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U.S. State Department travel warnings. Useful or useless?
How useful are those U.S. State Department travel warnings? If you read too many, you might become scared off of travel all together.
As Carol Pucci points out in a recent Seattle Times article, politics and economics might play into U.S. State Department travel warnings and recommendations. This doesn't mean that, if there is a travel warning for a particular country, you should poo poo it as nonsense, and not proceed with caution when making plans. Perhaps, though, the travel warning isn't totally warranted. Pucci suggests checking other government's travel warning venues, such as Canada's, Australia's and the United Kingdom's.
Sometimes, even when a warning might be a good idea, the country does not make the travel warning list. Pucci cited India as an example. Consider this:
Just recently, less than a month ago, there was a bombing at Connaught Place in New Delhi, a part of the city that boasts United Coffee House, my favorite restaurant for samosas and drip coffee.
It is a gem of a place that dates back to the early 1930s. The colonial architecture with an Art Deco twist is superb. Connaught Place is popular with tourists, but is also part of the finance industry and is near government offices.
When I lived in New Delhi, two terrorist attempts were thwarted close by where I frequented. Our response, as well as everyone I knew, was to toodle around like normal.
Pucci makes the observation that despite the 140 people who have been killed in India since May due to troublesome unrest, India isn't on the warning list.
Click on the link for the countries that are on the list. Israel is one of them--so is Nepal. A friend of mine who recently returned from Israel recently emailed me about the great time he had. Other friends of ours moved to Nepal a year and a half ago and haven't had any problems that I've heard of.
The best advice I have--if you want to visit a country that is on the list, is find out which part of that country is a safety concern and avoid those areas. When we went to Sri Lanka, for example we flew into Colombo, but left for other towns and had an absolutely safe, marvelous time. Perhaps, Colombo would have been perfectly fine, but the sites we wanted to see were elsewhere anyway.
If you can swing it, go to United Coffee house. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out.
Filed under: Africa, India, Israel, Nepal, Sri Lanka, News, Travel Health
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Josh Oct 10th 2008 12:39PM
Well said. Common sense and an eye on the news beat the State Dep't warnings any day.
And why don't they issue warnings about dangerous places here in the US? We beat most other countries in terms of murder rates.
james Oct 10th 2008 9:22PM
Travelers are much more likely to be the victims of hotel theft and petty crime than bombings and major melees. Walk with a purpose, don't wear expensive crap - and most likely you'll be fine.
Having traveled to Mexico City and the streets of Buenos Aires over the past few years I've felt safer there than I have in Orlando and New Orleans over the past few years
james http://www.futuregringo.com
Reader Oct 13th 2008 8:08AM
The US Dept State lists significant warnings and info about terror attacks in India:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html#safety
Yes, as Pucci says "seasoned travelers know that it pays to look beyond information provided by the U.S. State Department." Take it with a grain of salt, but know if you get in a situation there will be 'told you so' than not.
I hope #1 is not implying common sense dictates to ignore those warnings, or go by a friend of someone on the internet who had a great time in X country.
www.plwha.org Dec 10th 2008 10:20AM
Your travel experience is extremely valuable to other PLWHA
Sometimes the official information about HIV travel restrictions differs from the reality discovered by positive travelers. Recently a good friend told me that she applied for residence in Poland and she didnt have to undergo a medical testing,contrary to the official specifications.
Please post your travel experiences in this blog ( http://countries.bravejournal.com )so we can have a clearer idea about positive traveling and help each other.
http://www.plwha.org
www.plwha.org Dec 16th 2008 1:19AM
MORE ON WWW.PLWHA.ORG
There are some simple steps all HIV-positive tourists can take regardless of their destinations to minimize chances of undue customs delays or outright deportation:
* Look healthy. Travelers who appear to be ill are likely to be targeted for indepth questioning or inspections.
On the Road With HIV: A Guide for Positive Travelers
* Be discreet and polite.Don't draw any undue attention to yourself that could cause customs officials to pull you aside.
* Don't advertise the fact that you're HIV-positive. It pains me to have to give that kind of advice, but you might not want to wear a PLWHA t-shirt.
* Keep your anti-HIV medications in their original bottles, and do not attempt to hide the containers. If you're hiding them customs officials may think they contain contraband and may hold you to verify that they are permitted into the country.Opening packages or taking pills out of their prescription bottles will delay your time in security(more info).
*Pack extra medicine and supplies when traveling in case you are away from home longer than you expect or there are travel delays.
*If you are taking injectable medications (e.g., Fuzeon, insulin, testosterone) you must have the medication along with you in order to carry empty syringes(more info).
*Depending on the circumstances it may be worthwhile taking along a doctor’s certificate (in English) which shows that the holder is reliant on the medication and that it has been prescribed by the doctor.Carry a copy of your prescriptions in your carry-on, purse, or wallet when you travel.
*You can ask and are entitled to a private screening to maintain your confidentiality. Show copies of your prescriptions and/or your medication bottles and if you have any problems ask to see a supervisor.
In general, the above points apply to entering countries with ambiguous or restrictive regulations: as long as HIV positive status does not become known, there will be no serious problems for a tourist. However, if someone is suspected of being HIV positive, or if the authorities have concrete reasons to believe they are, entry may be refused. Since october 2008 non-immigrant US visas are granted to HIV-positive people who meet certain requirements, instead of waiting for a special waiver from DHS(more info).
My philosophy on the whole issue is that it's not an issue, so I don't present it as one.And I've never had any problems over the years of extensive travel.
www.plwha.org May 9th 2010 3:19AM
HIV travel restrictions and retreats - www.plwha.org
http://plwha.org