World

C.2.3.4. Risk and accountability in issuing advice totourists visiting remote areasThe murder of tourists in Uganda raised seriousquestions about the quality of advice given to touristsvisiting remote destinations and the nature of risk andaccountability in issuing that guidance. There were 86references to this theme in news reports between 1-6March. These mainly occurred on ITN and BBC1, whichfeatured 18 references each, and Channel 5 with nine.Twenty two of these references focused on how theregion had been considered safe for tourists to visit.Reporter: This particular National Park, set up in 1991,had been relatively tranquil and Uganda had beenmaking a lot of effort to try and resuscitate itseconomically important tourist industry, but obviously,this has been a bitter blow. (2.3.99 ITN 1230-1300)Although reports were organised initially to explorethe quality of advice offered by the Foreign Office, thesecontained strong defences of the British Foreign Officeposition. For example, on BBC1 where both thelunchtime and tea-time bulletins on 2 March containedForeign Office officials and ministers defending theiradvice.C.2.3.5. Economic and political implications ofglobal terrorismA few reports contextualised the events within a widerframework, with analysis focusing on longer-term globaldevelopments. Only 27 references related to this, 19 ofwhich occurred on Channel 4 on 3 March. Theseconsidered how the death of tourists in Uganda relatedto emerging new patterns of world disorder after theCold War. The report explored the developingphenomenon of global terrorism and its impact ontourism. It showed how tourists are the growing capitalof terrorist groups, so much so that:abduction is to the 1990s what hi-jacking was to the1970s. On Dawson’s Field in Jordan, Palestinianguerrillas blew up planes to make their demands felt.Today’s armed groups from Uganda and Yemen arerealising abducting foreigners carries similar force. Theend of the Cold War was supposed to open up the world.Instead areas like Chechnya have become no-go areas forforeigners.The report considers how ‘across the globe fromUganda in Yemen’ kidnap and murder emerged as the‘calling card’ for ‘Yemen’s Islamic terrorists’. The reportconsiders how the interventionist policies of the ColdWar unleashed the uncontrollable across the globe, aspolitical interests condense around religious differenceand ethnic identity. The report is heavily directed towardthe growing danger of terrorism for tourists and thecollapse of order in the developing world. Only aninterview with a Channel 4 reporter, highlighted howtraumatic the proliferation of such disorder must be forcitizens of post-client states. For example:Reporter: It’s becoming increasingly difficult tountangle the threads. All of the little rebel movementshave started to work together and then fight againsteachother. Each movement had its own logic, but thatlogic no longer applies as the region becomes morevolatile, as there are more and more weapons, as peopleare poor and desperate and what that means is that it isoccasionally dangerous for tourists or other foreignerswho come here and it’s horribly dangerous all the time forpeople who live here. (3.3.99 Channel 4 1900-1955)Only six references discounted the negative image ofAfrica. These cited the comments of Mark Ross, tourguide to the kidnapped tourists. But, his statement isoften inserted into reports that cast a dubious light onthe judgements of tour operators. One report on BBC2,for example, notes how ‘despite obvious dangers, similartrips to the area are likely to resume.’Newscaster: The westerners who survived the attack arepreparing for their journey home, but despite the obviousdangers, similar trips to the area are likely to resume.Mark Ross, Tour Guide: The vast majority of EastAfrica and South Africa is fantastic with wonderfulwildlife and wonderful people. No, I’m not giving up thebusiness at all. It was a really sad, freaky, I thinkunpredictable occurrence.Other reports contrasted the attitude of survivorsagainst the dead victims.Reporter: For the eight victims though, it is a differentstory. At Kampala morgue, their coffins were beingprepared to fly them home. Four Britons, two Americansand two New Zealanders. (BBC1 1800-1830)The murder of Western tourists in Uganda reflectsmany of the issues raised in earlier work by the GlasgowMedia Unit. For although some news reports providedexplanations of the events and their historical causes,many of the accounts given were very brief and movelittle beyond traditional accounts of Africa, withreferences to ‘tribal’ behaviour which may do little morethan reflect a view of Africa as a place of conflict andunexplained ‘savagery’. At the heart of many of theseproblems is the fact that public knowledge of Africa andmuch of the developing world is very limited. This issometimes also the case for journalists who are assignedto cover stories in such areas. One result is that a highly52 DFID – July 2000