The picture shows an innocent boy who fell victim to a ‘bomb blast’ in Peshawar, Pakistan on the 31st of August 2012. This blast occurred in a busy market near a mosque at around four o’clock in the afternoon. The bomb was located on a pick up truck stationed in a mechanic shop. The blast managed to take the lives of twelve people and injured several others. No one has taken responsibility for the explosion but it is believed that the local militia were involved in some way.
In the picture we see the boy is gravely injured, struggling to hold on to his life. His own blood stains his clothes. The boy had been placed on a bed in a local hospital and is being treated and cared for by several persons including a nurse and possibly a doctor. The picture has been framed and cropped to promote the boy as the central figure in the picture. The ‘Vector of Attention’ is towards the boy as all the people around him are positioned in a semi circle facing towards him. The photographer is portraying how the victims of the explosions were the main focus of all the people who were present there.
His face is a particularly interesting part of the picture. His eyes are open wide and are blankly fixed towards the ceiling. The only emotion being depicted here is his shock and astonishment at what had just happened to him. He is most probably dazed and has no clue as to what is happening around him. His expression and body language highlight his helplessness in the situation. His limp left arm depicts his weakness; his lifted shirt also shows his inability to help himself.
Another interesting thing to note about the picture is the contrast in color. The boy is covered in blood that shows the chaotic nature of the event taking place in the picture. The man on the right’s clothes are also stained with blood which shows that the people are devoted to taking care of the victims of the blast, whether they get covered by blood that is not theirs. The center of the picture focuses on the red color of the blood while the edges of the picture are a lighter color. Red is an emotionally intense color that depicts danger and chaos. It excites emotions usually motivating the viewer to take action. The white edges, comprising of the nurses and doctors white clothing, are trying to suppress the intensity of the red, which signifies that they are attempting to help their injured patient.
The hospital staff is also a vital component of the picture. Their body language indicates haste and provides us with an insight of what they go through every time there is a terrorist act in their areas. The blur caused by the police officers hand, and the man on the left s hand gives the picture the effect that there is a lot of motion taking place in the picture. The woman on the left appears to be a nurse as she is covered in a full white veil. She seems to be cleaning the boys wound, possible preparing his arm to receive medication via syringe. The man next to her appears to be the doctor as he is wearing a pair of glasses and seems to be in his forties due to his greying beard. His actions also serve as a clear indication of his profession as he seems to be taking the boys blood pressure with his right hand while at the same time consoling the boy with his left hand, which is curved to be able to pat the boy on his head. He is the only person in the picture looking directly into the boys eyes giving him the authority in the picture. The police officer standing at the back does not seem to be doing much as his lower body is only visible in the picture. The man on the right appears to be in a state of shock as one can observe that he is holding his cellular phone upside down in his left hand. He could have possibly been the person who carried the boy from the area where the bomb detonated as he has a large bloodstain on his ‘Kurta’. The photographer, Mohammad Sajjad, is attempting to highlight the everyday dangers present in the country. This boy is just another victim amongst the other thirty five thousand killed this year due to terrorist activities in the country. The death toll in the country has risen to such a large number that every person being killed is just another insignificant addition. The residents of Pakistan have become immune to the news of people being killed in their country as it occurs on such a regular basis. Bomb blasts, including suicide and remote bombings, shootings, kidnappings and theft have all become common occurrences in the country. This picture aims to make people empathize at the fact that the innocent youth are being attacked and fall victim to such horrible acts. The picture raises awareness amongst the masses that even the most innocent of people are not safe in the country.
These chaotic acts are usually caused by the local Taliban as well as other small militant groups present in the country. The Taliban are predominantly present in the northern regions of Pakistan including the North West Frontier Province and the ‘Federally Administered Tribal Areas’. Their influence is the heaviest in these areas. The city of Peshawar, where this blast took place, has hosted around eighty incidences involving the local Taliban, including abductions, explosions and killings. The Taliban have been present in this area since the Soviet Afghanistan war several decades ago. The Afghanis were supported and supplied by the United States and several Arab countries to expel the soviets from Afghanistan. During the war several militants and refugees leaked into the northern Pakistani regions. They were allowed to stay in the country as they aided Pakistan in the struggle for Kashmir. After the 9/11 incidents, Pakistan banned these militant groups that lead them to turn their guns towards their newly adopted country. The current Pakistani government has failed to contain the spread of Talibanisation. Corruption, bribery and other malpractices caused the government to turn their eyes away from the rising militancy and towards their own personal greed. This greatly aided the Taliban to intimidate the people of the country via mass incidences of violence.
These types of Photographs are not commonly seen in US newspapers and journals, as these occurrences are rare and often censored. The media fears that such graphic images may offend several people. Meanwhile, most of the Pakistani media aims to show the nation the brutality caused in the country hoping to make them aware of the pain and suffering the people in the nation have to endure.
Work Cited

http://www.cssforum.com.pk http://dawn.com/2012/08/31/three-killed-as-blast-rips-through-peshawar-market-officials/ http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/nwfp/datasheet/peshawar_incident.htm