Who do you trust for your information?
The ability to trust or reject information we’re given is a skill we acquire over time. As we grow to understand the place and the culture in which live we assemble a good judgement for whether something we’re told is true or not. Controversy surrounding a recent Survival International campaign has opened a debate on whether we should inherently trust a company, NGO or charity that reports and campaigns on international issues.
Some Balinese practice their Hindu faith / Photo by Stephen Chapman
Trust is always an issue when abroad
Everyone who travels abroad to a new place, particularly a new culture sacrifices the ability to confidently trust people they meet, atleast for a short while. Many of us will have experienced this with the endlessly evolving plethora of intricately composed scams that target tourists the world over. I’ve suffered the hard sell of gems in Bangkok; the ‘friendly’ money changer in Havana, Cuba; the sob stories of art gallery owners in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to name a few, and they are tough experiences that I don’t think you ever really get used to, or anymore adept at spotting. Nobody likes to be made a fool of.
Who do we and who should we trust at home?
These issues of trust are equally present when we’re at home, only we’re often running too much on auto-pilot to acknowledge the automated process of acceptance. Anything the media tells us, anything the government tells us, anything an NGO or charity tells us we tend to listen to and value for no other reason than the fact that we trust the source. This inherent trust can be a dangerous thing, but it also necessary. We cannot possibly question everything we are told and research the facts ourselves. In the same way we all choose to have faith in different religions so too we all choose to trust different sources of information, and we can’t expect these to be correct 100% of the time.
Responsible tourism companies question facts of Survival International campaign
‘Celebrity resort threatens isolated tribe‘ was the story run by UK based charity Survival International, referring to a new project being setup on the Andaman Islands by India based company, Barefoot. This company is featured on the India based responsible tourism site Travel to Care, and as such there have been questions raised (by Travel to Care) as to whether the claims made by Survival International are simply sensationalist, out of touch and attention seeking. Barefoot’s response to Survival International’s press release tends to suggest that they may well be in this case. The letter sent to Barefoot by Survival International can also be read online. Neither side is without an agenda.
Survival International stand by their claims
Following the initial publication of this article Survival International have issued a response and stand by their claims. The location of the reserve perimeter to which they refer, and hence proximity of the resort to the Jarawa people is contested by both parties. If Barefoot can prove that it is indeed 3.2kms away and not the 500m claimed by Survival International then there will no doubt be a mutual acceptance of these facts. It is important to note that Survival International have visited the site and spoken with reliable sources themselves.
Great discussion taking place on the Irresponsible Tourism Forum.
Where do you place your trust?
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Who do you trust for your information?
The ability to trust or reject information we’re given is a skill we acquire over time. As we grow to understand the place and the culture in which live we assemble a good judgement for whether something we’re told is true or not. Controversy surrounding a recent Survival International campaign has opened a debate on whether we should inherently trust a company, NGO or charity that reports and campaigns on international issues.
Some Balinese practice their Hindu faith / Photo by Stephen Chapman
Trust is always an issue when abroad
Everyone who travels abroad to a new place, particularly a new culture sacrifices the ability to confidently trust people they meet, atleast for a short while. Many of us will have experienced this with the endlessly evolving plethora of intricately composed scams that target tourists the world over. I’ve suffered the hard sell of gems in Bangkok; the ‘friendly’ money changer in Havana, Cuba; the sob stories of art gallery owners in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to name a few, and they are tough experiences that I don’t think you ever really get used to, or anymore adept at spotting. Nobody likes to be made a fool of.
Who do we and who should we trust at home?
These issues of trust are equally present when we’re at home, only we’re often running too much on auto-pilot to acknowledge the automated process of acceptance. Anything the media tells us, anything the government tells us, anything an NGO or charity tells us we tend to listen to and value for no other reason than the fact that we trust the source. This inherent trust can be a dangerous thing, but it also necessary. We cannot possibly question everything we are told and research the facts ourselves. In the same way we all choose to have faith in different religions so too we all choose to trust different sources of information, and we can’t expect these to be correct 100% of the time.
Responsible tourism companies question facts of Survival International campaign
‘Celebrity resort threatens isolated tribe‘ was the story run by UK based charity Survival International, referring to a new project being setup on the Andaman Islands by India based company, Barefoot. This company is featured on the India based responsible tourism site Travel to Care, and as such there have been questions raised (by Travel to Care) as to whether the claims made by Survival International are simply sensationalist, out of touch and attention seeking. Barefoot’s response to Survival International’s press release tends to suggest that they may well be in this case. The letter sent to Barefoot by Survival International can also be read online. Neither side is without an agenda.
Survival International stand by their claims
Following the initial publication of this article Survival International have issued a response and stand by their claims. The location of the reserve perimeter to which they refer, and hence proximity of the resort to the Jarawa people is contested by both parties. If Barefoot can prove that it is indeed 3.2kms away and not the 500m claimed by Survival International then there will no doubt be a mutual acceptance of these facts. It is important to note that Survival International have visited the site and spoken with reliable sources themselves.
Great discussion taking place on the Irresponsible Tourism Forum.
Where do you place your trust?
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