Coyote attack victim was rising folk star

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Title – Coyote attack victim was rising folk star
Source – The Times
Date – 30th October 2009

This is very much a ‘freak’ occurrence, coyotes are not generally considered a particular threat to humans. This tragic incident shows that we must always be on our guard against a variety of dangers when out hiking in different parts of the world.

In North America, we would generally see Bears as the main threat to humans. However the reintroduction and dramatic increase in wolf numbers in some areas has elevated the threat from them and the danger from other animals including snakes and hoofed animals such a Bison, Moose (and even large Elk) cannot be ignored. Some parts of the USA also face dangers from smaller animals such as scorpions and the diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes.

I sometimes think that this blog will make people paranoid, as we try and pick up on the wide variety of dangers people may face when visiting other parts of the world, which is not my purpose. We are not trying to scare people off travel, but rather make them aware of the many dangers so they can take often small measures which will offer protection against such incidents. After all you are statistically in substantially less danger from a fatal coyote attack in Canada then from a road traffic accident if you don’t travel and stay at home in the UK.

All I am saying is that we all know that getting in a car we fasten our seatbelts and obey the rules of the road we are taught during our driving test; how many of us know how to protect against animals when hiking in the Rockies? A little knowledge can go a long way…

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at http://www.safegapyear.com/. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Two men jailed for raping backpacker

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Title – Two men jailed for raping backpacker
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 23rd October 2009

I wanted to put this article into the blog because it sometimes feels like I write about all the dangers independent travellers face all over the world as if somehow we live in a perfect country and are surrounded by cotton wool where nothing bad ever happens.

The world can be a dangerous place and through Our Workshop we look to provide ways to reduce the risk where ever you find yourself. However just as there are unfamiliar dangers when you travel abroad, there are equal dangers for those visiting our shores.

This devastating experience for a New Zealand backpacker visiting London sadly reflects on the most vile element of our society and should humiliate our country where a visitor has faced such a depraved attack.

Dangers can occur anywhere in the world but it should never stop us travelling and expanding our horizons and we have to emphasise that the majority of independent travellers experience no serious incidents during travel.

Taking precautions does not mean that you are immune from danger, but taking risk reduction measures does just that; it reduces the risks through awareness, proactive actions and positive decision making.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Lip gloss test that spots if your drink is spiked with rape drugs

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Title – Lip gloss test that spots if your drink is spiked with rape drugs
Source – Evening Standard
Date – 16th October 2009

‘Date Rape’ or ‘Drug Assisted Rape / Sexual Assault’ is a serious issue for independent travellers, unfortunately the reality is often not well understood.

Anything which helps reduce the risks faced from ‘drug assisted rape’ should be welcomed and this lip gloss / testing strip can be one line of defence. There are some problems; how many strips are provided in comparison with the number of drinks which might be consumed? How co-ordinated will an alcohol consumer be after a few drinks to remember or even be able to complete the fiddly test? However something is always better than nothing.

What is much more important is understanding the nature of the problem and dispelling the myths.

‘Drink spiking’ is a very different problem in the UK to other parts of the world. In the UK the majority of ‘drink spiking’ cases are linked to sexual assaults and although not exclusively directed at women the majority of victims are women.

In other parts of the world ‘spiking’ is more commonly used as a means of facilitating theft or even kidnap; this means that both men and women are targeted. That should not take away that drink spiking is still used to facilitate sexual assault and rape.

So for independent travellers the strategies to protecting against being drugged need to be more deliberate and proactive. In the UK we generally consider drinks to be the usual vector for ‘spiking’, in many part of the world ‘food spiking’ is even more common.

The substances used also vary; in the UK alcohol is by far the most used drug in ‘date rape’ and abroad this may still be the case for ‘drug assisted rape’ (no figures are available, but independent travellers should be aware that other travellers are often the perpetrators of this crime), but in ‘drug assisted theft / kidnapping’ it is overwhelmingly ‘illegal drug’ which are used; adding the additional danger posed to victims health from consuming the drug itself.

Understanding ‘drink / food spiking’ and is the most important step in prevention and should go some way to helping people protect themselves from the real dangers. Being cautious of strangers behaviour or accepting food / drinks from them and in some cases the use of testing kits is a start. Having friends you trust to look after you, who are loyal, unlikely to disappear half way through the night and who will ensure you get home safely is the most effective protection.

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Hundreds feared dead in freak flood; It feels as though we are in a war; Hunt for survivors as tsunami death toll nears 200; British boy aged 2 lost..

Title – Hundreds feared dead in freak flood – 28th September 2009 (The Times)
Title – It feels as though we are in a war – 2nd October 2009 (The Times)
Title – Hunt for survivors as tsunami death toll nears 200 – 2nd October 2009 (The Times)
Title – British boy aged 2 lost in tsunami – 30th September 2009 (London Lite)

It has been a terrible few days; we have once again been reminded that for all our technological advances, the earth’s power is still something we can not control, predict accurately or defend ourselves against.

Several hundred dead in the South Pacific following a devastating tsunami; hundreds dead in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos after tropical storm Ketsana wrought havoc and flooding across the region; and destruction on an unimaginable scale in Sumatra from an earthquake which destroyed most of Pedang and the surrounding region, killing a yet to be determined number of people, but a number which will undoubtedly end up being in the thousands.

These are the headlines which have greeted us over the last week and in each case tourists have found themselves amongst the casualties.

These three instances have been so devastating that floods in India which killed over 80 people, landslides in Italy which killed over 50 and drought in East Africa which threatens hundreds of thousands and is destroying wildlife at a rate unseen in many years, have hardly featured.

There are three reasons why I have decided to include these articles in this blog;

The first is that having visited Sumatra and the Philippines as well as much of the Pacific, I can never help but feel a connection with these places and the people who live there. I think that it is undoubtedly true when you travel, you leave a little bit of yourself behind at each place you visit. So when something terrible happens, your sadness for those people who suffer as a result of these occurrences is that much more personal.

The second is that it is obviously important to understand more about the dangers of travel for people going for the first time. During our workshop we discuss the different types of natural disasters which occur and strategies for avoiding those which are ‘predictable’. In the UK we are ‘lucky’ to have a stable climate, not always the climate we would like, but even the most violent storm rarely cause the widespread destruction seen in Southeast Asia. We do not have to deal with earthquakes or the resulting tsunamis, it can make us very complacent to the sheer power of natural disasters such as these and the consequences. They can be seen as a photo opportunity rather than life threatening dangers which can quickly turn from ‘interesting’ to deadly.

The third is that travel undoubtedly generates ‘green-house gasses’ which play a role in the weather patterns which lead to storms, floods, droughts and climate change. I have never been an advocate of stopping people from travelling because of climate change, but the effects of travel need to be reduced to a minimum and where feasible ‘reparation’ measures taken to replace the carbon emissions our travel generates.

These disasters have a devastating effect on local communities, they need help but they don’t need tourists adding to the burden. Tourists should be aware of potential disasters and be able to act in a manner to protect themselves and to avoid adding to the local burden which when these occurrences happen are stretched to breaking point as it is. Often the best intentions of tourist trying to help (when they are not specialist aid or disaster recovery teams) are unwelcome and slow the rescue and recovery effort rather than helping them.

I have never seen disaster on this scale, but I have been in floods, earthquakes and witnessed minor volcanic activity as well as experiencing a tropical storm on one of the most isolated islands in the world and the tail of a cyclone while on a boat in the Philippines. None of these experiences would I care to repeat and none even come close to these recent disasters. I go out of my way to avoid any repeats and I wince when I hear stories of people who think it is heroic to get through such experiences; not avoiding these situations when you have the opportunity to is not brave it is stupid, dangerous and irresponsible. As travellers we often have the opportunity to avoid the worst effects of local disasters, whenever that opportunity presents itself we have a duty to take it. If you want to help… send a cheque.

These disaster areas need our help. While we argue at home about banker bonuses and if we should restrict the many billions they pay themselves to just a few billion, these places just need a fraction of that money; you can help by visiting www.dec.org.uk.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.