Please spread the word. The planting of the memorial tree for Trent Keegan will take place on August 17 at 2pm on the green area at Palmers Rock on the Promenade. It is on the right side of the car park or the opposite side from where the memorial was held, for those who attended. Those attending are welcome to join for a few drinks at a to-be-decided location to honour Trent and his 34th birthday, which would have been on August 12.
Thomson Safaris is an American-based company that’s been linked to a story that Trent Keegan was investigating before he was murdered, on the forced eviction of Maasai in Tanzania.
Karen Schwartzman, a spokeswoman for the company, had this to say in response to their name being associated with the murder:
“Obviously it’s a tragedy. But the fact this company has had its name associated with this nightmare is another tragedy.”
So according to Thomson Safaris the fact that their name has got muddied is as tragic as the brutal theft of Trent Keegan’s life, the permanent denial his family now endure of their son and brother, and the numbing grief felt around the world by the hundreds of people Trent befriended.
That attitude alone is enough for me to ask, if you’re going on safari, don’t go Thomson Safari.
UPDATE: Karen’s rhetorical flourishes continue: ‘”We have nothing to do with this,” says Karen Schwartzman, a spokesperson for Massachusetts-based Thompson Safaris. “This company continues to be victimized by a number of rumors and innuendo.”‘
Victimised. Rumours. Innuendo. Protest. Too. Much.
