Dear John Wall
I would like to know why South Africa is listed as having a high risk of
crime against birders? I know the US gvt advisory has a lot of scare stats
regarding risks to tourists and I also know that no distinction is made to
crime in cities as opposed to outside cities.
I also know that anyone, anywhere in the world is at risk if they flaunt
wealth in a major city. However, I would be interested in some stats on
the number of birders attacked, robbed or kidnapped or worse in South
Africa. I know of none and am involved with visiting birders from all over
the world on a regular basis.
Considering the wide circulation of your email - I find it alarming that
you have made such sweeping and damning comments.
I have copied my reply and your original message to the SAbirdnet, for
information and comment.
Caz Thomas
Cape Town, South Africa
----------
> From:
> To: ; ;
> Subject: [UKBN] Ranking countries by risk of crime against birders
> Date: 19 April 1998 21:05
>
> I think it might perhaps be helpful to try to categorize countries by the
risk of crime against
> birders. It's very difficult to judge the danger from reading press
reports, since stories about crime
> don't distinguish between the crime that is unlikely to affect birders
and crime that might. For
> example, Brazil is quite a safe country for birders, despite having the
second highest murder rate
> in South America after Colombia, and despite the fact that dude tourists
sometimes are mugged in
> touristy places that birders tend to avoid, such as downtown Foz do
Iguacu. On the other hand,
> many ecotourists have been the victims of crime in Costa Rica and
Ecuador, which tend to receive
> more favorable press coverage than Brazil. Reports out of Indonesia
might lead one to believe
> that a visitor would be subject to great danger of assault, but Indonesia
is one of the safest tropical
> countries in which to go birding. On the other hand, neighboring Papua
New Guinea is one of the
> most dangerous.
>
> Without any statistics at hand, I have compiled an incomplete list, which
is submitted here for
> comment:
>
>
> High risk of crime against birders:
>
> Colombia
> Peru
>
> Nigeria
> Liberia
> Sierra Leone
> Kenya
> South Africa
> Angola
> Mozambique
> Congo (ex-Belgian Congo)
> Algeria
> (and undoubtedly other African countries)
>
> Papua New Guinea
>
> Russia
>
>
> Somewhat dangerous:
>
> Mexico
> Belize
> Guatemala
> Costa Rica
> Ecuador
> Chile
>
> Uganda
> Ivory Coast
> Cameroon
> Zimbabwe
>
> Nepal
> Turkey
>
>
> Reasonably safe (if New York City and Miami are considered "reasonably
safe"):
>
> Brazil
> Argentina
> Paraguay
> Uruguay
>
> Indonesia
> Malaysia
> Brunei
> Thailand
> China
>
> France
> Belgium
> Italy
>
> Safer than home (New York City):
>
> Canada
>
> England
> Netherlands
> Denmark
> Norway
> Sweden
> Finland
> Germany
> Switzerland
> Poland
> Austria
> Iceland
>
> Taiwan
> Japan
> Singapore
>
> Australia
> New Zealand
>
>
> John Wall
> Scarsdale, New York
>
>
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