Travel, Terrorism & The Refugee Crisis: Why I Refuse To Stop
“This is my daughter Tara, fresh home from Athens, Greece,” boasted my mom.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” I said, shaking the older gentleman’s hand.
“Ohh, you’re the one who’s been traveling. We’ve heard about you. We can’t tell you how glad we all are you’re here. Where you can be safe.”
I wasn’t really sure what to say to that, so I muttered thank you and let the wave of emotions flow over me… This was a stranger, someone who didn’t know me or my life at all. When people I love and care about, say things like that, it makes me feel good because I know they are worrying because they love me and genuinely want me to be safe. But this guy? I can’t read his mind, but it felt more like he was saying “America is the only safe place. You are a woman, you belong at home, stay here.”
I don’t really understand why people think it is safer in America. In a country where police killed over 1,100 people in one year (2014, Source: killedbypolice.net). In a country where I could be shot on my way to get birth control because an American Christian terrorist thinks I’m a murderer. In a country where schools all too frequently become massacre sites. In a country with over 14,000 murders in one year, with almost half of them occurring in the geographical region this gentleman was telling me was “safe” (2014, Source: FBI.gov). I have been raped, drugged, and had my wallet and phone stolen. In my hometown. Not on the road (although for transparency’s sake, I must say once I was drugged by a hotel owner when traveling in Europe).
But the key thing about terrorist groups lies within their name… They want to cause terror, to cause fear. To use fear to disrupt normal life, to get people to stop going out and meeting and talking and traveling. To divide us. To bring anyone that’s not them down, physically, mentally, or economically. And here’s the thing folks…
If we stop traveling because we are scared of terrorism, THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON.
Their mission is to incite fear, distrust, and hatred. And when we stop our lives because of their actions, they have accomplished their mission.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. — Mark Twain
This Mark Twain quote perfectly sums up why we need to keep traveling. Why I REFUSE to let fear stop me from going into the world. Why I REFUSE to give up on my dreams. Why I REFUSE to stop helping people. Why I REFUSE to let the actions of bad people dictate my life.
Paris, February 2015
Bad things can happen anywhere, at any time. Am I just supposed to sit here and waste my life away because I’m scared of what might happen? Well, I’m not gonna do that. I’m not saying I won’t be scared. But I will do it anyways, because fear is my guide. not my master. So don’t stop. Don’t give up. Don’t let fear become your dictator. Don’t let the bad guys win.
Don’t be fearless, because that is folly. Be brave because you are strong enough.
With thousands dead or dying, millions displaced, refugees streaming across borders, and wars going on, is it selfish to travel? Is it futile to run a travel blog?
No. Absolutely not.
Now more than ever, we need to travel. To break down misconceptions. To broaden our minds. To interact with people from different cultures. To share stories of our humanity. To form new friendships and bonds that stretch across borders and religions and cultures. Because THIS is how we keep the terrorists and the bad people in the world from winning.
By reaching out and forming relationships that ignore borders, we learn and understand. We become stronger and more compassionate. We can work together to keep communities strong. We can stand in solidarity with those who are oppressed, instead of looking the other way.
We vote with our dollars and our actions every day. Shop small and local, especially when traveling. Get involved in the community, whether at home or or the road. Travel to places that have had problems and use your travel dollars to support their local economies. Get to know people who have cultures, religions, or ideas that are different from your own. You don’t have to agree with everything, but listen.
And I will keep traveling. I will keep writing. I will keep sharing my story, and the stories of people I meet on my travels. Because connecting with other humans and sharing those connections is how to overcome fear and prejudice. Because I REFUSE to vegetate in one little corner of the earth my entire life.
The world is a mess… Wars, terrorism, destruction of the environment, selfishness and money driving most of the world. But I still believe in the goodness of humanity. I’ve seen people working to change the way we’re abusing our planet. I’ve become friends with people who are completely different than myself. I’ve had people who have nothing help me when I was in a bind.
I believe it IS possible to change the direction our world is heading. But we have to talk. We have to broaden our minds. We have to think about other people and the environment, not just ourselves, in our actions. We have to work together and cross borders and cultures to stand up for humanity. For our rights to live and breathe, to eat and love.
No matter where you are from, you can respect each other’s humanity. With my friend from Afghanistan.
What do you think? Will you keep traveling? Can we make the world a better place through travel and blogging?
If you agree with anything I have said, please like, share, comment, and tweet about it. And if you disagree, I would love to hear about that, too. We have to start talking about this. Let’s talk.
If you want some further reading, you can check out these articles. Please share other related articles!!!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/07/isis-s-gruesome-muslim-death-toll.html
http://budgettraveller.org/dont-forget-paris-keep-travelling/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslim-hate-crime_56688092e4b0f290e5219dd7