Photographer's Note
In Yemen, cats are free. With a few exceptions, possibly, but I didn't see any. They're like the cats I've seen on cemeteries, living next to humans, half-fearing them, having to fend for themselves by hunting or living off scraps or an occasional stolen morsel of food. (Increasingly better garbage disposal won't be to their advantage.)
I only saw reasonably well-fed cats in one place: outside the hotel in Kawkaban where we stayed; no one was actually taking care of them but they had hit on the knack of ingratiating themselves with the tourists and begging for food, effectively becoming tourists' pets. They were annoying and flee-ridden as well - not our pets!
Now Yemen is a very poor country, and keeping pets essentially is a luxury, but I saw children carrying puppies (on one occasion even a boy with a little fox) - never children with cats.
Of course, with no humans who take care of them, it becomes a matter of survival of the fittest - or the smartest. This little kitten I spotted seemed to symbolize this to me: just old enough to have to find its own food, not smart enough or strong enough to compete for what little there was. And somehow also a symbol of poverty.
A fly is sitting next to its head: soon this kitten will become food itself.
Prop, erthmuffin, Mondaychild έχουν(ει) επιλέξει αυτή τη σημείωση ως χρήσιμη
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Nicola2004
(104) 2007-06-19 16:54 [Comment]
Mondaychild
(378) 2007-06-20 4:52
Hi Marjolein,
well, I΄m - like Jack - not quite sure about the ethical side of this photo ... I΄m also not quite sure whether I would have taken a photo of a dead cat ... BUT:
No one on this site could/would say that΄s a pet photo. The cat is already death, and this - no doubt - shocking fact makes this photo even more touching, for perhaps even more people. My cat was of almost the same size when I got it.
The most remarkable sentence in your note is the last one: "... soon this kitten will become food itself". The reality IS that sad.
What do you want, Mr. Johanson, Ms. Cordts? Only nice photos of green hills, of well-fed puppies, of little kiddies with "innocence in their eyes". How sweet! But that΄s not the full story about the world. And the intention of this site IS to LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD. About the nice places, but also about the not so nice places!
jrj
(34843) 2007-06-25 3:58
What a motif M. Wonder what you felt and tought when you did this work. Dreaming of your first step to be great photog. ..or just looking forward to present it at TE.
A dead cat and some flies... wow.. too bad using TE for a garbage can for no worth photos like this. Next time place yourself laying at the ground for a good pov and a little closer contact to the dead animal..
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Marjolein Katsma (iamback)
(50)
- Genre: Τοποθεσίες
- Medium: Έγχρωμο
- Date Taken: 2007-04-25
- Categories: Φύση
- Camera: Fujifilm Finepix F30
- Έκθεση: f/7.1, 1/750 δευτερόλεπτα
- More Photo Info: view
- Map: view
- Έκδοση φωτογραφίας: Πρωτότυπη έκδοση
- Θέμα(τα): Mondo Cane [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2007-06-19 12:15
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by iamback, last updated 2007-06-20 06:50