Thursday 10 June 2010

This is going to keep me busy...

With majority opinion expecting between 11 and 100 violent deaths at the World Cup in South Africa, they're already limbering up. From The Telegraph:

A World Cup photographer was held at gunpoint during a pre-dawn burglary at a lodge used by journalists, raising further concerns about security in South Africa this summer.*

The two robbers, brandishing at least one handgun, made their way undetected through two rooms where journalists were sleeping before rousing a Portuguese photographer in a third room, police and victims said. Antonio Simoes, the photographer, was awakened by the burglars and held at gunpoint for a few minutes while they made off with his camera, cash and credit cards...

* "This summer"? Shouldn't that read "this month"?

* UPDATE: Or, as The Great Simpleton points out: "As the world cup is taking place in South Africa that should be this winter".

5 comments:

Ross said...

I think there will be more deaths at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, because they have less experience in keeping Western tourists safe, their criminals aren't as easy to spot* and people will be less wary.

* Which is a round about way of saying that if you stick to the wealthier white areas in SA you will probably be safe.

mark said...

I suspect that most petty robberies of tourists will go unreported as journalists concentrate on the on-field action.

One exception to this rule will be where the petty gun-point robbery is of a journalist. There's no way that's not news. That's starting to get serious. Something for the reporters notebook.

Mark Wadsworth said...

R, off to Re-Education Camp with you!

M, fair point, but I wouldn't describe being robbed at gunpoint as 'petty'.

The Great Simpleton said...

As the world cup is taking place in South Africa that should be this winter.

Mark Wadsworth said...

TGS, that's me outsmarted and outgunned. I have updated.