As I said earlier, many nations have laws about what can be filmed (or whether filming can be done) in their nation. I'm an anthropologist, most of my friends are anthropologists, and in grad school, one of us got kicked out over illegal filming (photographing) in China. To do journalism OR research in some nations (many nations), you need permission from several sources (for Egypt, for example - at least, pre-revolution Egypt, one needed several permissions if the film was going to be released or broadcast).
Tourist video is different, but if someone sold that video to a news outlet or broadcast it widely (not youtube), there could be problems (usually resulting in being banned from travel to that nation, prosecuted if one ever returns - and sometimes being banned from other nations who share the same laws). It's quite serious and Turkey is one of the least friendly nations. Turkey has been extremely upset about how it has been portrayed in documentaries by journalists in particular.
Sarah is not a professional anthropologist OR journalist and she doesn't know these things (and there's lots more). To possess valid press credentials is a first step - and by valid, many nations mean "having completed a degree in journalism or be hired by a handful of recognized publications."
While it is a heroic thing to try and document child labor, many watchdog organizations already exist and have brought data out of Turkey. Do further pictures really help? Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, already donate - and thousands volunteer as watchdogs. But not under age people. Most watchdog organizations have good training, the participants are older (and in some cases, are single or without children - because this is dangerous).
Of course Turkey is aware. India is aware, Pakistan is aware, Sierra Leone is aware, Korea is aware, China is aware, Thailand is aware - of their child labor, the sex trafficking, all the other problems too. The U.S. is aware that we have meth labs and drug cartels and people illegally selling guns to Mexico and South America. But the U.S. has a very different form of government - and view on freedom of speech and press - than Turkey. Indeed, I know someone who is facing prosecution in Italy for having made some online comments about a hotel; in Italy, there are crimes of honor and besmirching someone's reputation is one of them (the woman owns property in Italy - she cannot go back and enjoy that property unless she is willing to face the charges). Indeed, France still has such a law on the books (and so do many other nations). Great Britain has different laws about publishing than the U.S., and while one cannot face criminal prosecution for publishing in Great Britain (AFAIK), one faces different levels of censorship.
So, it's important to study the place you're going and in my view, to listen to experts. After my acquaintance got in her Italian trouble, I added that issue to my research charts (I would love to see parts of Turkey, but I know others who have had trouble there; in my profession we share that trouble pretty openly) and so my DH and I are waiting until we're much older to visit both Turkey and Egypt, and a few other places. Getting stuck inside a foreign nation or disappearing inside of it isn't something I want to do until I'm closer to the natural end of my life.
Turkey can focus on whomever they want, but when Turkey (or Iran) go after some people (Iran went after three young American backpackers while permitting many other nationalities to pass), they do it to send a message.
That's how international relations work.
Marg, I love your sig - but it only works in certain places. There are places in the world where wild words (especially from a woman) can get a woman into some real problems. Or sometimes, any words at all! (As I have found out the hard way, myself).
At any rate, Sarah surely knows some of the dangers (and Romania isn't Turkey). I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I do know people within activist organizations who sunshine the danger in order to get celebs aboard (even Green Peace does this - and not all Green Peace activities are a walk in the park). It's fine to put one's own life on the line (I suppose - although I wonder if Sarah is truly competent to make her own major life decisions), but involving one's kids is not good.
I too am confused. By "going after Sarah" the Turkish government tacitly acknowledge that they were aware of the conditions in state-run orphanages and decided it was a state secret. Isn't the "hidden camera" the vehicle by which the horrors of the Romanian Orphanages were first brought to the notice of the world?
