The US boycotted South Africa over to apartheid (Reagan actually vetoed the act, but congress over rode him), and that included travel.

I would not travel to a country that does not allow women to drive, for example.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is saying we should not visit any 3rd world countries lol! Are you xenophobic OP?

m
Not every person coming from developing country (3rd World? Really?) can claim asylum. Economic hardship is not the same as being persecuted.

Well, they CAN all claim it, and even go home for vacation, because no one is stopping them.

This is a bonkers response. I can claim a million bucks, but that doesn’t mean I’m getting it. It’s very hard to get asylum claims granted or U.S. citizenship by any other means.

Anonymous wrote:I'd think about it differently.
- Countries where we have no or very poor diplomatic relationships
- Countries with active violent conflict

There are lots of beautiful places in the world without feeling compelled to visit North Korea, Syria, Iran, Russia and so on.

I would probably also avoid visiting places with high crime rates and potential for kidnapping and murder.

I would love to visit Russia someday. But not right now, especially not with my family situation — a woman married to a woman. Same goes for a lot of the Middle East unfortunately. But I don’t think that should necessarily prevent others from visiting.

I'd think about it differently.
- Countries where we have no or very poor diplomatic relationships
- Countries with active violent conflict

There are lots of beautiful places in the world without feeling compelled to visit North Korea, Syria, Iran, Russia and so on.

I would probably also avoid visiting places with high crime rates and potential for kidnapping and murder.

I don't think it's a crazy thought, but I also don't think it's something that should be dictated to by the government, rather it's something that really just takes care of itself due to the realities of the situation.

Venezuala and China are the top two countries for assylum seekers and combined account for nearly 1/4 of all asylum seekers. I think it's reasonable to avoid China because of their treatment of Uyghurs and I don't feel like Venezuala is at the top of most people's travel lists.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t travel to make a political statement. I’m not on social media, so I don’t travel to impress anyone. I travel to places where I can relax and learn something in an area that captures my interest. I don’t want to worry whether I’m going to be mugged or kidnapped. Again, my travel is for me, not to satisfy the opinion of the masses.

NP - I agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are people really traveling to Venezuela these days?

new poster here
I often think about this thread from several years ago

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/771147.page

Wow that OP was so tone deaf, they made the recent DR vacationers look reasonable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is saying we should not visit any 3rd world countries lol! Are you xenophobic OP?

m
Not every person coming from developing country (3rd World? Really?) can claim asylum. Economic hardship is not the same as being persecuted.

Well, they CAN all claim it, and even go home for vacation, because no one is stopping them.

Anonymous wrote:OP is saying we should not visit any 3rd world countries lol! Are you xenophobic OP?

m
Not every person coming from developing country (3rd World? Really?) can claim asylum. Economic hardship is not the same as being persecuted.

Anonymous wrote:Are people really traveling to Venezuela these days?

new poster here
I often think about this thread from several years ago

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/771147.page

I don’t travel to make a political statement. I’m not on social media, so I don’t travel to impress anyone. I travel to places where I can relax and learn something in an area that captures my interest. I don’t want to worry whether I’m going to be mugged or kidnapped. Again, my travel is for me, not to satisfy the opinion of the masses.

OP is saying we should not visit any 3rd world countries lol! Are you xenophobic OP?

???

I am spending my dollars to visit beautiful places that deserve to be conserved and supported for the benefit of humanity.

Also, I am visiting my parents in Paris and my cousin in Tokyo.

You can stay home if you want, overthinking things that don't matter.

Are people really traveling to Venezuela these days?

I was thinking about this as a way to determine what counties one should travel to—think people will think it is crazy or close-minded but I’m wondering why:

No travel to a country if the county’s residents could get asylum in U.S.

Generally to get asylum you need to show a reasonable basis for persecution on your own country either by the government or if by private actors that your government is unable or unwilling to redress that situation. Should we be willing to provide tourist dollars to such a country? Clearly it would have been unethical to travel as a tourist in Nazi Germanyy, for instance (assuming you knew what was going on when you went). That’s an extreme example, but is it generally ethical to be a tourist in a country where the government persecuted a group, or is unwilling/unable to helo the persecuted?


Just curious about others’ thoughts on this.