It’s a subject I didn’t want to bring up in my travel blog, but the recent indiscriminate killings in Tunisia gave me cause to stop and think about it.
I’ll try and keep this post brief and I certainly won’t go into detail on the subject of the Bardo Museum attack, but I will say how unfortunate it is that it’s brought a stain to Tunisia’s reputation as a safe haven for tourists from all over the world. Tourism not only brings the people increased wealth and opportunities, but it also gives foreign travelers a glimpse at the best the country has to offer. It is said that travel broadens the mind, and this is something I adamantly believe in, not just because of the things you see and do, but the people you meet, and their circumstances bring you a little closer to that person. Its easy for us, here, behind our computer screens, to write whatever we like about the perceptions we have of other countries, largely based on things we’ve read or seen on screens. Only when you’re ‘out there’ do you get the bigger picture. Exposure and immersion are key to understanding. Tourism is just the tip of the iceberg, I know, but you really connect with people if you meet them face to face.
On a personal note, I’ve always planned to go to Tunisia at some point to see the landscape and locations of where some of the Tattooine scenes were filmed for the Original Star Wars Trilogy. Since I started travelling to long-haul destinations, I’ve encountered two other locations from that trilogy completely by chance, and figured that I’d continue in this vein in further travels, to also include Petra in Jordan and Ignassu Falls in South America, thereby also seeing the locations that have featured in the Indiana Jones series as well. George Lucas has a lot to answer for, you might say.
Digressing back to the point though, I fear that the damage done by a few random acts of violence in the name of politics or religion has the potential to do a lot more damage than at first glance, and in the case of Tunisia, and the rest of North Africa, it has certainly given me something to thing about with regard to picking my next travel destination. The worst of it is that turning the looking glass the other way, how we see tourists from these countries visiting ours is also likely to change, and the fear and resentment that comes with this change will just escalate the misery for all of us. I’ve oversimplified this post to make a solitary point, but I hope it will resonate with some readers to be careful and to treat tourists as you would like to be treated. Share the love, people.
karmaversusdogma 