Wow. Nicole said a lot of really great things. None of what I have
to say touches on violence/conflict, because I have no firsthand
experience with it. But I think the same Imperialistic values Nicole
spoke of lead to the things I saw.
The first time I visited a mostly non-white, non-Western country
(Egypt) I was 18. I spent a lot of time wondering who was exploiting
who. It was expected that if you took a picture of someone (or their
oxen or their home or their children or their goats...) that you would
pay them. Tourism is, if I remember correctly, Egypt's third largest
industry/moneymaker. I think it is great to see some of that money go
into the hands of the citizens instead of into just the tour
companies.
I know that people in South America are also wising up to the fact
that we tourists love to take their pictures, and they are more
reticent about allowing it. I took very few pictures of individuals,
never without asking, and usually only if I had purchased something
from them already or if I had talked with them extensively. That
seemed to work out pretty well. I also always gave them copies if at
all possible. I heard several stories of people having their pictures
taken and then being alarmed/surprised/pissed off to see their faces
popping up on postcards, on books, etc. It can be a pretty raw deal,
being a person going about your daily business somewhere we westerners
think of as quaint!
I know I am writing quite a bit here, so I'll try to wrap up soon, but
one more experience I'd like to share. Traveling in South America
(Brazilian Amazon, Venezuela, Ecuador) I was amazed at the number of
other 20-something white westerners who were down there, apparently,
for the cheap beer. They would sleep till 3, go eat something, then
hit the bars (mostly gringo bars) and drink and dance till dawn. There
were also very well traveled routes thru places known for their drugs.
The most contact these folks got with locals was with those who liked
to go to the same kind of bars and pick up westerners. How strange, I
thought, to spend a whole lot of time and money to go to another
country to drink bad beer.
Heather
==
"How many times must you be told
There's no where that we don't go?"
-L7
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