A fence between cultures
There is more to rumours we heard a couple of months ago. The issue of a 20 km long wall to be build around Sharm el Sheikh is in the world press.
The heart of Sharm el Sheikh, Naama Bay, was hit by three bombs in July 2005, killing more than 60 people. The result is that the Sharm resorts will be fenced allowing entrance to the city through only four electronically secured gates.
Apparently the tourist in Sharm will not feel any inconvenience, the airport lies inside the fenced territory. Already Sharm is a luxury tourist ghetto with millions of tourists visiting the more over 250 hotels every year, many of these are deluxe resorts with names like Four Season and the Ritz. Tourism is Egypt’s bread and butter. Many Egyptians are employed in the hospitality sector.
What impact will the virtual barrier then have on Egyptian people, since without doubt only a selection of local people will have access to the holiday resort?
What about those tourists who feel like to explore and experience the rest of Sinai like visiting the famous Colored Canyon or the beautiful desert oasis Ain Hudra, places like St. Catherine? Will they be discouraged from taking part in any excursions? Already the once famous Bedouin Dinner in Wadi Mandar is banned.
How does it feel to get out from a secluded and secure resort town into the “terrible wilderness” of the rest of Sinai?
Is this the price we have to pay for terrorism? Is this the new kind of tourism we have to expect in future?
Egypt has to secure tourists and investors alike. But would it not be wise to put the same amount of money to be spending on this wall into education and job opening opportunities, which would fight the source of terrorism: ignorance and misery?
On the other hand I personally don’t mind to see some of the tourists in a tourist ghetto for the safety of the Egyptian society. Unfortunately some are completely unaware that they are guests in a still conservative society.
Tourism is also a bridge between cultures. A dialogue between people makes cultural differences indifferent.
Let us hope for the future that both types of tourism are possible in Egypt. Sinai can be a paradise for tourists searching for western comfort and western manners in tropical scenery - and giving a choice for cultural interested and responsible tourists looking for the experience of nature and personal contact to local people. It is not likely that people who prosper from tourism will turn an open ear to the voice of terrorism. More likely is that both local people and tourists will learn from each other – and if it is only a comprehension for the differences in the other.
