VolunTourism and the ‘Gap Yah’
‘VolunTourism’ describes the phenomenon of travelling abroad to volunteer in disadvantaged communities. A number of organisations and charities exist to facilitate this volunteering and commonly these bodies enlist young travellers, aged between 18 and 25. In the United Kingdom and Australia, VolunTourism is associated with the idea of a ‘Gap Year’; a year in a foreign country or countries, generally experienced during or just before undergraduate education.
When speaking with people who have completed or wish to complete a Voluntourist Gap Year I have often heard the phrase “I’d like to give back”. I find this motivation interesting as it suggests that the speaker has acknowledged the receipt of something else. I believe the individuals who have said this were referring to the privilege and ‘easy life’ associated with being a Western citizen. However, at a deeper and perhaps unconscious level this motivation recalls the idea, expressed by recipients of aid, that “today’s gifts are simply repayments for past exploitation, a sort of delayed compensation” (1997: 76). In any case, the Voluntourist’s Gap Year recalls a number of tensions associated with the act of giving and the idea of charity. A number of these tensions are parodied in the satirical video “Gap Yah” , where Orlando, an upper class British Gap Year participant travels the world while ‘chundering’ everywhere. This trip so inspires him that in the follow up video, he organises a fundraiser for Haiti, explaining that: “I think at this difficult time, the thing they probably need most is to have a Western presence” .
If you haven’t already seen them, you can check out the ‘Gap Yah’ videos here:
