This image broke my heart. It has the power of the Life Magazine image of a terrified little Vietnamese girl running away from bombs and explosions who was on the cover of Life magazine. It is difficult to think of what could exist that is more wrong than this picture below and the other pictures of similar impact and importance. What to do? All we can. And we will!
A young girl cries after another child stole the doll she had found in the garbage dump.
Photographer: Benjamin Rusnak/Zuma
From Doubletruck, Food for the Poor
If this isn’t a testament on what needs to be done…
“Producer Christian Colson told the Daily Mail last night: ‘We have friends and colleagues in Bombay who are trying to speak with Mr Qureshi to get to the bottom of what happened. Her family is under a lot of pressure.’
He and director Danny Boyle are planning next month to visit the young stars, who were plucked off the street for auditions to star in the film.
Mr Colson added: ‘Danny and I are committed to Rubina and Azharuddin for the long term. We are trying to keep a roof over their heads, and keep them in school until they are 18. The problem is there are a lot of parties who are telling the parents different things.
‘We agreed to buy apartments a couple of months ago but that process stalled because they decided they wanted the money up front instead.
‘In the past few days we have got things back on track, and are now back looking at apartments.’
The film makers have set up a trust to give a lump sum to each child when they are 18.
Properties will also be placed in trust, with ownership released to the parents only when the children turn 18 and have completed their education.”
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A Father and Uncle are Purportedly Attempting to Sell the Child Actress, Rubina for 200,000 pounds. Rubina played a substantial role in the Oscar winning movie, “Slumdog.”
From the Telegraph: “Rafiq Qureshi, who lives in a one of India’s worst slums in the city of Mumbai, reportedly attempted to make an illegal adoption deal for the nine-year-old girl.
“We are considering Rubina’s future,” Mr Qureshi is alleged to have told a man posing as a prospective buyer.
“They’ve been talking about giving us a house, but all they do is talk.”
He referred the caller to his brother-in-law, Rajan More, who said: “Rubina’s life is miserable and she lives here with her stepmother. Most of the time she stays with me because she is not happy at her parents’ home.”
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Re: Claims that the child is living in abject poverty and was not reimbursed for her acting services.
Could it be that the movie producers of the Oscar winner, “Slumdog,” didn’t pay the child actors in their movie a good, proper and generous fee?
Fortunes were made, and will continue to be made from this movie, much of it due to its poignant and heartrending expose of child exploitation of the worst sort.
Hopefully, the claims of low payment are false. This family was bestowed, whether by luck or intervention, a rare and special opportunity. Living in squalor and poverty afterwards doesn’t fit…
The children were lauded before the creme de la creme of Glittering Hollywood on Oscar Night. Great emotion and gratitude was expressed to the children for their participation. Then, the children return home to deep poverty… this whole story has so many ironies.
The child selling seems a terrible afterthought considering all the tragic precursors of this story. What an enormous tragedy to feel compelled to to sell your child so that he or she would have a better life.
On the other hand, this could just be a story about desperation and greed. Whatever, it is tragic.
A valiant and courageous hippopotamus actually attempts to protect
and then, save the life of a very young impala gazelle.
After bringing the fawn to shore, the hippo very gently tries to revive
and comfort the little antelope by carefully and tenderly taking its head
into its mouth.
The video below is the clearest resolution I could find. The sound
may be high – you might want to turn down your volume a tad.
It’s an extraordinary video. One person who contributed said it very
well: “One of the saddest stories ever told…”
And yet, you may very well be deeply warmed by watching the
hippo’s magnificent courage and loving actions.
This video is seemingly unbelievable, until you watch for yourself.
Here’s another link to another version of the video:
The hippo and croc live within an uneasy truce. hippos are one of
the most powerful creatures on earth and are capable of biting a
croc in half. Nevertheless, the croc will not hesitate to hunt baby
hippopotamuses.
Here’s another very sad video of a baby hippo being taken by a
crocodile. The mother soon appears to lick and then mourn the
loss of her baby. She raises her head and opens her mouth wide
as if in a silent scream. Devastating.
Notice that the another large hippo is at her side – perhaps the
father.
