Survivor: Africa Films Among Unrest
June 4 -- The name of the game might come into play in the most literal sense when Survivor: Africa begins shooting in Kenya this summer. The latest edition of TV Guide cites security in the country as a primary concern for producers of the hit reality program.
According to the story, in August 1998, a terrorist bomb at the American embassy in the nation's capitol, Nairobi, killed 213 and injured thousands. The crime rate in Kenya is soaring, including continued political violence. And then there is the tale of Roman Catholic priest Father John Kaiser, a vocal critic of the Kenyan government, who died of a gunshot wound to the head in August 2000. 60 Minutes recently aired a report that indicated that, despite being ruled a suicide by the government, his death may have been ordered by the Kenyan government.
The article then says that in a recent State Department report, U.S. officials in Kenya have determined that there is a possibility of the "targeting of Americans for kidnapping or assassination" by terrorist groups.
One wonders whether Richard Hatch could have been a contender had he had to grapple with the presumably non-nudity-friendly African terrain instead of the secluded tropical beach where he bared all.
In answer to growing safety concerns, a CBS communications vice president says, "We are very mindful of dangers inherent in Kenya, and we have tremendous faith in [producer] Mark Burnett that everything will be done in a safe and conscientious manner." The show has also been rumored to have sizably increased its security budget.
Burnett, for his part, downplays the worry. "I'm apolitical," he told TV Guide in a phone interview. "I don't know what the politics of President [Daniel Arap] Moi are. I think we will be a lot safer here than we would be in most American cities. What's the perception of a lot of foreigners about America when they hear about Waco? Our location is perfectly safe. You see so many tourists here having the dream vacation of a lifetime, just marveling in all this natural beauty.
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