Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
They discovered the girl’s head protruding from the mudpit, eyes wide open, calling soundlessly. She had a First Communion name, Azucena. Lily. (…)
Source: Allende, Isabel “And of Clay Are We Created.” In: Isabel Allende The Stories of Eva Luna. Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden 1991.
Available at [🔗].
current affairs
This story was inspired by Frank Fournier’s picture of Omara Sanchez who was a victim of the 1985 Armero tragedy in Colombia. [🔗] More recently, Nilüfer Demir’s picture of Alan Kurdi (2015), showing the lifeless body of a Syrian toddler washed ashore in Turkey, shocked the world and made a change to refugee politics. It is one of the Time 100 Photos series and Brendan O’Neill, in The Spectator article “Sharing a photo of a dead Syrian child isn’t compassionate, it is narcissistic” is critical of how the picture was shared on social media.
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questions
1. Rolf Carlé decides to forego his professional duties, that is to put down the camera, and decides to provide companionship to the dying girl. What is driving him?
2. How does Rolf Carlé’s experience in reporting on the tragedy affect him personally? Do you think that it makes a positive change in his own life?
3. Who is the narrator? What is her perspective on Rolf Carlé’s predicament?
4. If you were on the editorial team of a newspaper, would you argue for or against publishing Nilüfer Demir’s picture of Alan Kurdi? What speaks for publishing it? What speaks against?