Participant Observation in Prague - Essay Example

Dark Tourism in Prague Visitors stream into the Spooky church steadily. The surprise is the fact that the amazement on people’s faces is astonishing. However, the attention is directed to a group of young ladies who seem to be very terrified at the site of the hand hanging on the statue of the Virgin mother Mary. One of the people is firmly clinging to her rosary and asks her peers “how comes that the hand has stayed there for all these years?” Opposite the group of ladies, is a middle aged African man.

He is busy looking at the marvel in the church, and he asks the ladies to take a photo of him for his family back in Africa. People of all ethnicity fill the site when a group of around twenty students enter the church. Camera flashes seem to increase shining on the statue with the arrival of the group. They are accompanied by and older and more composed man. He seems not to be frightened as compared to his companions. He briefly gives the history of the hand at the statue to his students. The teacher explains to his students that they still have one more site to visit as the dark tourism sites in Prague are many.

As the group streams out of the church one of the students faults the early Christians in Prague for nailing the thiefs hand on the sculpture. An Asian lady in their midst does not seem to clearly understand and corrects them by saying the thief deserved it. She mentions that they ought to visit more similar sites in their future academic trips. The group discuss their next move, and they decide to tour Theresienstadt concentration camp. At the entrance of the camp, the group is silent. They enter the camp after parting with a few coins which the gate fellow explains it is for maintenance of the camp.

Inside the camp, the group is directed to a small fortress. When the guide was explaining camp a young woman breaks down and starts to cry. The emotions are running high as her peers console her, and they leave the room. Opposite where the group is standing there is a couple who from their dressing are Jewish. The couple is holding hands as a tour guide explains to them the events that took place at the fortress. The group is lead through a thin corridor to a yard that was an excursion ground.

The couple follows the group letter to the yard. The lady now seems very weak and is held firmly with her husband. The couple later head towards the Star of David and whisper a prayer. The students return into the fortress and enter to a small room. As the guide explains to the group the function of the room, all concentration is on him with discussions in low tonal voices. The two couple exit the room with the lady protesting angrily against the killings weeping bitterly. Her husband guides her out of the camp as this action attracts the attention of the whole group.

The guide takes the group around the cells, and they exit the camp, suddenly the group come to life again as someone cracks a joke about the Nazis. Their tutor explains to them the moral of their visit.