My Take | Scout jamboree organisers failed to live up to ‘be prepared’ motto
- The premature ending of the 12-day international event was triggered by Tropical Storm Khanun. But the gathering was already in trouble
The scout motto, instilled in generations of teenagers since 1907, is “be prepared”. Sadly, organisers of the global youth movement’s World Jamboree in South Korea this month, failed to live up to the maxim.
This was supposed to be a prestigious 12-day international event, attended by 43,000 scouts, mostly aged 14-17, from 158 countries.
But it was effectively brought to an abrupt and early end last week when the approach of Tropical Storm Khanun raised safety concerns. An emergency evacuation cleared the 890-hectare camp site in coastal Saemangeum.
Among those hurriedly withdrawn were 460 scouts from Hong Kong. They spent an uncomfortable night on the floor of Incheon Airport before flying home on Wednesday.
The premature ending was triggered by the storm. But the event was already in trouble. Now, it has become a source of national shame.
Even before the onset of the storm, scouts were being withdrawn. The US, Britain and Singapore were among those who pulled out early.