Monday 13 August, 2001
The Image of Rosita
Every year there is one TV picture that strikes people's hearts. In March 2000 the image that caught the world's imagination was that of a woman giving birth in a tree during floods, which devastated Mozambique. She was eventually rescued from the tree with Rosita, her new born baby, by a South African helicopter crew.
The image that was captured by the world's TV crews was invaluable in attracting the world's attention to the fate of Mozambique but also raised issues about media coverage.
African Performance, tells the story of an image that shook the world.
An Electrifying Effect
The floods had been affecting people in Mozambique for weeks. But it was the image of mother, Sophia Pedro and Rosita being plucked from a tree that made the world wake up and take notice of the humanitarian disaster that had struck this African country.
The image triggered a response in public sympathies, suddenly donations were rolling in to aid organisations, governments were sending their armed forces out to help rescue people.
Newsrooms, excited by the images and the public interest they were likely to generate, sent out additional staff to cover the floods and to capture the drama's and the crises on film.
At Risk From Reporters
The foreign journalists arrived in Mozambique in their droves to record the events of the floods. Unlike Mozambican TV they had money to rent helicopters and equipment. They had access to resources that even the rescue operations couldn't afford.
Every morning Maputo airport would become a whirling mass of rotor blades. As the South African Military took off to rescue people stranded in trees and on rooftops, helicopters full of reporters were in hot pursuit. They were looking for acts of bravery, dramatic images to send around the world and feed the television audiences fascination.
Yet, while the cameras whirred and caught each rescue on film, tugging on the heart strings of the western world, the helicopters that were carrying film crews may have been endangering the people still waiting to be rescued.
The power of the downdrafts, the enormous forces of wind produced by the rotor blades of the helicopters could well have blown exhausted Mozambicans out of surrounding trees while the cameras were focused on the winching to safety of one or two people from another tree.
The Benefits of Broadcasting
While journalists may use up resources and, in the pursuit of a story, their activities can prove hazardous, their reporting can also be of great benefit. The image of Rosita and her mother being airlifted to safety generated an extraordinary response in terms of aid.
| 'Dramatic coverage of a disaster drives international interest.' | |
It was the pictures of Rosita, which made the world aware of what was happening in Mozambique.
World coverage is more likely to result in intervention by other countries in helping a country's plight. A few powerful images can put foreign governments under increasing pressure to provide aid. For example following the broadcast of Rosita's rescue the UK flew out four RAF helicopters to help with the rescue efforts.
False Images
Not all people who watched the rescue of Rosita liked the image that it produced. For some the image of a black woman giving birth in a tree and then being rescued by white South African Helicopter pilots just appeared to reinforce racial stereotypes. Images of white people saving black people not Africans saving Africans.
In actual fact the black Mozambican navy saved more lives than the South African helicopter pilots but it is the images of the helicopter rescues that were captured on film and remain in people's memories. The image of Rosita presented another example of how the media coverage of disasters can shape our perception of the event.
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Following their rescue, Rosita and her mother were taken on a World Tour to raise money for Mozambique.
In New York, they left cheques in their hotel room, unaware of their value. They were taken to designer stores and given nappies and clothes for the baby.
Today they have a house in Maputo and live in relative luxury compared to the thousands of Mozambicans that suffered a similar fate. |
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