India Uncut
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Sunday, September 18, 2005
Compassion tourism
The Sunday Times reports:
Wealthy Americans are paying more than £3,000 to go on controversial package tours to India that mix shopping and sightseeing with handing out food and medicines to the poor.One of the "compassion tourists," as I'd term them, is quoted as saying:
The tours, organised by Alexander Souri, who has worked on special effects for Hollywood films, take groups of up to 15 people on horseback through the western desert state of Rajasthan, stopping off at villages along the way.
To hold a sick child in your arms, give her the medicine she needs and then ride into the desert on a beautiful horse under a starry sky to have a fabulous dinner in a fairytale fort is an extraordinary experience.Yes, makes you feel all noble and nice, doesn't it?
