Middle East Tourism and Terrorism
As a tourist you have a greater chance of being killed crossing the street than in a terrorist attack in the Middle East.
When I told my cousin I was going to Jordan he was horrified. 'But that's in the Middle East' he said 'It's dangerous you'll get killed.'
I laughed and assured him that Jordan is one of the safest places on Earth.
‘But there are terrorists. A tourist was shot and a bomb went off at a wedding.’ I laughed again, pointed out that terrorists had struck in London recently, not to mention the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre, yet he had not expressed any concern when I went to New York. ‘That’s different,’ he argued ‘everybody knows the Middle East is a dangerous place.’
Unfortunately that attitude towards Middle East travel is typical of the uninformed response I get from so many people. And that’s how terrorism works. It makes people afraid, stops them from flying and traveling to foreign countries. And it makes them fearful of people who don’t look and sound like them, who dress differently and who have a different religion. Yet the truth is that not that many people actually lose their life as a result of terrorism.
In 2001 the terrorist attack in New York killed around 3000 people. In the very same year over 17,000 people were killed on American roads by drunk drivers.
I told my cousin that, statistically, he has a higher chance of getting run down crossing the road than he has of getting killed in a terrorist attack even if he does travel to the Middle East.
Having said that there are places in the Middle East I would not travel too or recommend at the moment. Afghanistan and Iraq are definitely best avoided and there are parts of Israel and Palestine that I would consider dodgy. But the Middle East is a vast area of many countries and there are lots of different places to visit, like Syria and Iran where, despite attempts by the Western media to demonize the people, you’ll find kind, hospitable and welcoming human beings who are interested in much the same things as you and I. Peace, their homes and families, having enough to eat and football.
