09 July 2010
Because when I think "vacation," I think North Korea or Iran
I've been arrested for civil disobedience, and yet I still do not understand why in god's holy name Americans go to North Korea or Iran illegally on purpose. It's one thing to make a statement in the U.S. by kumbayah-ing Fort Benning and spending a night or a week in a federal detention facility. But it's a whole different ball of wax to risk a dozen years' hard labor or solitary confinement without ever being charged just so you can say you entered one of these countries, or decided to explore an uncertain border area.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
actually, from what i've heard iran is great place for a vacation. i know about two dozen people who have gone, every single one of them comes back raving. iran has probably the best islamic architecture on the planet, and 3000 years of persian history. there's an amazing array of sites to see there.
iran is totally different from north korea in terms of the number of things to see, and it dwarfs NoKo in terms of the numbers of tourists who go there each year. the only real problem with iran is that it's hard to get a tourist visa if you have a u.s. passport if you want to go independently (i.e. without a tour group).
iran remains my dream vacation. it has been for years, which is why i came within weeks of going in 2007 (before my visa fell through. if only i had a different passport!)
the link you put up for "iran" in the post is pretty misleading. those hikers didn't intend to go to iran without a visa, they were hiking in kurdish iraq and accidentally strayed over the border.
I understand that the hikers had no intention of illegally entering Iran. My point is that it's a stupid, stupid risk to take to explore areas that are even close to Iran, where the border is disputed, without a visa, because if you get picked up (and it seems as though you really will), you're gonna be tossed into the Iranian justice system. To do this kind of exploration hiking is even more foolish for an American.
As an analogy, when I went to Cuba, I didn't try to sneak in -- which the hikers weren't doing -- nor did I try to just look at it from the ocean on a boat or from a light plane, and accidentally or "accidentally" enter Cuban waters or airspace. I took my passport, worked with a planned trip that had lodgings and everything ready to go, flew to a third country, and entered Cuba through passport control at Havana. Now, I've had a good number of people who think it was stupid or treasonous to simply step foot in Cuba, which I don't agree with, and which is not my sentiment about the hikers. What I think they were is unwise. Mind-numbingly unwise.
If the risk for not using the proper channels to enter a particular country is this kind of treatment, then I think it's not reasonable to put yourself in a position where you may unintentionally cross the border -- or get close enough that you can get accused of it. I grant that I'm more risk-averse than a lot of people I know. But if I'm going to go to a country whose government is butting heads with mine, not only will I do everything I can to dot my i's and cross my t's, but also I'll do everything I can to avoid accidentally straying across the border when I'm in a third country.
I'm sure the hikers were having a mind-blowing, fantastic cultural experience meeting people and families in Kurdish Iraq. It sounds wonderful, and if I had such an opportunity I can't say I'd turn it down. But if the trip's itinerary included an excursion so close to the Iranian border, I'd probably have to say "happy trails" and "send me a postcard."
The Iran link I included is to a website created by supporters of the hikers.
i agree that the hikers were stupid. all i'm saying is that their actions have nothing to do with whether it is a good idea to go on a vacation to iran.
(unlike north korea), iran really is not a dangerous place to go. well, assuming you have a valid visa to enter. but it's stupid to enter any country without a valid visa, including the u.s.
Post a Comment