Homeopathic practices 'risk lives'

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Title – Homeopathic practices ‘risk lives’
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 13th July 2006

Malaria is a killer, it kills more up to 1 million people every year and in Africa alone a child dies every 30 seconds from Malaria related illness. There can be no doubt that each and every person living in a Malaria endemic area would choose proven and tested medication over any other form of protection. Those of us living in the 'developed' world have the privilege of access to Prophylactic medications and no matter what your beliefs; they are proven to be the safest option in protecting yourself from this harmful and a potentially fatal disease.

Making sure that you have the correct medication is a vital part of any trip preparation; a visit to your GP will confirm what the latest advice is on your chosen destination and prescribe the most relevant medication for you. The market is flooded by alternatives and some have a little merit in deterring mosquitoes, but none are proven and you simply shouldn’t play Russian Roulette with your health, certainly not with a weapon as fully loaded as Malaria’s smoking gun.
During our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop we examine the relevant diseases that blight the world and protection you can take, before you go and seek professional medical advice from your GP or Travel Clinic. Being well informed about the risks at your destinations provides you with, not just the protection awarded to you by medication prescribed by your GP or Travel clinic, but also the equally important ways of preventing infection in the first place. Both sets of advice are needed to reduce the risk from infection of the many virulent diseases that face the intrepid traveller and tourist alike.

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

Healing Touch?

Title – Healing Touch
Source – Straits Times
Date – 25th June 2006

No expensive skin lotions endorsed by Hollywood stars here, this is the extreme of cultural difference to be found while you travel round the world, the haling touch of a terrapin is something we will not find in Boots here in the UK. Embracing the cultural differences between your own country and that of the one you are visiting will allow you better appreciate and enjoy your new surroundings, but some local traditions you may want to avoid by slipping a bottle of moisturising cream into your backpack before you leave.

We run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops for anyone thinking of setting off to tour the world or a small part of it. These courses cover all aspects of travel safety as well as Cultural Awareness training to allow individuals attending to get a sound basis and understanding of each new country they visit and the benefits of embracing these cultural encounters. This not only enables you to appreciate the country you are visiting but also allows you to show respect to the people living in these countries.

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

Bag with a bang

Title – Bag with a bang
Source – Straits Times
Date – 25th June 2006

Although this incident in Thailand is fortunately not replicated in the UK very often, the UK remains on high alert from terrorist attacks and there is always the danger of revenge attacks or civil unrest to contend with.

We also have to be aware that countries which on the surface seem like they are perfectly safe to visit can have an under-reported more dangerous side. For a simple one destination trip this doesn’t pose too many problems as the destination can be researched, however when on a longer trip involving overland routes, you may find yourself transported through the heartland of the conflict. Such can be the case in southern Thailand, a country that still attracts 750,000 British Tourists every year, but which in the south has been struggling with civil unrest for some two years and with over 1200 casualties reported (August 2006 figures).

Beyond The Blue run Gap Year & Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop to provide individuals with the information they require to travel safely throughout the world.

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

Should tourists go to Burma?

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Title – Should tourists go to Burma?
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 19th June 2006

Burma is undoubtedly run by one of the most oppressive, brutal and corrupt governments that is in existence today. It is a country where people are regularly forced into hard labour and where the government actively partakes in attacking its own people with their own army. The list of reported atrocities varies depending who is reporting it, but there is no doubt that the ongoing detention of the democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi (who has been detained for over ten years) is only the most high profile of all the atrocities being carried out in the country.

The opinion on whether tourists should go to visit Burma is one that continues to be played out within pressure groups and the media. Lonely Planet has been openly chastised for printing a guide book to the country, yet even some Burmese pressure groups argue the case for visiting. The arguments in their crudest form revolve around the subject of what the Burmese people themselves want and they too are split into two camps. The first say that outside contact is a good thing as it makes the Burmese people feel less isolated and puts cash into the hands of he locals, empowering local people has long been the starting point for internal revolution. Others say that no matter how hard you try, you can’t help but provide the government of Burma with the much needed foreign exchange required to allow it to continue to oppress its own people.

I believe that individuals should be allowed the freedom to choose where they visit, that after all, is the very principle that the Burmese government is refusing to its own citizens. For this reason I do believe that Lonely Planet has the right to print a guide book and feel that the book reflects a balanced view of the country and problems it faces.

However I have decided to recommend people do not visit Burma and actually to warn against visits for a number of different reasons. There can be no doubt that the people of Burma live in fear and live under a heavy cloud of oppression and feel isolated from the world. But in Burma there is one sentiment shared by the overwhelming majority of the population, which is that the rightful leader of Burma is Aung San Suu Kyi. She has called for tourists to boycott Burma, as the representative of the country, I believe individuals should respect her wishes and stay away until such time as the military regime running the country falls, as it inevitably will, to reveal a county of real beauty and charm.
Beyond The Blue still believes that individuals have to make their own minds up on such matters but will not provide information such as Country Profiles, on Burma at this time and until the situation in that country has been resolved. We will also when asked, advise individuals not to visit the country, but will not judge people who do decide to visit, but just ask them to consider the facts before they leave. More information regarding the situation in Burma can be found at www.burmacampaign.org.uk.

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

Kiss warning to Malaysia tourists

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Title – Kiss warning to Malaysia tourists
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 5th April 2006

Laws change and attitudes change with them, but it is not always the case, as it is mainly in the UK, that society becomes more liberal, here is an excellent example of how western attitudes are polarised from many other parts of the world. A country such a Malaysia is not considered to be extremist, yet to make kissing in public a criminal activity seems extreme to people living in the west.
We provide cultural awareness advice as part of our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop. We examine your chosen destinations and the differences you have to embrace when visiting any country in the world. We focus on the benefits of understanding the culture of the country you are visiting to help you better enjoy your trip and to allow you to behave in a manner that will show respect to your hosts. This in turn will allow you to be safer when travelling as respect shown is very often returned.

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

Britain: Why no travel advisory?

Title – Britain: Why no travel advisory?
Source – The Island (Sri Lanka)
Date – 28th July 2005

This article was discovered by accident as the paper was used to wrap a gift, so although the scan clearly shows the effect of being used as wrapping paper for a year before it was discovered, the article is as relevant today as it was in 2005. It reads:

A man (non-white) who, the British police had reason to believe could be a suicide bomber was shot in the head as ordered by a police chief in London. After the killing the police issued a statement that they had established he was not a terrorist. That is all not one word of remorse. They have gone further and have confirmed that they will continue to shoot in the head anybody they suspect to be a suicide bomber.

Why shoot in the head? It is because it is only by shooting in the head that the victim’s hands could be instantly immobilised and prevented from setting off the bomb. There cannot be any other reason. That being the case it is obvious that instructions have been issued not to attempt to arrest because the suicide bomber will set off the bomb as soon as it is clear to him that his is going to be arrested. That is the reason why the order has been given to kill first and if it is an innocent man issue a statement that the police have established that the man is not a terrorist.

This procedure is to be carried out only after visually establishing that the victim is not an Englishman in spite of the fact that there are many Muslims who could pass off as Englishmen in a crowd. Britain should know that no instrument has so far been developed to detect from a distance a person with sufficient explosives for a bomb concealed in his suicide jacket developed by the friends of the British, the LTTE. Even if an instrument was invented to detect the slightest amount of explosives then every man carrying a box of matches, would be at risk of being shot in the head. The research will have to include the detection of plastic and all other types of explosives. Why not ask your friends the LTTE the type of explosives they use? That probably is what Al-Queda is using. Did the Al-Queda reinvent the wheel and develop the suicide jacket themselves or did they get it from their friends the LTTE. Can we believe that they have no communications with each other?

In view of what the police have done it is the duty of our government to issue a travel advisory as regards Britain so that those who go there know the risks they are taking.
It is now clear that paranoia has gripped the police and that is the first sign of their breakdown. Once the police breakdown the security of the entire nation gets undermined.
See how easily the Al-Queda is doing this? Before it gets to the point where the situation cannot be reversed, wouldn’t it be best to hold immediate “PEACE TALKS” with Al-Queda?
Beyond The Blue does not endorse the sentiments in this letter to the editor of 'The Island' newspaper in Sri Lanka, but rather uses it as a clear demonstration of the opinions of people from other parts of the world have of the UK and the current political climate in the west and Britain in general.

For the sake of clarity the LTTE is the 'Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam' commonly referred to as the 'Tamil Tigers' who are in conflict with the Sri Lankan government for control of the north and east of this island where they hope to establish an independent state.

It is very important that we start to understand and appreciate the views of citizens from other countries around the world and the impression they have of us, both when we travel and when we stay at home and work in our own environment. Beyond The Blue run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshops for those people travelling for the first time and provide them with Cultural Awareness training as well as personal safety training, to help individuals better understand the parts of the world they are visiting. For people working in the UK we can help through our Conflict Management and Resolution Training and the work we do as Consultants in the Security Industry.

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

Mind the gap (year)

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Title – Mind the gap (year)
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 3rd August 2004

Gap Years and Independent Travel are now accepted by many employers as positive experience for potential employees. Many individuals have found themselves in the scenario that at interview they are asked more about their Gap Year then their education. There are others that argue against this view and there are those that think what you actually do on your Gap Year, is most important.

But very few set off on a Gap Year believing that it is a positive career move. Most see it as a life experience that simply can’t be missed. With 50,000 pre university students alone taking Gap Years each year and the increasing number of older individuals taking career breaks, it is inevitable that the regularity of serious incidents being reported can seem to make the rest of the world look like a dangerous place and much of it is.

But surprisingly the news channels that seem to prove a world full of danger is out there, tend not to cover the vast majority of countries that are safe enough to travel in, if you make the appropriate preparations.

It’s not all violence and aggression, although it is not a subject that can be ignored. Many of the problems people encounter are due to medical needs and not understanding the cultural differences in countries they visit.
Beyond The Blue is a training company offering Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshops that teach candidates personal safety skills and provide all the information they will need in planning their adventures. We can help you travel more safely and plan your trip comprehensively in advance to help avoid all the pitfalls that are out there waiting to catch out the unprepared.

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

Workers take Gap Year too

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Title – Workers take Gap Years too
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 8th August 2002

Gap Years are increasingly open to a much wider section of society. Once the reserve of the young adult in search of adventure and even then, only those whose parents could afford to support them, they are now open to everyone who has the confidence to pack a bag and set off to find their own special sunset.

But old or young, rich or self funded, the problems faced when away tend to be the same. Travelling is a great leveller, you arrive at your hotel or hostel and everyone is the same boat and many have the same ambitions. It’s a great way to meet people of all ages and a great way to meet people from all over the world. Travelling 10 years ago in Australia, you would meet British travellers at every turn and if you were lucky a few Europeans and the odd American. Now if you are staying in a hostel dorm, you’ll be lucky enough to find that most of the people you are sharing a room with are from all over the world.
We can help you prepare for your travels and set off in confidence to explore the world and make the most of all the experiences you have with the people you meet along the way. From personal safety information and personal safety techniques to what equipment you’ll need and how to behave in the new countries to ensure that you don’t offend cultural sensitivities, our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop will help you plan in the best way possible to ensure your trip is a positive and safe experience.

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

Gap year of volunteering 'pays'

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Title – Gap year of volunteering ‘pays’
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – June 2002

Most people don’t choose to travel or volunteer as a career choice, usually there is a more spiritual quest or the desire to expand horizons. Many also choose to travel to see the world, meet its people and ultimately to have fun.

Having fun should be a prerequisite, if at the same time you can learn from different cultures and learn how to communicate and integrate in different countries and with people from all over the world, the experience is enhanced. If as well as this you take part in some voluntary work along the way, the benefits to you and the communities you visit, can be more rewarding then what you experience by sightseeing alone.
We can help you realise these dreams and ambitions and put you on the right path to making the most of your experiences and enhancing your employment prospects when you return. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop helps you learn the skills you’ll need to travel safely and the information you’ll need to plan your trip and learn about your destinations before you leave the comforts of home behind.

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

My daughter died on her gap year trip

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Title – My daughter died on her gap year trip
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 13th June 2002

The tragedy surrounding the death of British backpacker Caroline Stuttle in the small Australian town of Bundaberg following an apparent robbery, is every parent’s nightmare. The words of her father are both poignant and inspiring and his message that others should not be put off as a result need no further explanation.

The attacker who tried to snatch her handbag as she crossed a bridge and pushed her to her death over the side was sentenced to life in prison in Australia.

Beyond The Blue is a training company that runs Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshops. Although tragedies like the one that the Stuttle family had to go through can not be eliminated altogether, the personal safety techniques we teach can help candidates avoid some potentially dangerous situations and allow people of all ages and from all backgrounds travel in more safety.
We also offer advice on destinations and although Australia is one of the safest countries to visit, there is still much information and many skills that will help you negotiate the hurdles you will encounter with more confidence.

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