A group of scientists who was to work together for months in a research station distant from Antarctica was shaken after a member of the team was accused of physical assault.
A team of nine researchers had to spend the Antarctic winter at the South African base, which is around 170 km (about 105 miles) from the edge of the ice platform and is difficult to reach.
But a spokesperson for the South African government told the BBC “that there was an assault” at the station, following previous allegations of inappropriate behavior in the interior of the camp.
In another message seen by the BBC, the South African Ministry of the Environment said it was responding to concerns about “the greatest emergency”.
South South Africa, which was the first to report history, said that team members had argued to be rescued.
The ministry said that those of the team had been subject to “a certain number of assessments which include checks of history, reference verifications, a medical assessment as well as a psychometric evaluation by qualified professionals”, which all members had erased.
In a later declaration, the ministry added that it was “not uncommon” that individuals have an initial adjustment when they arrive in extremely remote areas, even if the assessments did not show any concern.
He said that when the ship left for Antarctica on February 1 “everything was in order”, and the incident was reported for the first time in the ministry on February 27.
The declaration added that the ministry “immediately activated the response plan in order to mediate and restore base relations”.
“This process is underway almost daily to ensure that people on the basis know that the ministry is favorable and willing to do everything necessary to restore interpersonal relationships, but also to deal with discipline issues,” he said.
The ministry said that allegations of sexual harassment were also the subject of an investigation, but that sexual assault intercourse were incorrect.
The ministry added that a Minister of the Government managed the incident personally and that the alleged aggressor had “voluntarily participated in an additional psychological assessment, has shown remorse and is readily cooperative to follow all recommended interventions”.
The alleged perpetrator has also written official apologies to the victim, he said.
The Sanae IV research base is located more than 4,000 km from continental South Africa and hard weather conditions, scientists can be cut there for a large part of the year.
The base generally houses the staff who remain in the Antarctic winter for about 13 months.
(BBC)
South African research expeditions have been held since 1959. The Sanae IV base team generally includes a doctor, two mechanisms, three engineers, a meteorological technician and some physicists.
These expeditions, with difficult weather conditions, imposing a lot of time spent in a confined interior space, takes place normally without incident.
But on Sunday, the Sunday Times of South Africa reported that a member of the team had sent a warned email of “deeply disturbing behavior” by a colleague and an “environment of fear”.
A South African government spokesman told the BBC that the alleged assault had been launched by “a dispute on a task that the team leader wanted the team to do-a task dependent on the weather which required a change of schedule”.
Antarctic incidents are rare, but not unprecedented. In 2018, there were knife reports at the Bellingshausen research station in Bellingshausen.
Psychologists highlight the effect that isolation can have on human behavior.
“One thing we know about these rare events, when something bad happens in forced isolation or the work of the capsule, is that it is often the little things, of tiny things that can explode in conflict,” said Craig Jackson, professor of health psychology at work at the Birmingham City University, and a charmed member of the British Psychological Society.
“So, hierarchy problems, allocation of workload, even small things over leisure time or rations or food parts can quickly evolve to become something much larger than they are generally,” he told the BBC.
Gabrielle Walker, scientist and author who was on an expedition to Antarctica, said that working near a small group of colleagues had risks.
“You know exactly how they put their cup of coffee and in which direction the handle points in the handle; You know they scratch their noses three times before sitting; You know everything about them.
“And in bad circumstances, it can start to irritate you … because there is nothing else-there is no other stimulus and you are with people 24/7,” she said.
Sources within the Antarctic Research Community told BBC that South Africa had access to a ship and planes compatible with ice if necessary.
But any rescue operation should face the severe climate, with temperatures much lower than freezing and the possibility of strong winds.
Additional report by Ed Habershon and Miho Tanaka
(BBC)
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