In 1997, American tourists. Moments of history

Over the past five years, foreign citizens have adopted two hundred and seven Georgian children, mostly infants.

In 1997, eighty-nine babies were already found with new parents abroad. Most of them were exported to America and Canada. However, at the end of last year, a ban was imposed on the adoption of children by citizens of other states in Georgia. “Due to the increasing frequency of rumors about their subsequent sale.” Until the adoption of a new law on adoption.

Following Georgia, a number of changes to the family, civil procedural and other codes were considered and adopted in the first reading by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Its resolution “On urgent measures to increase state control over adoption” notes that in Russia “an internal market for children is being formed, which poses a threat to the country’s national security.” If the amendments to the law are adopted, interstate adoption may be suspended in Russia. This means that hundreds of orphans with congenital pathologies, whom Russians never adopt, will lose hope of finding a home and family...

CHILDREN'S HOME MARAUDERS

The end of August 1994 was remembered by a team of Russian and Georgian doctors created by the American International Fund for Child Assistance “FRANK” for the rest of their lives. So strong was the shock from what he saw in a dilapidated building over the years civil war orphanage in the Georgian village of Akhalkalaki, near Kaspi. About sixty orphans with varying degrees of disabilities were abandoned to their fate and doomed to a slow death. Due to severe exhaustion and illness, the little ones did not even have enough strength to drive away the flies that clung to their skin, which was already eaten away by lice and mites. And the flies circled there in flocks. The little ones, deprived of care, had long been on their own, and in the forty-degree heat there was such a monstrous smell in the rooms that the members of the commission that arrived at the orphanage had difficulty crossing the threshold.

Unlike toddlers, older children could still sit. But the sight they presented was no less depressing - real skeletons, the weight of which was equal to the weight of the bones. Doctors immediately formed an association with concentration camp prisoners. When the children were asked what they ate, the answer was: “Soup.” And by soup we meant bread mixed with boiling water. As it turned out later, the main and only breadwinner of sixty abandoned sick children was the eldest of them, George. He looked no more than twelve. In fact, the boy was seventeen years old. Every single day he went to the nearby town of Kaspi and unloaded cars there. The orphanages were fed with the bread they received for their work. So they somehow survived until the end of the war, left entirely to their own devices.

This also caused bewilderment because the orphanage was not located on the outskirts. Villagers constantly walked past him, whose gardens at that time were simply bursting with fruit. But no one even thought of pampering the young orphans. The children had not seen any semblance of bed linen for a long time - they slept on a pile of rags piled on armored beds. Clothes have also long since turned into rags. Only the elders were lucky, one might say. Somewhere, miraculously, they managed to grab some soldiers' cast-offs. But even they did not save us from the cold in winter. Moreover, a good half of the glass in the house flew out. And inside there was only one “potbelly stove” for everyone. The central heating, of course, had not worked for a long time. Water supply and sewerage too. The light in the evenings came only from candles. At night, rats ran around the rooms.

The doctors simply cried from such unimaginable trials that befell Georgian children. Don't be shy about your tears. These people, who have seen a lot in their lifetime, have never encountered anything more like a concentration camp. It was simply impossible to describe the conditions in which children with congenital pathologies were kept in any other way. The teachers and the chief doctor who were urgently called to the orphanage have heard enough from the commission! You could say they were former, because since the beginning of the war they had not been paid and they abandoned their work. With the exception of two nannies. They still looked at the children at least occasionally. But they were unable to provide any concrete help.

In order to somehow make their existence easier for the children, the vice-president of the FRANK charitable foundation, Nina Kostina, distributed money to the teachers. But care for orphans has not improved. The nannies continued to treat their charges rudely. Even with a commission from America and Moscow. And the children of these two women in blue coats were clearly afraid, and when asked about them, they immediately closed off. The adults got the impression that something was happening in this orphanage.

This was confirmed in December of the same year, when the foundation’s employees brought a large shipment from America to the Akhalkalaki shelter. humanitarian aid– food, medicine, clothing. Then they personally dressed the children in everything new, distributed toys to everyone and fed everyone. And when we returned to the orphanage three days later, we didn’t even find a trace of the humanitarian aid. Then the children, already accustomed to the guests, told them that at night their teachers took all the boxes out of the house, replaced new clothes with their old cast-offs, and in the morning they told them that the children had simply dreamed about all the gifts.

But that will all happen later. And at the end of August 1994, the commission that first arrived in Akhalkalaki decided to evacuate sick and exhausted children from Georgia to Russia. Since some were in such a stage of exhaustion that they could not survive the flight, others had unfavorable prognoses for rehabilitation, and others - older - had already adapted to the conditions and could survive, only twenty-five people were prepared for the journey. Those in whose eyes “there is still some sparkle of life left,” as one of the doctors will later say.

Having secured the support of Shevardnadze, part of the Russian-American brigade flew off to prepare everything for the treatment of children in Moscow and Yekaterinburg. Having settled all the formalities, they returned only two weeks later. Already in a strengthened composition - with a group of resuscitators. They brought a lot of diapers and clothes, which they changed the children into. Everyone took part in loading them into the Ikarus and the plane. The babies were caressed, kissed, hugged, and no one even thought for a second about the lice infesting their heads.

They only realized it in Moscow, when everyone began to itch, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams. But the unluckiest of all was Anna Gelashvili, who had luxurious long hair. While the rest of the delegation got by with a two-week course of kerosene treatment, Anna had to give up her curls. She endured it courageously.

Meanwhile, under IV drips in the intensive care units of hospitals in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, the children came to their senses. Gradually we got rid of lice, scabies, dystrophy and intestinal disorders. They were treated completely free of charge - at the expense of the federal budget - for about a year, many underwent complex operations. One-year-old Lina Kostichenko had a congenital defect of her left leg - her knee started right from her hip, which is why her mother abandoned the girl. Two-year-old Archil Sikharulidze had no urinary tract. There is a wonderful story connected with this child.

Sergo Poghosyan. 1994

Everyone's favorite Sergo Poghosyan, born in 1990 according to his documents, was even luckier. In August 1994, all that was left of him was skin and bones. At four years old, he weighed only four kilograms, could only sit due to exhaustion, and had a whole bunch of diseases. But his huge eyes on his emaciated face could not leave anyone indifferent. In addition, Sergo was the only child in the orphanage who smiled, and meaningfully.

Yekaterinburg doctors also doted on him. And they were very worried when they discovered another disease in Sergo - brittle bones. They were even afraid that the boy would never get back on his feet. But Sergo stood up. Exactly in a month. It was a big holiday for the clinic’s doctors. Everyone ran to see such noticeable progress, and the boy was simply squeezed in.

When the doctors did everything in their power, some of the children returned to Georgia, some remained in orphanages in Yekaterinburg, and four, including Sergo Pogosyan, were sent for further rehabilitation to an American hospital. At the same time, employees of the FRANK International Fund for Children, whose headquarters are located in Washington, began to find parents for these four. There were no problems with three of them; their pathologies were not so serious. With Sergo it turned out to be more difficult. Russian doctors suspected he had an organic lesion of the central nervous system and predicted death by the age of twenty.

The last examinations for the final “sentence” of Sergo were done the day before he was discharged from the hospital. And before receiving the results, the vice president of the foundation, Nina Kostina, a Russian emigrant currently living in Washington, took everyone’s favorite to her home. Being a deeply religious person, she decided to baptize Sergo in the Russian Orthodox Church. That day, everyone present at the baptism prayed that Sergo’s diagnosis would not be confirmed. And the miracle happened. This is how a completely different stage in life began for Sergo. From a hopelessly ill child, essentially a suicide bomber, he turned into simply sick and weakened.

For a boy with this diagnosis, parents were found immediately. When the foundation staff saw him expectant mother Lori, everyone was amazed at her resemblance to Sergo. As if they were really family. So, after completing all the necessary documents, Sergo Pogosyan became Sergei Michael Holts. In addition to him, the family of Laurie and George has two more children - their own son Ben, five years old, who suffers from diabetes, and a seven-year-old adopted daughter from Russia, Tatyana, who has a severe clubfoot. Recently, Laurie and George Holts adopted another Russian girl - with severe facial pathology.

“Why do you need so many sick children? – I asked Lori when she arrived in Moscow. “It’s very troublesome for a working woman to take care of them.” “I have a background in medicine and know how to help such children,” Lori answered me. “Besides, we are a very religious family.” And for us it will be great joy make happy the children whom everyone has abandoned. There will always be a place in families for healthy people.”

IS THE GENE POOL GOING ABROAD?

According to the New York City International Medical Adoption Consulting Service, approximately ten million American families wish to adopt a child each year. But only a few ultimately succeed. Last year, for example, Americans accepted thirty-four thousand children abandoned by their parents into their families. Mainly from Latin American countries, Eastern Europe and Asia, China and the Russian Federation, where there are many orphanages. And not at all because there are no orphans in America. The point is a local law that gives the birth mother the right to demand her “abandoned” child back from the adoptive parents at any time. No matter how many years he was raised in new family and no matter how attached he became to her. The situation for adoptive parents is tragic. So childless spouses look with hope across the seas and oceans, where there are no such laws and where there are a huge number of disadvantaged children. In Russia alone there are about one hundred and forty thousand of them.

But they all Russian legislation, are subject to international adoption only if they were not adopted by Russians within a certain period of time - usually six months from the moment the mother wrote an application to abandon the child. Of course, every American dreams of adopting healthy baby. Although, according to experts, any orphanage resident - even without visible pathologies - can only conditionally be called such. And the “mildest” disease is considered mental retardation, since its syndromes sometimes disappear on their own if the child ends up in a loving family. Americans understand this well and consider it a blessing to adopt a child with such disabilities.

The Russians are not taking risks. And this is the problem with our entire system. We take only healthy children, mainly newborns or under the age of three. What about the rest? Only some of them get the chance to find a family. Sometimes the requirements of adoptive parents are too strict. For example, one fifty-eight-year-old Muscovite has been traveling to orphanages for many months in search of a nine- to ten-year-old girl with strictly defined characteristics: intellectually developed, without close relatives, heavy heredity, with Slavic appearance, and so on. One such person was found once - in a school for gifted children, but the woman thought that the girl’s ears were pierced a little higher for earrings than usual, and therefore she was a sectarian. And the lady left again with nothing...

What then can we say about disabled children? According to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, we have not yet recorded a single case of their adoption by Russians. As scary as it may be to admit, children with pathologies are desired only abroad, where they are perceived completely differently than in their homeland. Although foreigners are also normal people and, just like Russians, they strive to take into families, first of all, small and healthy children. But this does not at all exclude cases of adoption of disabled people. Neither Americans nor Italians have a strict division between the healthy and the sick. For them, all children are children. That is why situations when American fathers and mothers themselves ask to find a child with developmental disabilities for them are not uncommon. Of the three to four thousand Russian children adopted by foreigners annually, about eighty percent have multiple diseases and disabilities. One girl from orphanage There was a huge spinal hernia. The other has severe clubfoot. The third child was born without a right hand. And they all found parents in America.

There is a known case when a legless invalid from the Vietnam War adopted two twin brothers through the same child assistance fund “FRANK” - one from birth did not have a right leg, the other – a left one. But after six months, none of the kids felt inferior. Excellent prosthetics gave them the opportunity not only to walk, but also to run, play football and even swim. Of course, the twins grow up, and their prostheses have to be changed often, but this is not a burden for the happy parents at all. We take children into families so that we have someone to give us water in our old age, and foreigners strive to take care of orphans.

“In America, helping a child with a developmental pathology is not a problem at all,” says Armen Popov, a representative of the American International Fund for Child Assistance “FRANK”. – If in Russia parents are frightened by the cleft lip or cleft palate of their newborn baby and because of this they abandon him, then in the USA such a child is operated on in the first months of his life, and by the age of six or seven he is left with only a small scar. Since it is mostly middle-class couples who adopt in America, they can easily afford treatment for a sick child. And not even one.

The story of little Anya and Dani became widely known in America thanks to its fantastically happy ending. A two-year-old girl with a cleft lip was adopted by the Americans in 1992. Typically, children at this age adapt quickly to new conditions and within a few months understand an unfamiliar language well. But in in this case Something was wrong with the baby. Surrounded by the care and love of her new dad and mom, she nevertheless felt sad and kept asking her to bring her brother to her.

Sergo Poghosyan. 1997

Currently, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, adopted in 1995, we do not have the right to separate a family. That is, if a brother and sister live in an orphanage, then both are subject to adoption. It’s more difficult when you have to take three, four or more children at once, which also sometimes happens. The other day, for example, a married couple from the Yaroslavl region took five brothers and sisters to Canada, whose alcoholic mother was deprived of parental rights. The same number of children left for America from the Ivanovo orphanage. What Russian would dare to do this?

WERE CHILDREN SOLD FOR ORGANS?

As difficult as it may be to admit, international adoption has today become a kind of business that brings considerable income to American agencies. Childless families have to stand in endless lines “for a child,” not only here in Russia. In America, however, the waiting period is shorter, but it takes about a year to prepare a package of necessary documents, which contains absolutely all the information about the adoptive parents. And it is estimated, according to the FRANK Foundation, from one to five thousand dollars. Another four to five thousand must be paid to the agency (non-profit, licensed, government-controlled) for services. If the child being adopted lives in another country, then all expenses for their own residence abroad, where the second stage of adoption takes place, also falls on the shoulders of the future fathers and mothers. This is an established practice in the USA, and it is not for us to abolish it...

In Russia, as in other CIS countries, adoption is free. Not is it true, a huge field of activity for dishonest people? And there are plenty of examples of this. Let us at least recall the case, unprecedented in its cynicism, of the sale in the United States of newly born babies by doctors at a Lvov maternity hospital. Or the case of a certain Mrs. Houston from Khabarovsk, who worked for twelve American adoption agencies at once and quite openly determined the price of her services through the Internet - from eleven to twenty thousand dollars for each child. Since the investigators were not always able to trace the further path of the sold children, speculation began to arise among the people about their transfer for organ transplantation.

Nowadays, not a single article about traffickers caught red-handed can do without this version. Although no official confirmations no to that.

“The first noisy case of the disappearance of children arose ten to fifteen years ago, but in connection with Guatemala,” says Deputy Minister of Education of Russia Elena Chepurnykh. “As the investigation established, a company involved in organ transplantation, blood transfusions and the creation of a certain type of medicine that required either serum or the blood of newborns was involved. A huge scandal then broke out. And after it, the legislation regarding punishment for this kind fraud, both in Latin American countries and in the United States itself.

In Russia, international adoption was allowed in the early nineties. But then only disabled people were subject to it. Then the law was softened, and foreigners also had the opportunity to take healthy children into their families. However, during that period, quite a lot of confusion arose in the system of guardianship and guardianship. And cases of newborns going missing immediately after their mothers abandoned them in maternity hospitals have become more frequent. Obviously, the babies, bypassing official authorities, were directly transferred for adoption, but nevertheless, a version about their transfer for organs appeared. It was in connection with this that a large check was carried out then. The commission included the UNESCO Children's Fund and the Prosecutor General's Office, which investigated these same cases of disappearances. The following conclusions were drawn: the children were indeed adopted, and all the rumors about the transplantation were lies. Since then, many more similar checks have been carried out in Russia. But not a single fact of the transfer of children to organs has been confirmed.

Over the past six months it has risen new wave similar rumors. One article after another followed in the press. At the beginning of this year, “Interlocutor” especially “distinguished itself” with the article “Living Goods.” Along with various horrors associated with Russian and international adoption, the newspaper cited statements from the head of the Department for Minors and Youth Affairs General Prosecutor's Office RF G.F. Polozova about why it is beneficial to use infants’ organs, and thus seemed to confirm the likelihood of such situations. Gennady Frolovich was outraged by such an unexpected turn in the conversation with the journalist and wrote an official refutation to the newspaper, where he pointed out the author’s elementary ignorance of the details of the problem. “Just one passage is worth it,” wrote Polozov. “Our children become needed by foreign parents only as slaves or, even worse, donors of internal organs.” It’s a shame, gentlemen, it’s a shame at least not to know that the UN commission, pestered by the “yellow” press, nevertheless conducted a special investigation into the so-called child donor organs and did not find a single similar fact anywhere in the world.”

“The UN commission also recently visited Russia,” continues Elena Evgenievna Chepurnykh. “And I didn’t find any violations either.” You know, when you want to write something “fried”, a version is immediately put forward about the sale of children to foreigners for organs. For some reason, we believe that only bastards live in America. There really was a case of murder by the mother adopted child, because of which, in fact, the problem flared up. But nevertheless, we do not have a single orphanage whose further fate we do not know. Each region has a whole system of monitoring children, especially those adopted through foreign agencies. Once every six months they are required to provide us with detailed reports regarding the health of the children, as well as their life in their new families. And so on for at least two years. Some agencies maintain contact with Russian guardianship and guardianship authorities for five or more years. There were, of course, cases of agencies being dishonest in their duties. Then we contacted the consular services of the Russian Federation and asked to collect a dossier on each child who had fallen out of our sight. We have never been refused...

Even if the traces of some children illegally sold to foreign citizens are lost somewhere, this does not mean that their parents sent them “for spare parts.” You need to have at least a little understanding of American legislation concerning children. Parents do not have the right to leave their minor child unattended for even a minute, and for a few slaps on the head they can simply be brought to justice. The state and various public organizations strictly monitor the observance of children's rights. As for the interest of Americans in children with pathology or physical defects, it can be explained solely by their mentality.

Perhaps the bills proposed by the Committee on Women, Family and Youth Affairs will put a barrier to legal chaos in the field of international adoption. But at the same time, tens of thousands of orphans will be deprived of maternal warmth and love, albeit on another continent, as has already happened in Georgia. What kind of “protection of the rights and interests of children” are we talking about here? After all, these unfortunate people have NO opportunity to find parents in their homeland.

The world's first septuplets to survive childhood are ready to go their separate ways after leaving school. All seven McCaughey children - Kenny, Kelsey, Natalie, Brandon, Alexis, Nathan and Joel - received diplomas in high school Carlisle, Iowa.

The septuplets have had a difficult journey since birth. They were born nine weeks premature in November 1997 and weighed between 900 and 1800 grams. Doctors feared they would not survive. Their mother, Bobbie McCaughey, had a pituitary gland disorder that caused her body to not produce enough hormones to ovulate. An injection of the infertility drug Metrodin turned out to be more than effective. Bobbi and her husband Kenny refused selective reduction multiple pregnancy, having learned that they were pregnant with seven children.

(Total 23 photos)

Sevens with their mother and older sister Mikayla.

The family received generous donations, including a 511-square-foot home, a van, a year's supply of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a two-year supply of diapers.

All seven McCaugheys - Kenny, Kelsey, Natalie, Brandon, Alexis, Nathan and Joel - graduated from high school together.

Among the donations was tuition at Hannibal La Grange University in Missouri, where some of the children will attend. Others decided to enroll military service, and someone will immediately go to work.

Natalie a little after birth.

Alexis, who has cerebral palsy, placed in the top 15 percent of her class, and she and her sister Natalie earned spots in the National Honor Society.

Natalie wants to become a primary school teacher.

In 1997, newborn septuplets caused a stir in the press, and their parents became the center of public discussion. Some people condemned them for having so many children and allegedly exploiting them, while others, on the contrary, were very supportive.

Brandon after birth.

US President Bill Clinton personally called the family to congratulate them, and then the McCaugheys appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show. The family also received free trips to Disneyland and Mallorca and still live in the donated house.

Brandon will join the army, which he has dreamed of since he was three years old. His siblings are already preparing for his departure in June.

As the media hype began to die down, Kenny, who works for a metal coating company, decided to teach his children the importance of hard work and that much of what they experience comes from their unique history.

Kelsey was born the smallest, weighing only one kilogram.

“I was always afraid that they would look at our work and think that this was enough to have all the good things,” he said in an interview. “I gradually told them the bitter truth. That I could never afford to buy such a house on my salary. If you want something, you have to earn it."

And parents have always seen this sense of purpose in their children, including Alexis and Nathan, who were born with cerebral palsy. Nathan taught himself to walk and trains every day. “I taught myself to walk because I really wanted to learn,” he says. “It’s getting better and better every time.”

Kenny Jr. after birth.

Alexis still uses a walking aid but has become co-captain of her school's cheerleading team.

Kenny wants to work in construction and will study at university.

The septuplets are grateful to fate for their big family, and parents - the help of friends and relatives. Now the adult children are ready to start their own way through life.

Alexis was born with cerebral palsy.

Alexis wants to become a teacher.

Nathan was also born with cerebral palsy.

Nathan plans to devote himself to science.

Joel was born last.

In 2007, the McCann family, mom, dad and three small children, were vacationing on the seashore in Portugal. One terrible evening their peaceful vacation and peaceful life interrupted.

My parents were having dinner with friends in direct view of their room. There was only 50 meters between the restaurant and the room where the children slept. What could happen there if the children cry, you can just hear them?

When the parents, Jerry and Kate McCann, returned to the room, they found only the twins, the youngest children, sleeping there. Their 3-year-old daughter Madeleine disappeared without a trace.

Portuguese police, together with Scotland Yard, have launched a large-scale investigation. The child was not found either then or, looking ahead, now. Many versions have been worked out. The worst thing for parents is their own involvement in the disappearance of their daughter.

Witnesses testified that three days before the abduction, a stranger was photographing children on the beach. The investigation suggested that he selected potential victims for the customer or customers.

Despite the fact that the charges against Jerry and Kate were officially dropped in 2008, a former Portuguese police officer who conducted the investigation published a book in which he accused the parents of simulating a kidnapping.

They say that the child died or was carelessly killed by his parents, they hid the body, and blamed everything on the mysterious kidnapper. The former cop earned about $300 thousand from this book, and last year he published another book, again about the McCanns.

In Great Britain, there were “social activists” who began to raise money to prosecute the parents for the murder of their daughter. True, after collecting the money, the scammers disappeared.

Between 2007 and 2016, the UK Home Office spent £12 million searching for the girl. During this time, 9,000 signals were processed indicating that the child had been seen or at least heard about her whereabouts. Thanks to this large-scale operation, a Belgian pedophile involved in the disappearance of other children was detained in Portugal.

Photo identikit of 2010, where the girl is 6 years old In 2011, a secret organization involved in kidnapping children on order was uncovered. Several pedophile websites where orders for children were placed were discovered and closed. Users of these sites were taken into development and under surveillance.

The peculiarity of Portugal is that due to its too porous borders, in this country it is very easy to kidnap a child and take him to North Africa.

However, despite all measures, Madeleine herself has still not been found. In Rome, a tramp girl who looked about 13 years old (that’s what the girl would be now) was identified as Madeleine, but this turned out to be a false lead.

The UK Home Office has repeatedly announced that it was calling off the search, only to then raise the issue again and receive funding.

The parents themselves are looking for the child with the help of private detectives and an announced reward for help in finding their daughter. They do not lose hope that Malden is alive and that she will be able to return to her family.

The best photographs at the turn of the 20th - 21st centuries, winners of the most prestigious international competition World Press Photo photojournalists 1955-2006. Perhaps these photos have already been on LAMe, but I couldn’t find them. Perhaps many have already seen them, but still. There is no photoshop, makeup, or models here, these are real situations, real emotions.

I realize this is too much for a post. But thanks to those who watch to the last.

1 . Volk Molle motorsport championship in Denmark. August 28, 1955. Photographer: Mogens von Haven, Denmark.

2. The daughter meets a German prisoner of World War II, who was released by the USSR. 1956, East Germany. Photographer: Helmut Pirath, Germany.

3. Dorothy Counts, one of the first black students, goes to college.September 4, 1956.
Photographer: Douglas Martin/AP, USA.

This photo shows us the oppression of blacks in the United States in the mid-20th century.
One of the schoolgirls, Elizabeth Eckford, recalled the day she arrived at school:
“I approached the school and came across a guard who was letting white students through... When I tried to squeeze past him, he raised his bayonet, then other guards did the same... They looked at me with such hostility that I was very scared and did not know , what to do. I turned around and saw that a crowd was advancing on me from behind... Someone shouted “Lynch her! Lynch her!” I tried to find with my eyes at least one friendly face in the crowd, at least someone who could help me. an elderly woman, and her face seemed kind to me, but when our eyes met again, she spat on me... Someone shouted, “Drag her to the tree!” Gotta take care of the nigga!"

4 . National Football Championship, game between Prague and Bratislava. September 1958.
Photographer: Stanislav Tereba, Prague, Czechoslovakia.

5. A right-wing student kills the chairman of the socialist party, Inejiro Asanuma. October 12, 1960, Tokyo.
Photographer: Yasushi Nagao/Mainichi Shimbun, Japan.

6. A soldier mortally wounded by a sniper holds on to priest Luis Padillo.June 4, 1962, Puerto Cabello naval base. Photographer: H ector Rondon Lovera/Diario La Republica, Venezuela.

7. Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire to protest religious persecution by the Vietnamese government.June 11, 1963, Saigon, southern Vietnam. Photographer:Malcolm W. Browne/AP, USA.

In June 1963, a Buddhist monk went to the busiest square in Saigon, doused himself with gasoline, sat in the Buddha pose and set himself on fire. The self-immolation was undertaken in response to oppression by Catholics, successfully exploited by the South Vietnamese government. This monk burned to death - sitting and silently, and the author of this photo, Malcolm Brown, received a Pulitzer Prize and a World Press Photo Award.

8. A Turkish woman mourns her husband, who became a victim of the Greek-Turkish civil war.April 1964. Ghaziveram, Cyprus. Photographer:Donald McCullin/for The Observer, Quick, Life, UK.

9. A mother and children cross a river to escape American aerial bombardment.September 1965, Binh Dinh, southern Vietnam.Photographer: Kyoichi Sawada/United Press International, Japan.

10. American soldiers drag the body of a Viet Cong (South Vietnamese rebel) soldier on a leash. February 24, 1966, Tan Binh, southern Vietnam.Photographer:Kyoichi Sawada/United Press International, Japan.

11. The commander of the M48 tank, 7th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army at his work. May 1967, southern Vietnam. Photographer:Co Rentmeester/Life, The Netherlands.

12. South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Viet Cong member.February 1, 1968, Saigon, southern Vietnam.Photographer: Eddie Adams/AP, USA.

Eddie Adams, as a photojournalist, visited 13 “hot spots”, where his lens caught a lot of things that did not make him smile. But he took his best shot, if it is appropriate to put it that way in this case, in Saigon on February 1, 1968, while covering the Vietnam War for the Associated Press. The man on the left is General Loan of the Vietnam National Police, the man on the right is Viet Cong prisoner Lem. In a second, the latter will be gone - a bullet will blow his head off right on the street of Saigon.

13. A young Catholic during clashes with British troops.May 1969, Londonderry, Northern Ireland.Photographer:Hanns-Jorg Anders/Stern, Germany.

14. Shootout between police and bank robbers.December 29, 1971, Saarbrucken, eastern Germany.Photographer: Wolfgang Peter Geller, Germany.

15. Phan Thi Kim Phuc (center) flees napalm dropped by mistake by South Vietnamese troops.June 8, 1972, Trangbang, southern Vietnam. Photographer:(Nick) Ut Hong Huynh/AP, Vietnam.

16. Democratically elected President Salvador Allende seconds before his death during a military coup at the presidential palace.September 11, 1973, Santiago, Chile.Photographer: unknown, New York Times.

On September 11, 1973, a military coup took place in the capital. During the storming of the presidential palace, Allende was shot by the attackers. According to the American magazine "News week", an autopsy found 13 bullet wounds in Allende's body. Venezuelan Senator Jesus Soto Amesti, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the National Congress, gives the figure 17. (According to the Pinochet government, Salvador Allende committed suicide )

17. Victims of drought.July 1974, Nigeria. Photographer: Ovie Carter/Chicago Tribune, USA.

18. A child and a woman fall while trying to escape a fire.July 22, 1975, Boston.Photographer: Stanley Forman/Boston Herald, USA.

19. Palestinian refugees.January 1976, Beirut, Lebanon.Photographer: Francoise Demulder/Gamma, France.

20. Police spray tear gas during unrest in the illegal settlement of Modderdam, South Africa. People are protesting against the destruction of their homes. August 1977. Photographer:Lesley Hammond/The Argus, South Africa.

21. Protest against the construction of Narita Airport.March 26, 1978, Tokyo, Japan. Photographer:Sadayuki Mikami/AP, Japan.

Construction and development of Narita Airport Japanese history its consequences can be compared with the role of the Vietnam War in US history, as it led to the most vocal and protracted conflict between the Japanese government and the Japanese population. The runway was completed and the airport was supposed to open on March 30, 1978, but the opening was disrupted; on March 26, 1978, a group armed with a Molotov cocktail drove into the airport in a burning car and crashed into the control tower, destroying much of its equipment. . Due to this, the start of the airport's operations was postponed.

22. A Cambodian woman cradles her baby while waiting for free food to be distributed.November 1979, Sa Keo refugee camp.Photographer: David Burnett/Contact Press Images, USA.

23. Hungry boy and missionary.April 1980. Karamoja region, Uganda. Photographer:Mike Wells, UK.

24. Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero Molina, members of the Civil Guard and military police hold the Spanish parliament hostage. February 23, 1981, Madrid, Spain.Photographer: Manuel Perez Barriopedro/EFE, Spain.

"One Night's Riot" Attempted coup in Spain. National Guard officers led by Antonio Tejero captured members of parliament. The coup was thwarted thanks to King Juan Carlos I. In Spain, they quickly tried to turn the page of the calendar with the inscription “February 23, 1981.” The trial of the conspirators took place in record time short term. Of the 33 accused, 11 were acquitted. The rest received, for the most part, minor sentences and were soon released. Official version those events are known to everyone. But many questions remained to which no one considered it necessary to find answers.

25. The aftermath of the massacre of Palestinians by Christian Phalangists in Sabra and the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon.September 18, 1982. Beirut, Lebanon. Photographer:Robin Moyer/Black Star for Time magazine, USA.

26. Kezban Ozer found her five children dead after a devastating earthquake.October 30, 1983. Koyunoren, eastern Türkiye.Photographer:Mustafa Bozdemir/Hurriyet Gazetesi, Türkiye.

27. A child who died as a result of a poisonous gas leak during an accident at the Union Carbide chemical plant.December 1984. Bhopal, India. Photographer:Pablo Bartholomew/Gamma, India.

28. Twelve-year-old Omayra Sanchez is trapped in the rubble caused by the eruption of the Nevado del Ruz volcano. After sixty hours of being trapped, she lost consciousness and died. November 16, 1985. Armero, Colombia. Photographer:Frank Fournier/Contact Press Images, France.

1985 On November 14–16, the largest eruption of the Nevado del Rus volcano occurred in Colombia in terms of the number of victims and material damage. A column of ash and rock debris rose into the sky to a height of 8 km. Hot gases ejected from the crater of the volcano and gushing lava melted the snow and ice on its top. The resulting mudflow completely destroyed the city of Amero, located 50 km from the volcano. The layer of mud reached 8 m in places. The volcano practically destroyed everything around within a radius of 150 km. About 25 thousand people died, total number victims exceeded 200 thousand.

29. Ken Meeks' skin was left with ugly blemishes due to Kaposi's Sarcoma, caused by AIDS.September 1986. San Francisco, USA. Photographer:Alon Reininger/Contact Press Images, USA/Israel.

This photo may not compare with modern photos on the topic of HIV-infected people, but still...

30. A mother is pleading with riot police to return her son after he was arrested at a demonstration accusing the government of fraud in the presidential election. December 18, 1987. Kuro, South Korea. Photographer:Anthony Suau/Black Star, USA.

31. Boris Abgarzyan grieves for his 17-year-old son, a victim of a terrible earthquake.December 1988. Leninakan, USSR (Armenia).

Spitak earthquake. On December 7, 1988, 4 cities and 365 villages of Armenia were subjected to great destruction, as a result of a powerful earthquake. The epicenter was located near the city of Spitak, where the earthquake was estimated at 10 points, in the city of Leninakan (now Gyumri) - 9 points, in Kirovakan (Vanadzor) - 8 points.
More than 61 thousand residential buildings, more than 200 schools, 180 kindergartens, 160 medical institutions. 25 thousand people died, 140 thousand became crippled, more than 514 thousand were left homeless. The consequences of this disaster are still felt today.

32. A demonstrator confronts Chinese People's Liberation Army tanks at a demonstration promoting democratic reform.June 4, 1989. Beijing, China.
Photographer: Charlie Cole/Newsweek, USA.

33. Relatives attend the funeral of 27-year-old Elshani Nashim, who was killed at a rally protesting Yugoslavia's decision to revoke Kosovo's autonomy.January 28, 1990. Nogovac, Kosovo, Yugoslavia. Photographer: Georges Merillon/Gamma, France.

34. US Sergeant Ken Kozakiewicz mourns the death of his comrade Andy Alaniz, a victim of friendly fire on the final day of the Gulf War.
Then they did not yet know what would happen in ten years... February 1991. Iraq.Photographer: David Turnley/Black Star/Detroit Free Press, USA.

35. A mother lifts the body of her child, who has died of hunger, to take him to the grave.November 1992. Bardera, Somalia.Photographer: James Nachtwey/Magnum Photos/USA for Liberation, USA/France.

36. Palestinian boys raised their toy guns in defiance of the Israelis.March 1993. Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip.Photographer: Larry Towell/Magnum Photos, Canada.

37. A man from the Hutu ethnic group was maimed by police who suspected him of sympathizing with rebels from the Tutsi ethnic group.June 1994. Rwanda.Photographer:James Nachtwey/Magnum Photos for Time magazine, USA.

38. A young boy looks out of a bus loaded with refugees who fled the epicenter of the war between Chechen separatists and Russians, near Shali, Chechnya. The bus returns to Grozny.May 1995. Chechnya.Photographer: Lucian Perkins/The Washington Post, USA.

39. Victims of a land mine in Quito. During the civil war in this city, many people were killed and injured.1996 Kuito, Angola.Photographer: Francesco Zizola/Agenzia Contrasto, Italy.

40. A woman cries outside the Zmirli hospital, where many of the dead and wounded were taken after the Bentalha massacre.September 23, 1997. Capital of Algeria.Photographer: Hocine/AFP, Algeria.

41. At the funeral, relatives and friends comfort the widow of a Kosovo Liberation Army soldier who died the previous day while on patrol.November 6, 1998. Izbica, Kosovo, Yugoslavia. Photographer: Dayna Smith/The Washington Post, USA.

42. An injured man walks along Kukes Street in Albania, one of the largest gathering points for ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing violence in Kosovo. April 1999. Kukes, Albania.Photographer:Claus Bjorn Larsen/Berlingske Tidende, Denmark.

43. Uncounted Americans: A Mexican immigrant mother makes picatas to feed herself and her children.year 2000. Texas, USA.
Photographer:Lara Jo Regan/for Life, USA.

44. The body of an Afghan refugee boy is being prepared for burial.June 2001. Jalozai refugee camp, Pakistan.Photographer:Erik Refner/for Berlingske Tidende, Denmark.

45. Surrounded by soldiers and villagers digging graves for earthquake victims, a boy holds his trousers dead father and squats near the place where his father will be buried.June 23, 2002. Qazvin Province, Iran.Photographer:Eric Grigorian/Polaris Images, Armenia/USA.

46. The man tries to soften difficult conditions son in prison for prisoners of war.March 31, 2003. Photographer: An Najaf, Iraq. Jean-Marc Bouju/AP, France.

47. A woman mourns a relative killed by the tsunami, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India.December 28, 2004.
Photographer:Arko Datta/Reuters, India.

48. A mother and her child at a free feeding center.August 1, 2005. Tahoua, Nigeria.
Photographer: Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters, Canada.

49. Young Lebanese men walk home through the destroyed streets of Beirut on the first day of the truce.August 15, 2006. Beirut, Lebanon.
Photographer:Spencer Platt/Getty Images, USA.

Many photographers have gained recognition thanks to these photographs. As practice shows, in photojournalism it is often like this - one dies, the other receives an award (the third just sits and enjoys...)