- Title: 'Nightmare', says US scout mum as nations quit S. Korea heatwave-hit jamboree
- Date: 5th August 2023
- Summary: BUAN, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 4, 2023) (REUTERS) WORLD SCOUT MEMBERS WALKING AROUND BOOTHS OF PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES VARIOUS OF SCOUT FANNING THEMSELVES USING PAPER FANS MAN DRINKING FROM WATER TUMBLER SUNLIGHT BETWEEN CLOUDS / TENTS OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES U.S. FLAGS HANGING FROM BOOTH SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 4, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. MOTHER WHOSE SON IS ATTENDING JAMBOREE, KRISTIN SAYERS, SAYING: "I want to hop on a plane and go get him and bring him home. This isn't what we signed up for, this isn't what we were expecting, and I know Mother Nature is unpredictable and we can't do anything about the heat, but it sounds like the problems with this go way beyond the heat. There's not enough food, there's not enough water." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. MOTHER WHOSE SON IS ATTENDING JAMBOREE, KRISTIN SAYERS, SAYING: "100 percent nightmare. I mean I think he is making the best and he's been positive about the people he's met, but the living conditions and the disorganisation have just crushed him. And he's crushed about having to spend the next week on an army base. And we don't know what's going to happen once they're there. But he's just, 'If I have to stay here?', he’s really depressed about the thought of just being stuck on an army base for a week." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. MOTHER WHOSE SON IS ATTENDING JAMBOREE, KRISTIN SAYERS, SAYING: "The U.S. contingent was about $6,500 which is a lot of money and when my son texted me after he found out when he woke up, you know, he's like ' Wow, do we get a refund? I could have gone to Europe for three weeks for $6,000.' He's very aware of how much money that is and the sacrifices we made as a family to send him. Yeah, we could have done so much with that money." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. MOTHER WHOSE SON IS ATTENDING JAMBOREE, KRISTIN SAYERS, SAYING: "I'm just in shock at how they could have been so unprepared. Like no tents, no campsites, no basic hygiene facilities. I mean they knew how many people were coming. They, you know, they took our money. I really feel like they took our money, where did this money go? It obviously didn't go to making a jamboree for thousands of scouts from around the world. I don't know. Where did the money go? What did they spend it on? They didn't spend it on our kids and they didn't spend it the way we expected them to." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. MOTHER WHOSE SON IS ATTENDING JAMBOREE, KRISTIN SAYERS, SAYING: "And I don't know, we don't have the answers yet of what's going on, we don't know if there's going to be any compensation for us. We just don't know and that's like the worst of it. They haven't said a whole lot. People have put, some of the scout people are putting pictures up, 'Oh it's a neckerchief day. Ok, but my kid hasn't eaten in 24 hours because there is no food and I don't care about your neckerchief." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. MOTHER WHOSE SON IS ATTENDING JAMBOREE, KRISTIN SAYERS, SAYING: "There needs to be some accountability, I don't know what it is. I feel like I've been scammed out of my money. My son, you know, missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't know what the answer is to solve it, but something needs to be done and someone needs to be held accountable for this massive failure." BUAN, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 4, 2023) (REUTERS) TENTS AT WORLD JAMBOREE EVENT CAMPSITE SCOUTS USING WATER AT CAMPSITE SHIRTLESS SCOUT MEMBERS WALKING AROUND TENT AREA AMBULANCE DRIVING AWAY
- Embargoed: 19th August 2023 06:42
- Keywords: America Jamboree South Korea United States World Scout Jamboree heat heatwave scouts weather
- Location: BUAN, SOUTH KOREA / SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- City: BUAN, SOUTH KOREA / SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA001246705082023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The mother of a U.S. scout told Reuters late Friday night (August 4) that her 17-year-old son’s dream for years to take part in the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea - an experience that cost them around $6,500 - had become a "nightmare."
"He's very aware of how much money that is and the sacrifices we made as a family to send him. We could've done so much with that money," Kristin Sayers said via Zoom.
The global scout event faced calls to be cancelled after large contingents from the United States and Britain pulled out a week early over extreme heat and weather conditions.
Saturday's (August 5) pullout by the U.S., as well as Singapore, is a fresh blow to the organisers and the South Korean government, which on Friday promised more water trucks, air-conditioned spaces, and medics in an attempt to save the event.
Temperatures have hit 34 Celsius (93 F) in Saemangeum, near the city of Buan on the country’s west coast, where 39,000 participants, mostly scouts aged 14-18, were camping as of Friday (August 4).
Hit by extreme heat, hundreds of participants at the event fell ill and were treated for heat-related ailments, prompting complaints from parents over the safety of their children.
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