[Image: South African National Antarctic Programme]
A team of South African scientists working in the frozen wasteland of Antarctica have fired off a desperate email begging for help.
That’s because the small team of 10 were rocked after a member was accused of assault.
These researchers, stationed at the remote Sanae IV base, which sits about 170km from the edge of the ice shelf, are supposed to be in it for the long haul – around another 10 more months of isolation, brutal cold, and nothing but each other for company.
No animals, no other humans, just a never-ending ice-scape and whatever sanity they have left.
But last week, that sanity took a nosedive. One of the team members sent an email detailing a violent attack by a colleague who, they suggested, was still making threats. The message, obtained by Sunday Times, painted a bit of a chilling picture: a group of scientists, stuck together in a tiny base, terrified of one man who had allegedly gone off the deep end.
The same guy is also accused of sexually assaulting a teammate, said the whistleblower:
“Regrettably, his behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [X], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms. Furthermore, he threatened to kill [X], creating an environment of fear and intimidation.”
“I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”
They pleaded for immediate action.
The names of both the alleged attacker and the whistleblower remain under wraps, but South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, said he was responding to the concerns with “utmost urgency”.
“There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person. Then it escalated, and then that person did physically assault the leader,” George admitted, adding that cabin fever can make people go a little… unhinged.
Understandable, considering they’re living in a frozen void where the temperature is a bone-snapping minus 23 degrees.
To corroborate this, a spokesperson for the South African government told the BBC “there was an assault” at the station, following earlier allegations of inappropriate behaviour from inside the camp.
A South African government spokesperson told the BBC that the alleged assault was triggered by “a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do – a weather dependant task that required a schedule change”.
For what it’s worth, researchers are put through rigorous psychological screening before being sent to this icy place, with the ministry noting that those in the team had been subject to “a number of evaluations that include background checks, reference checks, medical assessment as well as a psychometric evaluation by qualified professionals”, which all members had cleared.
One wonders how foolproof the system is.
Psychologists point to the effect that isolation can have on human behaviour.
“One thing we know from these rare occurrences, when something bad happens in enforced isolation or capsule working, is that it’s often the small things, tiny things that can blow up into conflict,” said Craig Jackson, professor of workplace health psychology at Birmingham City University, and a chartered member of the British Psychological Society.
“So issues about hierarchy, about workload allocation, even small things about leisure time or rations or food portions can rapidly flare up to become something much larger than they typically are,” he told the BBC.
Sources within the Antarctic research community have told the BBC that South Africa has access to an ice-capable ship and aircraft if needed, although getting out of those freezing conditions will prove immensely challenging.
[Source: BBC]
