A Moral Dilemma

I am an avid photographer, a Steve McCurry wannabe. I admire the award-winning photojournalist’s work. His photographs are beautiful (even if they were shot in squalid locations) and each tells a story, many heartbreaking. Steve is my inspiration and I aspire to capture photographs as astonishing as his. And I had a “National Geographic” photo opportunity in Phnom Penh recently…

I was in a taxi on the way to the airport. The weather outside was great. The dark clouds had made way for blue skies signaling that the monsoon season was over. I wished I could spend another week here I thought to myself as the taxi came to a halt at a traffic light. A boy in ragged clothes walked up to my taxi and stood right in front of where I was sitting by the window. His hands clasped in a prayer pose. I could hear his pleas loud and clear through the window: “Please mister, give me money… please mister, give me money… please mister…” Like a tape recorder that played the same song over and over again.

I wished I could give him money (I really wanted to), but I did not want to encourage him to beg for more and for the rest of his life, so I stood my ground and tried not to look at him. But how not to look at the boy who had a face of an angel, illuminated delicately by the sunlight? His puppy dog eyes spoke volumes of desperation. And suddenly I was reminded of a similar image taken by Steve of an Indian woman carrying a baby peering sadly into a taxi. I wanted to whip out my camera and capture that powerful and poignant moment of the boy with the pretty face begging for money. But a little voice told me: “It would be wrong to exploit the situation!” “But I’m only taking his picture,” I reasoned with myself. This debate of whether I should or I shouldn’t went on for the longest time… And it didn’t help that a woman on a moto was looking at us the whole time. So did my driver! I felt like I was facing a jury.

In the end, the boy sensing I was not going to part with my money, left and walked to other cars to try his luck… but wait, I never even got the chance to open my camera lens cap! And so I missed a great photo opportunity one that could bring me fame and accolades like my hero Steve. Check out his stunning photographs at www.stevemccurry.com.

To this day, the image of the boy still haunts me. And yes, I am still filled with regret for not capturing that moment. Did I do the right thing? It’s just a picture, but why did I struggle with myself? I don’t know about you, but I’ve always believed that nobody should see a child begging…

I will be back in Phnom Penh in June 2008. Maybe I will have another photo opportunity of a child coming up to my taxi and beg? While the avid photographer in me says “you’d better not miss your chance again, dude!”, another part of me hopes never to witness anymore of such scenes. I pray that by some miracle, the boy has stopped begging and is now getting a good education in school…