As a travel blogger who emphasizes being a global citizen, I have been asking myself every day for the past two weeks: Is it still ethical to promote travel during an active war?
The war involving Iran hit close to several fronts. First, I studied political science, specializing in conflict resolution and development studies. Secondly, I spent much of my education seeking ways to end wars and help people rebuild after conflicts. I conducted my thesis on migration studies, focusing on displaced children who must construct their identities post-resettlement.
Beyond academics, I am a former child refugee of color. The war involving Iran made me think of the many children who will end up in refugee camps because of this war. Fourth, I understand how forcibly displaced people from the Middle East would be treated differently because of the preconception of where they come from. Lastly, it truly hit home when I found out Dubai, a place my mother had just visited a couple of months ago, was impacted. From these experiences, the distance between “there” and “here” disappeared.
With all of these personal connections to what is going on, I now have to consider how my knowledge of the geopolitical situation affects how I present my business as a travel blogger.
The first question to dissect is: Can we talk about traveling during war?
The answer is yes. Yes, we can still travel during times of war, but we must do so consciously, ethically, and with global awareness.
Why?
History shows us that global conflict and travel have always coexisted. From ongoing instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to humanitarian crises in South Sudan, and even the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people have continued to move, explore, and seek connection across borders. Even the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop people from traveling. It evolved instead.
I experienced this firsthand when I chose to travel during the global pandemic. I decided to go to Belgium for my master’s program despite the pandemic scare because I wanted to take a chance on life and seize the opportunity that presented itself. For me, traveling was about growth, opportunity, and choosing to have a life despite life’s unpredictability.
However, answering with a yes does not mean you have to be careless. You do not have to move through the world carelessly, even in the absence of a global crisis. If anything, a global crisis should make us even more aware and not less. We all learned how deeply interconnected we are during the global pandemic in 2020. The pandemic taught us we should care about what happens globally because what happens in China can affect your life in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi.
The pandemic gave a news nerd like me a leg to stand on when friends ask me why I should care about what happens in Africa. One reason people often don’t care about what is happening on the other side of the world is that it feels far away. Most people do feel they should care because it does not affect them.
For example, let’s take the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conflict in Eastern Congo has spanned decades. Since 1996, millions of Congolese people have died from the conflict in Eastern Congo. Women and girls have been victims of human rights violations, and many more people have been displaced and live in constant fear in the region. The conflict in the Congo is only prevalent in the minds of people who follow politics. For the average person, what is going on in the Congo does not affect them. Same for what is happening in Sudan, Cuba, Armenia, Yemen, or Haiti.
The reason people don’t think about what is happening in the Congo and the other places mentioned is that they are far away. It doesn’t impact their daily lives. Yet, what is happening in Congo should be discussed daily, as we are constantly affected by our technology devices, like our phones and computers, that come from Congo. But we don’t feel the weight of it because Apple and Samsung still bring out new phone series every year. In contrast to the war in Iran, which is affecting our gas prices. So now the average Joe wants to be informed on the latest details of what is happening in Iran.
I don’t blame people who only pay attention when things affect them. I do too, myself. In 2019, while living in France and there when Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire, I felt disconnected from the event. I didn’t fully grasp the emotional weight of what was happening. My French friend wanted to give me a lesson in morale by explaining to me the impact of having your history burned. Ironically, he forgot he was speaking to an African whose history was burned by France at some times in history. When Russia invaded Ukraine, although I felt horrible on a human level, the European response to Ukrainian refugees made me not care because their welcoming nature was different from their response to Afghan refugees months prior.
These experiences forced me to confront an uncomfortable truth about myself and about many of us.
And that raises an important question: Should our awareness depend on whether something disrupts our comfort?
I say no!
Whether we are in a war that affects us or not, as humans, especially for those of us who love traveling, we should always be aware of the world around us. That is called being a responsible traveler.
What Responsible Travel Looks Like During War?
As someone who travels mostly for education and comes from a multicultural background, I do not travel without being well-informed about the city or town I am visiting. I also want to know what is happening around the country, region, and continent near the place where I am going. I watch the news, conduct research on Google, and check the State Department Travel sites to know about risk levels and more. That is why, when I write about planning to travel, my first tip is to always conduct in-depth research on the place you are going.
To do so, those who travel, want to travel, and have to travel for work or studies need to stay informed about global issues at all times. It ensures you are prepared for what is going on in the country or region, so you take safety precautions. Watch the news every day. There is a difference between the watch opinion-led channel and watching the news, like World News with David Muir. I love watching BBC News or TV5, which gives in-depth coverage of what is going on globally.
The second most important thing to note is to steer clear of directly impacted regions. Being a global citizen does not mean putting yourself in danger. That is why the State Department travel advisory guide is essential for Americans. It gives you daily updates on what’s happening in a particular city or country. It is also wise to sign up for the STEP app, which notifies you of any danger and gives you access to the U.S. embassy in times of trouble. When I was in France and wanted to go to Strasbourg during Christmas time, I would get alerts, and when a stabbing did occur, I received a notification asking me if I needed help. This is for U.S. nationals. If you are not a U.S. national, please check your foreign ministry’s office for more such information.
Thirdly, a good way to be a culturally aware traveler is to support the local economy ethically and be mindful of cultural sensitivity. There are no safe havens in the world. Every country deals with issues that touch cultural sensitivity. You will find poor people, disenfranchised people, wherever you go. Going to a resort in Jamaica does not mean all of Jamaica is a resort. People are dealing with real-life issues.
This sentiment is not just true of countries we tend to think are less fortunate than us. I experienced this while in France. During my time in France, many people who felt disenfranchised by their government took to the streets. The most famous strike that happened while I was in France was the Yellow Vest Protest. These strikes affected transportation, which in turn affected my weekend trips. I was stuck in Paris a couple of times without transportation back to Rennes. It is good to note that cultural sensitivity to what is happening in various local communities helps you show empathy, teaches you patience when services are not rendered promptly, and helps you deal with more inconveniences.
To bring it back to what we are living through with the war in Iran, understand that the gas prices we are witnessing due to the war in Iran are affecting many countries. If you are blessed enough to travel during this time and your taxi driver charges you more, understand that he has to deal with the increase in gas prices. Some countries do not have social safety networks as we have in the West, so they depend on tourists like you to earn more than their usual income to feed their families. This type of mentality is why you sometimes notice that, in certain places, they charge you more because you are a foreigner. It is not to be scammy, but it is sometimes because locals perceive you to have more than they do. You prove their points by traveling to their place, whereas they cannot travel to yours.
As for me, my goal as a travel blogger right now is to ensure you still get to see the world, even during times of uncertainty. If you want to take time off traveling abroad, that’s fine. Our tips still apply whether you want to travel internationally, domestically, or locally. I just went on a trip to Newport, which is right in my backyard, for a sense of adventure.
Traveling during times of war is not inherently wrong, but traveling without awareness is.
As travelers, we have a responsibility to move through the world with curiosity and consciousness. To recognize privilege. To stay informed. And to understand that while we may be exploring new destinations, others are fighting to survive in them, and that should be in our minds at all times.
The question is no longer just “Can we travel?”
It’s “How do we travel responsibly in a world that is constantly changing?”
