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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?

Vorovoro Iron Maiden 2009

Some tribe members this year have seen me swim to the headland whilst the sun’s rising and scamper across the sand when the sun’s setting (whilst having coconuts thrown at me from the President of the Hammock Society!)

Why am I doing this?

I have been planning to complete the Iron Maiden for a while and now the rainy season is over, the route has finally been detangled and cleared and the sea’s calmed down. I am now ready for the challenge!

You might have heard through the Coconut wireless about the first ‘Vorovoro Iron Man’ challenge which Ben Keene and Giles Dawnay completed back in August 2008 and they both raised an amazing amount for Survival International. As Vorovoro has been my home for the last year, I decided to be the first Vorovoro Iron maiden as well as do something beneficial and raise money for the same charity Survival, helping indigenous tribes all around the world.

So what is the Iron Maiden?

The Iron Maiden consists of two challenges on Vorovoro:

1. Firstly, running (well, jogging!) across and over the 4 peaks, including the scramble up to the recently completed dam; then following the mangroves, back on to the beach and finally along to the Tribewanted village to the Volley ball court.
2. A quick slurp on a coconut before grabbing a snorkel and mask, jumping into the sea and swimming the outline of the whole island; around the headland, across to Nakawaqa, along the coastline past the old jetty and Tanoa Park, around the rocks at secret beach, past the waterfall before the final stretch back to the village…phew!

To make the second part even more of a challenge, I am going to leave my fins behind and just use arm actions and leg power to get myself around.

Although I am no professional, I am aiming to do the Iron maiden in less than 2 hours 45 minutes.  I have clambered across the peaks before and swum around the island on various occasions, I won’t have achieved both these challenges together, straight after each other until this day.

When is the Iron Maiden?

I am aiming to complete the challenge on the 2nd July, but in true Fiji style fashion, this is weather and tide dependent. The tide in particular is crucial to get right as it needs to be out enough whilst I am running over and along the island but in enough when I start the swim.
It will definitely be completed in the first week of July and I will keep you all posted.

Further information:

• Check out Survival International.
  
• Sponsor me and support Survival.
  

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Destruction Of People & Planet In West Papua

Photo by Survival International

Papua is home to around 312 different tribes, including some uncontacted peoples. The central mountainous region of Papua is home to the highland peoples, who practice pig husbandry and sweet potato cultivation. The lowland peoples live in swampy and malarial coastal regions, and live by hunting the abundant game, and gathering. Some of the many Papuan tribal languages are related to others, but some are completely unique. The people are ethnically distinct from the Indonesians who control their country.  All the Papuan peoples have suffered greatly under the Indonesian occupation which began in 1963.  Papua’s natural resources are being exploited at great profit for the Indonesian government and foreign businesses, but at the expense of the Papuan peoples and their homelands.

The mining and logging industries have brought environmental destruction and social catastrophe to West Papua’s tribal people. They have also brought the military, which supports many of the businesses, and provides protection for others. The armed forces have an appalling reputation for human rights violations against the tribes.  This industrial development is now also responsible for the spread of the deadly HIV virus. Most of the cases of HIV/AIDS in West Papua can be traced back to the commercial sex industry, which has sprung up around logging and mining projects.  A recent investigation by the Al Jazeera programme ‘101 East’ has shown the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis amongst the tribal people of West Papua, Indonesia.  West Papua has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate outside Africa. 3% of the population are now infected with the virus, and experts fear that by 2025 that figure will rise to 7%. Of every four people who are infected, three are indigenous, even though almost half of those now living in the province are outsiders.

A study in 2001 found that more than a quarter of prostitutes tested were HIV positive. Papuan men, drawn to these industries for work, have now taken HIV/AIDS back to their villages. Official figures put the HIV/AIDS figures at 15 times the Indonesian national average, but field workers say the real figure is closer to 50 times.  The Papuans have suffered years of violence and brutality at the hands of the Indonesian military. As a result, many tribal people blame the government and the military for introducing sex workers infected with HIV, and for failing to take adequate measures to halt the spread of the disease.  Much government treatment and awareness raising about the disease is failing to reach the Papuans – most is centred in the towns, which are dominated by the Indonesian outsiders. Many worry that the epidemic is even worse than feared because so few people in the remote areas have ever been tested, or are even aware of how to prevent the disease.

You can read more about the plight of the Papuan Tribes on the Survival website.  Survival is calling on the Indonesian government to enter into dialogue with the Papuan people so that they are able to decide their own way of life and their future.