I was appalled at what they were doing. But then people started talking about those pictures… then I felt that maybe my actions hadn’t been at all bad. Being a witness to something this horrible wasn’t necessarily such a bad thing to do.”
The Paradox
I reflect on this photograph after I was asked why I would advocate for people to be analysts given I have just left a lucrative analyst career for a calling to assist others to be analysts. It sounds like a paradox at first glance. The moment before I decided to leave my career, I must have felt like both Carter and a girl in the photograph. If assisting others to be analysts was the aim, there were rules I had to follow before being allowed the opportunity to appoint a team of analysts or start a program for analysts. The best way to have this opportunity would be heading up the strategy and reporting function which I had interviewed for and promised to be sponsored for the role.
On the other hand, I feel my superiors saw me struggle like the girl and they were waiting for my defeat for a meal. This is after realising how my job was converted into a senior role twice. The first was converting a senior financial business analyst role into a senior financial manager for an analytics role. The second was converting the senior strategy analyst role into the head of strategy, analytics, and reporting. I submitted a proposal about how the reporting function should be operated and how I’m the best candidate in both instances. Both attempts failed. My tenure was seven years for the initial role and a mere three months for the latter. The pattern was clear. This is why I needed to understand what happened before and after this award-winning photo was taken.
The Symbolism of the Photo
The story of what transpired before the photo was taken became symbolic of what I went through before I handed over my resignation. I read that Carter was bound by the UN rules not to intervene in the conflict in any way. This is why he had not assisted the girl in any way besides cashing the vulture away for a little while. The humane act would be why didn’t you give a girl a lift to the UN food aid station because that was where his flight was leaving? In so doing he would have broken the journalist rules thus jeopardising the ability to earn/consult in the future. It was better for Carter to comply with the conduct of the professions and leave humane lead leadership.
Integrity of Leaders
This made me question the integrity of my leaders at the time. We had numerous conversations and I admitted that I don’t see their side of the mountain but where I’m standing, and my side of the mountain leads to an unfulfilling career where I won’t be able to lead a team that polishes and create analysts. The issues of budget were also frustrating especially when I wanted to implement strategies to win in strategy reporting and analytics. The nail in the coffin was when I was told that I have a new manager who was an external appointment for the role I was promised to be mentored and sponsored for. To date, my hiring manager has not accepted wrongdoing which makes me question her integrity. It was a perfect moment for me to be a lead analyst to implement change but not the executive responsible for the function. It was similar to how the photo would have no impact if the girl was not there.
I believe that Carter could have given a girl a lift, given her nutritious food in the car, and dropped her off a short distance to the UN food aid station. This would have not violated the professional code but shown humanity in adverse situations. The team rather wanted to cover up the inhumane acts by reading out the fine print in their defence. The only thing that made Carter not enjoy his fame was after the world ridiculed him. This was a different reception compared to when he quoted how “being a witness to something this horrible wasn’t necessarily such a bad thing to do”. Similarly, the integrity of my leaders will not be questioned, nor will I have a legal battle with them. I know they have a reason (side of the mountain) that they will use to aid their lack of integrity that resulted in my not seeing a math of academic accolades to career progression.
Developing Analyst
I hope to develop analysts who are resilient to adverse situations like this. My career would have been better if I sought after a coach and mentor back in 2008. It is for the same reason why professional soccer players still need a coach irrespective of their talent. There was no one to help me understand this when I started. My purpose is to help analysts understand the right time to start walking towards the UN food aid station when they still have strength. This way, none of the vultures would have had to benefit from our misery. This is putting my purpose in parallel to the picture taken by Carter. Later it was reported that the girl in the photograph actually lived, and it was a boy who died from a fever in 2007. This was dismissed by many as an excuse because of trying to find moral ground. Thus, will be the same if my superiors had a chance to defend their actions.
Conclusion
It is not easy for anyone to leave a job for a future that is certain and unfamiliar to them. Many have reported that people don’t leave organisations but leave managers. In my case, I left my team even though I had almost two decades of relationship with the organisation. The purpose statement of the organisation was not strong enough for me to soldier on with leaders who lacked integrity. It was thus better to close the chapter by throwing the baby out with the bath water. There was no energy left in me to stay in the organisation and look for another team to lead. There was no more strength left in me. I could only assume this was the same reason why Carter decided to take his life despite the fine print used in his defence. He knew what he had done and thus quoted it in his suicide note. We would never know whether my former leaders confess their actions while playing golf or in socials. All I am interested in is the path ahead of me and not the one I have conquered.
