HAGUE, Trelawny – Organisers of the annual Trelawny Yam Festival fear that last Sunday’s alleged attack on a group of British journalists on a filming expedition in Accompong Town, St Elizabeth will cost them global exposure.

“It is really one of those unfortunate things and really leaves you shocked to know that, that kind of behaviour could be meted out to a visiting team that is here to give prominence and international significance to what we do. I am pretty happy it did not lead to any form of injury and that the team is here today, but the purpose for which they are here has been seriously compromised because of the incident,” said Hugh Dixon, chairman of the Southern Trelawny Environment Agency (STEA) at the festival on Monday.

According to STEA, organisers of the popular food festival, the team was in the island to capture features of the island’s culinary culture for the powerful British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

“The BBC team is here to film the Trelawny Yam Festival… specifically the culinary aspect which is the feature of the festival. It has gotten some amount of international recognition and sought after by one of the largest networks in the work. When you are faced with a situation where people might have little sense of the largesse and impact of publicity for what you do and they spoil it by clearly what is a display of ignorance, what can I tell you? I cannot judge anything but wherever in the world you go and the source of the message is affected you can’t do very much more but to be appalled by the behaviour.”

The yam festival which was staged at a cost of $4 million, under the theme ‘One Parish, One Family, One Festival’, was held over two days.

The first day – April 11 – was staged at the Troy High School in the parish, while the second culminated at the Hague Agricultural Showgrounds on Easter Monday with a culinary yam competition showcasing professional chefs from hotels and resorts, as well as individuals and groups.