A travel blogger who documents his adventures on YouTube was shocked after a man who appeared in one of his videos was held captive in Brazil.
Callum Abroad has become the ultimate travel junkie since he found himself feeling “restless” during the pandemic.
Spending so much time indoors has inspired Callum to want to explore other parts of the world, and he’s visited over 20 countries in the past few years, so he definitely has plenty of stories to tell.
Brazil is just one of the countries Callum has set foot in, but his experience in the South American country has not been the best.
Callum travels the world and documents his journeys on YouTube. (Courtesy)
“I went to a favela in Brazil and it was very hostile. Very, very hostile,” Karam told UNILAD about his arrival in one of Brazil’s notorious favelas. [They said] Put the camera down.”
Favela is an umbrella term that refers to several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil.
People who live in favelas often live in cramped, unsanitary conditions.
Karam continued: “Finally, we talked to some of the favela leaders and I said, ‘Look, I’m not going to videotape the drugs on the table or anything like that, but I’m going to blur out the faces, but can I videotape you?'”
Well, the leader agreed to Callum’s request, so the YouTuber created the video, uploaded it to his channel, and thought nothing more of it.
But then he received a worrying text message from someone in Brazil.
“Just a few months ago I got a text message saying: ‘Callum, call me’.”
He was asked to immediately remove the video.
The anonymous caller explained that they were “detaining the person in the video, and it was all because of the video.”
According to Callum, the caller continued, “If you don’t take down the video this person will be harmed.”
Callum had problems with the Brazilian people. (Courtesy)
Speaking about his feelings at the time, Kalam told UNILAD, “It was a shock as I had made this video around seven months ago.
“The people in those slums were not happy.”
With his personal wellbeing at risk, Callum understandably deleted the video and sent screenshots to the gang as proof that it was no longer available to watch on YouTube.
The caller thanked Karam for taking the video off the air, and that was the last Karam heard about the situation.
“I was a bit surprised because initially I had been given permission,” Karam added.
The travel blogger never heard from the man again and never even knew him.
But travelling the world isn’t all bad, and Callum has had some incredible experiences in recent years, most of which have been documented in his YouTube vlogs.
