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British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ environment/ 2008/ mar/ 27/ conservation.realitytv?gusrc=r...
An Indian rights organisation has accused a film crew of travelling upriver and provoking an epidemic despite warnings. By John Vidal
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Influenza in the Amazon
http://www.metafilter.com/70284/Influenza-in-the-AmazonA British TV crew have been accused of spreading flu to a remote Peruvian tribe of 250 members, leading to 4 deaths. TV director Matt Currington (google cache) and team were researching for the Discovery channel in the Peruvian Amazon, when flu struck
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The other side of Reality TV: When Cicadas kill innocent people…
http://movingimages.wordpress.com/2008/04/25/the-other-side-...The other side of Reality TV: When Cicadas kill innocent people… 25 April 2008 — Nalaka Gunawardene I have nothing against reality television. It’s a TV programming format that, according to Wikipedia, presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. In fact, I’ve been telling my friends who are factual film-makers that we can learn a thing or two from the recent successes of some reality TV shows. But everything has its sane limits — and evidently these were exceeded in the recent controversy involving a British TV production company that stands accused of starting a ‘flu epidemic that left four people from a tribe of isolated Peruvian Indians dead and others seriously ill. Matt Currington (in photo above, on the right), a London-based documentary maker, has been blamed for triggering a “mini-epidemic” in the village of 250 people which led to the deaths of three children and one adult of the Matsigenka people, who live in the isolated Amazonian Cumerjali area of south-eastern Peru. The 38-year-old was employed by Cicada Films as researcher when he travelled to the area with a guide last year to scout for locations for the World’s Lost Tribes series, which airs on the Discovery Channel. Here are some extracts from the story that appeared in The Guardian newspaper in the UK on 27 March 2008, written by its environment correspondent John Vidal: The regional Indian rights organisation Fenama, government officials and a US anthropologist working in the region said in statements seen by the Guardian that a two-person crew working for London-based Cicada Films had visited groups of isolated Indian communities despite being warned not to. Fenama said the film team travelled far upriver and provoked an epidemic. It accused them of threatening the lives of Indians and called for Cicada Films to be barred from entering the area again. It is understood the company was scouting for a location to set a TV show for Mark Anstice and Olly Steeds, in which the two British presenters would live with a remote tribe, in exchange for gifts. The company has already filmed episodes in New Guinea. According to the Peruvian government’s protected areas department, Cicada was given a permit to visit only the community of Yomybato. It expressly prohibited visits to uncontacted or recently contacted Indians. “The Cicada team entered [remote headwaters] which are part of the strictly protected zone,” it said. Read the full story: British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe In case you think this is some left-wing or liberal conspiracy, read also The Times London story: TV researcher brought fatal flu to Amazon tribe. The American anthropologist, Glenn Shepard, who met the film team on location, said he had urged them not to make the trip to the Cumerjali settlements, “where people were vulnerable to western illnesses”. “Reality tv seeks ever more dangerous, remote and exotic locales and communities,” he said. Stephen Corey of the international tribal rights organization, Survival International, agreed. “There has been a whole rash of bizarre and extreme programmes on tribal rights. The key issue here is sensitivity which is not often a priority for television companies,” he said. Survival International news: British TV company accused of bringing ‘epidemic’ to isolated Indians British TV company deny allegations about Peru visit According to Survival International, Cicada Films previously caused controversy with a documentary about an expedition to visit Indians in Ecuador, which allegedly provoked an attack from uncontacted Waorani Indians. But Cicada is certainly not alone when it comes to exploiting marginalised people in the global South in the course of film-making. And reality TV is not the only format of TV film making that often oversteps the ethical boundaries in search of a ‘good story’. As I have been saying for sometime now, documentary film-makers and TV news gathering crews are equally guilty of many excesses, lapses and gross abuses all perpetrated in the name of media freedom.
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Daily Headlines: March 28, 2008
http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2008/03/daily-headlines-...* Bolivian president Evo Morales apparently wants to help his country’s World Cup aspirations by joining a second-division soccer team. * Mariela Castro- daughter of the Cuban president- has been active in promoting gay and transsexual rights on the island, according to BBC News. * Did a British reality TV crew start a flu epidemic that killed four Peruvian natives? * The chairman of budget airline firm JetBlue said that he will launch a new Brazilian airline next year. Sources- Associated Press, BBC News, Guardian UK, MSNBC Image- Foreign Policy Passport
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Europeans: Still Spreading Old World Viruses The Old-fashioned Way
http://skirmisher.org/folly/europeans-still-spreading-old-wo...Europeans: Still Spreading Old World Viruses The Old-fashioned Way March 28th, 2008 Filed under: Folly, Health | No Comments » A British reality TV company has been accused of starting a flu epidemic that left four people from a tribe of isolated Peruvian Indians dead and others seriously ill. The regional Indian rights organisation Fenama, government officials and a US anthropologist working in the region said in statements seen by the Guardian that a two-person crew working for London-based Cicada Films had visited groups of isolated Indian communities despite being warned not to. Fenama said the film team travelled far upriver and provoked an epidemic. It accused them of threatening the lives of Indians and called for Cicada Films to be barred from entering the area again. It is understood the company was scouting for a location to set a TV show for Mark Anstice and Olly Steeds, in which the two British presenters would live with a remote tribe, in exchange for gifts. The company has already filmed episodes in New Guinea. link Views:123
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British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe
http://www.speakpeppery.com/?p=646British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe March 27th, 2008 This is terrible. Article here Posted in Uncategorized | By Dawn | No Comments »
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Environmental and Health News
http://globalissuesweb.com/wp/?p=3890MEXICO: New Rules Pave the Way for Transgenic Crops MEXICO CITY, Mar 20 (IPS) - After a three-year-long process, Mexico is about to clear the way for legal cultivation of transgenic crops, in spite of resistance from environmentalists and several small farmer associations. RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Pantanal Indians Threatened by Deforestation CAMPO GRANDE, Brazil, Feb 9 (Tierram?rica) - The indigenous peoples of the central-western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul do not look like the tribes portrayed in film, decked out in colourful clothing and adornments and depending on their natural surroundings to survive in the Amazon jungle. But some of their problems are similar to their Amazonian counterparts, and in some cases even more serious. BRAZIL: GM Maize ?Worst Tragedy? of Lula Administration - NGOs RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 16 (IPS) - Non-governmental organisations actively involved in the Campaign for a GM-Free Brazil are protesting against what they call “the worst tragedy” to befall the country during the government of President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva: the release for cultivation and sale of two transgenic varieties of maize. HEALTH-AFRICA: Training Anaesthesiologists to Do, And To Train CAPE TOWN, Mar 8 (IPS) - The need for a global effort to address the shortage of anaesthesiologists in Africa was highlighted over the past week during the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists — which took place in Cape Town, South Africa. UK on track to meet Kyoto emissions targets, says Benn The UK’s net emissions of carbon dioxide dropped 2% in 2007, according to Defra figures T5 launch marred by BA baggage delays British Airways passengers suffer baggage delays at Heathrow’s £4.3bn Terminal 5 today after technical problems hit the state-of-the-art luggage system Country diary: Ray Collier Ray Collier: Strathnairn ENVIRONMENT-INDONESIA: Deforestation Causing More Than Landslides MELBOURNE, Mar 10 (IPS) - While conjecture remains over whether deforestation was to blame for the landslides and floods that killed dozens of people in Indonesia on Dec.26 last year, there appears to be a consensus regarding other consequences of forest destruction. RIGHTS: EU 'Half-Hearted' in Backing Gender Equality BRUSSELS, Mar 13 (IPS) - The European Union's efforts to promote gender equality in poor countries have been dubbed "half-hearted" by the bloc's only directly elected institution. British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe An Indian rights organisation has accused a film crew of travelling upriver and provoking an epidemic despite warnings. By John Vidal Bibi van der Zee on insulating a stone house Bibi van der Zee: Go for internal wall insulation, which means fixing up something such as insulating plasterboard HEALTH-AFRICA: Anaesthesiology on Life Support CAPE TOWN, Mar 7 (IPS) - A discussion about anaesthesiology and anaesthesiologists is something that could bring on drowsiness, even sleep?Until, that is, the talk turns to shortages of anaesthesiologists in Africa and how this can increase surgical mortality. Statistics on this matter are frightening enough to keep anyone awake.
