Hand Held Essay

We watched the movie Hand Held. This movie showed a photographer Michael Carroll, going into Romania and taking pictures of what Romania was really like during 1990. When he got there he was surrounded by rebellion, hunger, decease and illnesses and prosperity. Families had to have 5 children so that the population could increase but because elf the lack of money, food and records, many families couldn't afford to have 5 children so they would have to send them to orphanages. When Carroll got to the orphanages what he saw and photographed was shocking and sad. Tons of metal cribs lined up side by side. Few nurse and little medical care. Many of the children were sick and dying of AID's and HIV. The most shocking thing to Carroll though was the silence. The orphanage was dead quiet. There was no crying and the babes weren't making any noises. It was sad because a child stops crying when the crying doesn't get them any attention. So the baby slowly gives up and gets depressed. That was saddening knowing that from so early on, the babies have already given up. Carroll was taken to the morgue where he took pictures of the bodes of the dead children. Some, who had seen just days before. The bodies were skin and bones and the life was drained from them. It was horrible.
After, Carroll followed a Romanian family to their baby daughters funeral and by the pictures he took, showed what little they had and really showed that all these families had were each other. Later Carroll when back to America an published the pictures along with articles about the Romanian experience and soon people from all over the US wanted to help the orphans of Romania. Carroll and his wife then started the RCR or the Romanian Children's Relief. They would take money, clothes, toys, medical care and supplies for education down to the orphanages in Romania, trying to help them. Slowly his and other volunteer's efforts helped orphanages in Romania. The orphans had more medicine and were getting better and healthier. They were getting more attention and love and many were getting adopted. Carroll's pictures were the reason that many orphans lives were saved and taken better care of. From the efforts of people like Carroll and many others, they came together to help the children of Romania and I think that Hand Held was an inspirational story.