problematic tourism, free zones, and foreign aid

Life + Debt was very interesting documentary.

I was intrigued by  a number of thing from the documentary. for one, the "free zone" area in Jamaica that is technically not in Jamaica and is pretty much a corporate state of its own in which the corporations that helped build it (along with the IMF) can do whatever they please and not be held responsible by the Jamaican government or its citizens.

second, the issue of tourism has become more and more apparent to me, especially studying within the area of anthropology. the ways in which societies/communities/cultures have to make oversimplified caricatures of themselves to present to the world (generally the western world because the tourists are generally westerners) in order to make a significant profit through tourism is highly problematic. in a number of cases, it adds to the erasure of many societies. it brings to mind a forthcoming book by an American woman who went and stayed with the Maasai of Kenya and claims to be the first female Maasai warrior. being pushed, in a number of ways, to the outskirts of a westernized society (as many traditional societies have been forced to do during and after colonialism), with land and other rights diminishing, communities like the Maasai have turned to tourism to keep their cultures afloat. so now they have tourists coming into their community, trying to make changes, and presenting a novice idea of that society to the west. it's highly problematic, exploitative, and neo-colonial. the same has taken place in Jamaica. Rastafari has come to be a caricature of itself in which smoking pot and wearing red, green and yellow have become a comical image of Jamaica. when in reality, Rastafari is a religion/spirituality that is a complex belief that deserves as much respect as any other belief system. i liked how the director interjected the film with wisdom from Rastas without making them into some comical mockery of what westerners typically think of Rastas. i think documentaries like these should make us more conscious of what types of tourism we partake in and facilitate discussions on the contradictions of helping out nations whose main income is through tourism, while at the same time adding to cultural erasure, simplification, and exploitation in a number of cases.

third, i think the ways in which foreign aid is given to countries by other countries or organizations like the UN, WTO and IMF have to be constructively and actively criticized. we all like to hear that country X has given X amount of money to Haiti or Jamaica or Uganda, but many of us don't know about all the restrictions and limitations accepting that loan or money has on those countries that need it.