The new CrimeExpoSouthAfrica Web site has caused quite a stir. The site is designed, it says, to alert the world to the dangers of coming to SA, given the high levels of violent crime.
"Awful", "a good idea", "terrible", "hard-hitting" and "useful" are some of the terms I`ve heard colleagues around me using to describe the Web site. Feelings are mixed, and always fairly strong.
The site was founded by Neil Watson, a Cape Town insurance broker who appears to be more than a little unhappy with what government is doing to fight the scourge of murders, hijackings, rapes and armed robberies in the country.
So this is his way of getting the message to the world. I think it`s fair to say that so far he has done well in that regard: the story of the site`s launch hit ITWeb`s radar via the Reuters international newswire - which is unusual for South African-based news.
Graphic
Watson must also have a fairly strong stomach, and expects others to possess the same. He seems quite happy to publish some truly gruesome photos of a person lying butchered in a bath, the charred remains of a baby that was wrapped in newspaper and burned alive, and a dying man who was tied to the back of his car and dragged 600m after a violent hijacking.
"No one wants to buy a ticket and return in a body bag. We will not leave any stone untouched in exposing the murderous society in South Africa," writes Watson in one of his eloquent editorial pieces. He adds that the only way the authorities can be made to stand up and listen is to sabotage the nation`s tourism.
"Our message is now in circulation around the globe and international tourists increasingly are taking note of the brutality in South Africa. South Africa can expect to register a drop in tourist figures by January 2007."
I generally don`t take seriously anyone who begins a sentence with the same two words they ended the last one, but in this case I have to say we should all be a little worried about what Watson`s antics might do to SA`s tourism industry.
Responses
The site was founded by Neil Watson who appears to be more than a little unhappy with what government is doing to fight the scourge of murders, hijackings, rapes and armed robberies in the country.
Dave Glazier, journalist
One colleague, whose own column on this issue will appear in the next issue of iWeek magazine, suggests the site has the potential to do something positive. The only way to reduce the 'serious` crimes in SA is to increase police and military visibility, and just maybe the site might contribute to some kind of re-allocation of state funds in this direction.
I don`t tend to agree with the notion that the site will 'get the job done`. I firmly believe there are other, more level-headed ways of raising awareness within the country and getting South Africans to better collaborate on petitioning the authorities, not taking it further outside the country and jeopardising our growingly-lucrative tourism trade.
Without that, general economic conditions in SA would obviously decline. Is this really a strategy to fight crime?
One of the nation`s most popular online community forums, JoBlog, is literally packed with heated responses to the site, and from what I can see, almost all of the postings are critical of Watson and his team.
This comment, I thought, captures the general feeling towards CrimeExpoSouthAfrica: "Please don`t give this person credit for actually doing anything remotely constructive... he is merely spreading fear, loathing, and sensationalism, in the hope of forcing foreign visitors to stay away. His poorly-designed, barely literate 'website` is nothing but a platform for bile, hatred, sick 'humour` and thinly-disguised racism."
Allegations that Watson`s pictures are sourced from other places also abound.
When I searched around the site a little more, it suddenly dawned on me what this guy is actually doing. Look at the evidence: an SMS response service costing R3, 'online tombs` for sale, a request for donations...
He`s just trying to make a quick buck, that`s all this is really about.
Related story:
SA site offers glimpse of crime
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