Creating Facebook albums one child at a time

Blantyre is a photographer’s dream. The rolling hills, multi-coloured birds and salamanders, Lion King-style trees and bustling markets provide great scenery for a 4x6. Adorable children that dance around and play with homemade toy cars on dusty roads complement the ambiance of Malawian life. But on occasion, conditions do arise for photographers in this blissful paradise.

During a recent trip to the picturesque Mount Mulanje, my colleagues and I bypassed the lengthy trek up the mountain and stopped in a small town for a late lunch instead. As we approached Pizza Basilica, we met a group of young children.

We all had our expensive digital cameras out, snapping shots of the gorgeous mountain behind the pizza parlour, when the curious children approached us. We automatically started capturing them on our cameras and in return, showed them the pictures and videos we were taking.

I went through a nearly identical occurrence in Uganda last year and I have always felt uncomfortable with it. Perhaps I become irked by the idea of photographing children because of how it is treated in Canada – in that, we are expected to obtain permission from the guardians. Or maybe I let it get to me when the phrase “poverty tourism” rings through my head whenever I capture an every-day moment for a Malawian that I believe is quaint.

Yet, I pushed past my discomfort and continued on, with surprising delight, as I captured many endearing photos.

The shrieking laughter of the kids, as they hopped around excitedly, told us that they were enjoying the experience just as much as we were. Mission complete: no strenuous mountain climbing, great photos and we made a group of kids smile.

Sounds like a perfect Facebook album right? Upload the photos, slap a few song lyrics on as the title, and call it a day. But it’s not always that easy. Although it is not unlawful to photograph children in Malawi, expectations often arrive in various forms.

The Malawi Code of Ethics merely states that “children under the age of 13 who are involved in cases concerning sexual offences, whether as victims, witnesses or defendants” shall not be identified through any published material. Yet, this clause is only considered a moral guideline and is the only section that refers to children’s rights within the document.

Similarly, in the Human Rights chapter of Malawi’s Constitution, article 35 and 36 encourage freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Malawi’s penal code does not appear to address the issue of photographing children.

Despite these documents, there are still conditions that lie within the photography realm of Malawi.

After our mini photo shoot, a group of men approached us saying that we needed to give the children money in return. Feeling intimidated, we awkwardly passed over a few coins and small bills.

With confusion in their eyes, the children waved goodbye to us as we hurried off to catch the next minibus. As toddlers, I’m not sure if they put the pieces together as to what had just happened. After we left, I was just as baffled as the children were at what had just occurred.

Whether the money stayed in the hands of the children or not, is beyond my knowledge. But I came out with a few incredible photos and sure enough, I posted them to Facebook during my next available weekend.

Note: I submitted this blog post to the jhr site but had to change it around a bit so that it fit with jhr's policies. See if you can spot the differences in the edited version: : http://www.jhr.ca/blog/2010/08/a-photographers-paradise/