A death on the river

Watching the breakfast news one morning last week, the presenters told of the murder of an innocent woman who had made the unfortunate and fatal mistake of thinking she could go on a journey of discovery alone in a foreign country without becoming a target.

She was a head-teacher in London, a normal woman who had an extraordinary goal of going on a solo mission to South America to kayak along the Amazon River. But before she managed to complete her feat of self-motivation and bravery, her kayak was found on the riverbank and her body was found later, having been dumped in the Amazon. It was later discovered that pirates in the area had kidnapped and killed her.

As I heard of this horrific and heartless murder, I became incensed as the hot, wet rage seeped from my eyes. It reminded me of another killing of a woman, after simply travelling to another country to open her mind and experience

This young woman was from Ireland, from a town not too far from where I live, and had been in Goa when she was murdered earlier this year.

Although similar killings occur around the world on a daily basis, because these woman were British and Irish (and white) their deaths made the national headlines.

I can’t imagine the number of women who are killed across the world every day but the killing of the British explorer shook me to my core.

That the freedom these other cultures and lifestyles. women enjoyed while travelling could be so quickly and so easily snatched from them made me despair for women everywhere. It is a great privilege to be able to travel freely because of the red passport that I carry. As a woman from Northern Ireland, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the great privilege I have and have had while travelling to distant places.

There is a certain level of perceived protection that is implied with this, an invincibility of sorts, an invisible barrier that is backed up by the small, red passport that represents a set of rights and expectations and can be a shield of security if trouble erupts. But these privileges did nothing to protect these women. Privilege does nothing to protect people from those who would see them as easy prey.

Being able to travel where one wants is the most incredible freedom and one that not all of us enjoy. Recognising this privilege is important in today’s world where few people actually have such freedoms.

Limitations to freedom

But maybe this invisible protective barrier sometimes blinds us to the dangers of travelling alone, or we choose not to see the dangers, as admitting you are a target is admitting defeat, admitting that there are limitations to our freedoms; that there are things that we cannot and perhaps should not do. This lesson isn’t learned easily.

I was incensed by these deaths and others like them because it reminded me of my own travels and the risks that I took while doing this, not believing them to be risks at the time.

I wept for those women who were killed because, for me, they represent a reminder of how fickle any perceived privilege can be for those who are seen as less than, whether you are a woman in Ireland or in any country in the world.

These amazing women were cut down by bands of men for whatever reason. Maybe they thought there was money to be had, maybe they just thought they’d get away with it. And they probably will.

Christina Curran is a journalist currently studying a Masters in International Relations at Queen’s University, Belfast.