Acho que devias contar a historia dela, pode ser em portugues, eu traduzo para ingles.

That's an interesting opinion (slightly maoist?).

First: who has the right to establish the right of a citizen to bear children or not?

Second: in a lot of cultures (including the mozambican) a family's wealth is based on the amount of children, increasing the probability that at least one of the children will take care of their parents and/or counting with the high infant mortality rate that is a sad reality in most poor countries. If one of these children does well and becomes, for example, a doctor or lawyer, the responsibility to take care of the family automatically fall on this person.

Third: most "impoverished" people always have the hope that their situation is a temporary one.

Fourth: I could argue that there's a lot of rich people out there that although having all the conditions to educate their offspring in the best way possible, make a pretty bad job at it, wouldn't you say? Examples are all over, don't need to go very far...

On this case (of palapala's photo), this lady had family that lived not far away from her (in Inhambane) but no one took care of her and she eventually died some days later. She had been living on a swamp area with nothing to cover her but a piece of cardboard exposed to the rain (it rained non stop for weeks that summer).
All of this happened right in front of a catholic mission on one of the city's busiest roads...

Phew there are so many wrong things in our society, I am no GOD, but the thought of taking a picture and marvelou(ing) the agony of the suffering subject is also disturbing. This just reminds me of the picture by Kevin Carter: http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/odds_and_oddities/ultimate_in_unfair.htm

@abe -- isn't that contradictory to what you have responded to in the past? Why is it you don't cry foul when the photography tends towards sexuality?

... I am of the school of thought a photograph is a photograph is a photograph --- linking back to that silly phrase - beauty is in the eye of beholder - which implies the opposite is true. But, most importantly, any descriptor for a photograph is derived by the person viewing it.

If we start to prescribe what can be shared and what cannot, then we might well as change to: this is pornography.

Para ja o meu obrigado a todos que dispensaram o seu tempo em comentar esta minha fotografia.
Nao foi minha intensao alterar o estado niguem, nem tao pouco tirar partido da desgraca alheia.
Ao UP so posso agradecer toda a informacao que prestou, e na qual nao vejo necessidade de algo acresentar.
E uma fotojornalistica.Foi minha intensao mostrar, que estas nossas sociadades nao sao so
cores vibrantes,bonitas paisagens e lindos seres humanos.
Penso que teremos de ter coragem em olharmos para tudo que de menos bom existe na Humanidade, para que num futuro, pelo menos alguns valores possam comecar a ser mudados.
Nao so humanos, mas do ambiente.
Anterior a esta fotografia no mesmo espirito publiquei neste site uma sobre o ambiente, o que acredito que tecnicamente nem posso ser uma boa fotografia, mas na verdade ela nao teve o impacto desta mesma. Penso sera tempo para refletirmos.
Ao Up Os meus agradecimentos e ao mesmo tempo o favor para traduzires este meu comentario.
Bem haja a todos nos.

Many tanks for your good vibration.

Palapala’s comment translated at his request:

“Firstly I would like to thank all of you for the time you’ve dedicated on commenting my photo.
It wasn’t my intention to offend anyone or take advantage of anyone else’s misfortune.
I would like to thank UP for all the information he gave, to which I see nothing else I could contribute.
This is a journalistic photo. It was my intention to show that these (our) societies are not only vibrant colours, pretty landscapes and beautiful human beings.
I think we need to have the courage to look at everything in humanity, even the not so good, so that, in a near future, we can start changing some of its values. Not only on a human level, but also on an environmental one.
Before this photo I uploaded another one about the environment *, in the same spirit, although not so powerful or technically well achieved, which had less of an impact. It is time for us to reflect on all these issues.
To UP, thank you for translating this comment.”

*age of stupid – reference to the movie with the same name (translator’s note)

Wow,,, gripping stuff ya'll. @Abe: I hope you've been enlightened some.

Suffering is suffering. I don't think this woman would be begging if she had another alternative, ie. that estranged family in question. Our (western) society keeps denying that these things are not happening in the world. Photojournalists have adopted a "put a face to the pain" mentality in order to inspire empathy and simultaneously combat apathy.

I'm convinced that a good bulk of the world does not care about the suffering. They care about their own sufferings, dire or meager. This woman suffered in full view of a church that I'm gonna assume teaches compassion, understanding so on and so on...

IMHO, anybody who unashamedly accepts a Pulitzer Prize on stage (for this kind of photography) is morally challenged. Especially if they don't use their new-found-fame to relief some of that "Snap'd" or "Captured" pain.

A photographer has to always detach themselves away from the subject ... Its like being a surgeon today you may save a life tomorrow you may loose one ... pennies worth! But iyo on the birth controll ish ... Man you mean no hankie pankie ... Its a recreational activity you cannot deprive humans of that ... They will go craze ...