Response to those who are concerned about my travel habits. (AKA traveling to the Middle East)

DEAR CONCERNED FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND,

I know that based on what you see and read in the news, the idea of your loved one traveling to the Middle East may be scary, especially if you have never spent any time in the region or any time around Muslims and/or Arabs.

Please don't treat me like I'm making bad decisions. I have no more desire to be around violence than you do. I know a safe situation from an unsafe one. I am not about to go putting myself into scenarios that are overly risky. I know how to stay away from riots, protests, and war zones.  I know how to trust my intuition about the safety of a certain part of town or a sleazy cab driver.

As an adult, I am more than capable of making my own decisions about my life. I will take this opportunity to remind you that I was one of the few international students who stayed in Egypt during the 2011 revolution despite tremendous pressure from family, school, government, and other students to leave, and I have been back safely several times since! I am very stubborn and as much as I love and respect my friends and family, I'm sorry but it is highly unlikely that I will change my plans or opinions based on your worries. I know your worries come from a place of love, but please take a few minutes to read what I have written below, because it is very likely that you are misinformed and culturally biased.

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Let me start by talking specifically about Egypt, since I travel there the most:

I have many dear friends in Egypt, some of whom have connections that could be used to get out of a tight situation in the extremely unlikely event that it would be necessary. I love them, we take care of each other, we have a wonderful time exploring and spending time together. My friends are the number one reason that I travel to Egypt and will continue to do so.

Cairo is a big city and it is extremely easy to stay away from troublesome parts and protests. It is also actually a very safe city as cities go! Crime and danger exist everywhere, I feel much more unsafe in many places in Europe and the US (Paris, Naples Italy, LA, NYC, ....... even Denver, a half hour from my own home!!) than I ever have in Egypt.

Here are some statistics for ya:
- In terms of gun violence the United states is MUCH more dangerous than most countries in the world, except for active war zones and a few exceptions!

- Homicide rates - Egypt is way safer than the US and even safer than boring old Canada!!

- Kidnapping is not a common issue where I like to travel, and there are precautions one can take to avoid such things (using the buddy system, for example).

The worst issues in Cairo are sexual harassment (mostly just catcalls on the street and occasionally groping), which are not difficult to deal with and are not threatening at all if you're with a group of people which I almost always am, and petty theft (which is still actually pretty rare). Reports of sexual assault occur primarily AT protests/large gatherings of people, which I'm not planning on participating in.

Honestly I'm much more likely to die tragically driving my car on a daily basis than for anything bad to happen to me in Cairo.

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Now to address what I think is the real issue here: Ignorance and racism

The media is full of hype and islamophobia, so don't take it too seriously. They don't show 99% of the realities of life, which usually happens to be the peaceful, kind, stable, unscary part (or the part that doesn't agree with that media source's specific political agenda). But.... thanks to the current political opinions of our government and society, anywhere where there are Muslims (*Gasp*) becomes ohhhh so dangerous in everybody's mind. The vast majority of Muslims are very ANTI-violence. They disagree strongly with people who commit acts of terrorism in the name of their religion, which urges its followers to be peaceful and kind to fellow human beings (and animals too :D) - See Quran 5:32 for example. Idiots and criminals commit crimes in the name of every religion imaginable in every part of the world.

I know that there is tension regarding people's opinions of American politics. Most people I've met however know the difference between a country's government/politics and an individual person. I am sometimes asked about my opinions on certain political issues, and from there we move on and talk about other things. It isn't as big of a deal as you may think. Not to mention the fact that for some reason, most people who meet me think that I am either British or German... :P

I also oftentimes have people tell me that I should stay away from the region because "it's unsafe for women." I don't really want to go on my huge rant about this in this post because it would take days to put all on paper and I'm sure that's not what you came here to read about... But here's the short version: Like it or not, women face unsafe situations all over the world and sexism is very much alive and kicking. Yes there are many disgusting chauvinistic men in the middle east who I would very much like to personally castrate. I have met just as many of these unsavory characters in America, Europe, and Asia. Sexism and abuse of women is not unique to any culture, skin color, religion, and so on. If I, as a woman, choose to cower in fear and never leave my house, hometown, or country just because I am afraid of a little bit of sexism, that sexism would be winning! I refuse to exclude myself from the beautiful adventures of life just because I am a woman, so don't even go there with me.

Finally, I like to remind people that you can't just generalize about "the middle east" (or any area of the world or group of people for that matter). Each country and area faces its own issues and just because something is happening somewhere in the region doesn't mean it is at all applicable to a specific situation.


Hope that helps clear things up for you. Lots of love!!

(Photo taken by me, view from Azhar Park in Cairo. Jan, 2012)