Despite media reports from around the world that tried to get extra eyeballs for stories about the Islamic militant group ISIS, Tunisians are trying to calm down Star Wars fans worried about the filming locations there.
The concern all started on Tuesday, when CNN reported that the Tunisian town of Tataouine had become a “way-station” for jihadists looking to get into Tunisia through Libya. Since the town’s name is similar to the Star Wars desert planet Tatooine, other media outlets picked up the story and went running. Suddenly, the Lars Homestead set from 1977’s Star Wars was in danger of ISIS.
“This information is false and without foundation and doesn't reflect the reality,” Mohammed Sayem of the Tozeur tourism commission told The Associated Press.
In reality, the Star Wars sets are hundreds of miles from Tataouine. In fact, the area is so well-protected that there was a music festival there a few weeks ago.
“We were obliged to reassure our friends and fans abroad that it's fine, everything is ok, the sites are protected - there was even a festival of electronic music there a few weeks ago,” Star Wars fan Abderrahman Amer told the AP.
Mark Dermul of Belgium, who led an online fundraising effort in 2012 to renovate the Lars Homestead set, told the Daily Beast that what disappointed him the most about the reports was that the media was focusing on Star Wars, not the actual lives put in danger by ISIS.
“I have also been a bit annoyed, to put it mildly, by people who contacted me to ask me what I planned to do to protect the movie sets from the terrorists,” Dermul said. “Not only is that a strange question—for what could I possibly do?—but it also shows a strange frame of mind. Hundreds of people are suffering from these terrorist activities and people are worried about movie sets? I think we need to focus on what is really important here. And it is not the safety of brick-and-plaster buildings that were once seen on the silver screen.”
There have been heightened security concerns in Tunisia since the attack on the National Bardo Museum earlier this month, in which 21 people were killed. A website linked to ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.