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While a lot of the 30+ nations State called out aren’t as bad as they say, the countries I listed on my top 10 most dangerous all currently appear on State’s travel advisory site; so their information isn’t completely a load of BS. However, a lot of State’s blacklisting has political reproductions bias to US foreign policy. This is bad because when someone sees a country coined as dangerous, they don’t go. This economically hurts that region by making the average local dependent on the tourism industry lose cash and suffer. So please allow me to simplify this dilemma for you without prejudice and separate the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good- The following are nation-states currently listed and/or ones commonly seen on State’s website: Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Nepal, Kenya, China, Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa and Mexico. Really? You’re going to deny an Everest climber’s dream by telling him to stay clear of Katmandu? Or vacationers to avoid Boracay, Bali, Rio, Cancun and Phuket? Or historian buffs to beware of the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China and the ancient Silk Road in Bukhara? Or tell the elderly couple planning a safari to the Serengeti “NO”? Give me a break…
Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, all of these countries are indeed experiencing some kind of turmoil; but hey, who isn’t? That shouldn’t be enough to be banned. If it were, then the State Department needs to place the US on their own list since there are neighborhoods in America you couldn’t pay me to go to.
Take Mexico for instance. The nation’s civil war between the powerful drug cartels and US/Mexican anti-narcotic forces has left more innocent civilians dead than Iraq’s War. I’m fully aware this is a serious situation and it by all means shouldn’t be taken lightly. Nonetheless, most of this violence is located in certain concentrated areas.
So what do you do? Just don’t go to those places and act like an idiot Gringo by waving money around and speaking Spanglish while drunk off Tequila. Instead, go relax on the beaches, or tour some ancient Mayan ruins, or sample the country’s incredible food and music, or party all night in Acapulco, or watch a Chivas match in Guadalajara. While the other countries listed all have their own unique problems, most travelers visiting them stay away from the conflict zones and enjoy their time with zero tribulations.
The Ugly- North Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia. No, they’re not ugly in the sense of appearance, but rather in the way they’re portrayed in the media. They have a horrible reputation throughout the West. Whether they deserve it is not the thesis of this article so I’m going to steer away from politics. Saying that, there’s absolutely no reason these three countries should be listed because if you’re a foreigner traveling to these nations you must be accompanied by a tour group. (This is true for everyone going to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, most Western tourist and non-Muslims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and US citizens traveling to the Islamic Republic of Iran).
Having a tour group brings a whole new definition to the word “ugly.” I despise tour groups with a bitter passion and refuse to spend a dime on one unless it’s absolutely necessary. They encroach on your freedom, make you wake up ridiculously early, call your attention to things you don’t want to see and worst of all, force you to hang around a bunch of people from your home country. When I travel, I want to be with the people from that particular place to learn about their culture, not a whiny New Yorker complaining about how “third world” and “unsanitary” the restrooms are. This, to be frank, is not only ugly, it’s hideous! And I’m not talking about the hole in the ground used for public urination.
Apparently, I can’t stand organized tours. But sometimes it’s either bite the bullet or don’t visit the country at all. When push comes to shove, I choose the former.
If you just so happen to get stuck with a tour group, don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen. Not only does tourism generate cash for the local economy, the last thing these governments want, no matter what Fox News tells you, is more bad news on top of the massive amount of negativity already accumulated by the media. Furthermore, the tour guide isn’t going to bring you to a dangerous place because it’s simply bad for business.
The Bad- Here it is, the moment we’ve all been waiting for- The Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries in the World XTS Style:
10. Iraq- In case you don’t have a PhD in International Affairs from Georgetown, did you hear there’s been a war in Iraq for the past 8 years? Several years ago, Iraq would have been #1 on this list since there was a suicide bombing nearly every day, nonstop fighting between the US led coalition vs. guerilla jihadist, and kidnappings, murders and beheadings for the civilians caught in the crossfire. While things in Iraq have improved greatly since the dark days, and even tour groups and independent travelers have began checking out Mesopotamia, Iraq is still technically a war zone. Bombings still take the lives of innocent bystanders while the chance of violence re-escalating should never be completely brushed under the carpet.
9. Cote d’Ivoire- The West African nation has experienced on and off civil war for the past decade. And when the two factions fight in the glittering coast of ivory, it gets nasty. After President Laurent Gbagbo refused to yield power to Alassane Ouattara, pro-Ouattara loyalists began clashing with pro-Gbagbo forces. Both sides are armed to the teeth and equally brutal. Apart from constant political strife, Cote d’Ivoire’s economy is bankrupt, famine is common and street gangs are proliferating. It’s also reported that parts of Abidjan are lawless and have entered a state of complete anarchy away from the deteriorating government’s control. Perhaps the scariest aspect about Cote d’Ivoire is it can be peaceful one minute and erupt into complete chaos the next. The only thing keeping Cote d’Ivoire from being ranked higher on our list is the fact that all armed conflict halts when the national team competes in the FIFA World Cup. There’s guaranteed peace at least once every four years…
8. Haiti- Haiti is unique to this list for several reasons. For one, it’s the only non African or Asian country. Two, it’s not ravished by civil war or religious extremism. Three, Haiti occupies half of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, a region known for beaches and holidays and not danger. One of Haiti’s problems lies in its horrific economic conditions creating wretched poverty, disease, malnourishment and most notably street crime. Rapes, kidnappings, muggings and murders terrorize the Caribbean nation regardless of who you are or what country you come from. Another twist to Haiti’s unique situation is natural disasters. Earthquakes, mudslides, floods and hurricanes constantly peg the country and usually take thousands of lives. So if you escape the horrid crime, you may not be so lucky when dealing with a category 5 hurricane or devastating earthquake.
7. Pakistan- I have a reoccurring nightmare that takes place in Pakistan. I’m walking through a crowded, dusty market of an overcrowded city. Everyone is staring at me wondering, “Has this white boy lost his mind?” I look up at a billboard and see a beautiful Pakistani actress advertising some JFC electronic products with the intriguing Urdu script written all around. Then, there’s a flash and I wake up. This always freaks me out in the middle of the night and has really been getting on my nerves. Anyway, I think this antidote coupled with many other problems explains Pakistan quite well. Suicide and massive car bombings are becoming the daily norm; the Pakistani branch of the Taliban and other self interested groups are violently competing for power in the nuclear armed country; the threat of all out war with bitter rival India is always present; violence crossing the borders from Afghanistan is breaking down civil society daily; US drones fall like rain and natural disasters always prove to be disastrous. And just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, Osama bin Laden, the international figurehead of Islamic extremism, was killed within Pakistani borders- something that has and will continue to spark a wave of retaliation by devoted followers. Pakistan is unsafe, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this country takes the number one spot in several years.
6. The Democratic Republic of the Congo- The DR Congo lives up to “Rumble in the Jungle.” Fighting (and I’m not talking about boxing) has unfortunately become a part of life for the Congolese. In fact, at the turn of the century, fighting in the Congo killed nearly 6 million people. The conflict is now known as the Great War of Africa since it’s officially the largest war in modern African history and the bloodiest conflict since WWII. Robberies, kidnappings and murders also infest massive urban centers while HIV and tropical diseases literally plague the rest of the country. There’s also an acronym soup of various rebel groups located deep in the heart of the Congo who are also constantly competing for power and currently control swaths of the massive country. However, perhaps one group even more frightening than the MLC or RCD rebels, or street thugs, or microscopic diseases found in mosquitoes are the cannibals who still to this day consume human beings just like yourself! The DR Congo is horrifying, need I say more.
5. The Sahel (Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad)- I hate grouping four countries together, but it’s impossible to pick just one of the Sahel nations. Something about the Sahel scares me. For some reason I’ve always had a suspicious feeling about these countries tucked deep into the southern Sahara, and maybe for good reason. Chad is particularly dangerous from Sudanese and Libyan conflict spillovers. Darfur has lost the publicity gained from Hollywood stars acting like they care and moved westward to neighboring Chad. Civil war in Libya has caused an exodus of refugees within Chad’s borders, stirring up more civil unrest, crime and outbreaks of fatal diseases due to unsanitary conditions at refugee camps. More problems can be traced to the AQIM, or Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Maghreb. AQIM is a brutal terrorist organization that mainly operates in Mali, Mauritania and Niger. AQIM has vowed to remove all foreign influence in the Sahel by killing as many foreigners as possible and destroying any form of Western establishments. And wait, there’s more! Global climate changes have also created drought and famine in the already volatile area; and we all know a hungry man is a violent man. This phenomenon has skyrocketed the rate of robberies, carjackings, rapes, murders and kidnappings. All this coupled with the deadly summer heat of 50 degrees Celsius makes the countries of the Sahel countries one risky place. So watch your ass when visiting the Sahel, because you might get captured and taken all the way to Timbuktu… literally!
4. Yemen- Yemen has always been perilous. One of the problems is that the country is divided amongst tribes in the desert that don’t follow government law and don’t welcome foreigners. The second is Islamic extremist groups like the AQAP (Al-Qaeda of the Arab Peninsula) are gaining influence in the Gulf nation and have picked up violent crimes against foreigners and Western institutions. Third, Yemen is amongst the poorest countries in the Middle East making crime a common occurrence. These three factors are enough to put Yemen in the top 10, but now, recently, anti-government protestors have sparked a fourth and lethal factor. Protesters and innocent civilians have been killed by government forces thus further pushing Yemen to the verge of an inevitable civil war. It’s about to get heated in the southwestern Arab Peninsula, so you can bet your last Yemeni Rial that this place is here to stay in the top 10 for quite some time.
3. Libya- Libya until recently was a quite North African nation ruled by an absolute dictator. However, things changed nearly overnight. Civil war broke out between anti-Gaddafi rebels and pro-government forces lunging the country into a civil war. The situation has since worsened with the involvement of NATO forces throwing more fuel on the fire. Currently, Libya is in a state of absolute chaos where innocent civilians are suffering and dying by the dozens and fighting between the two factions is destroying the country. The future of Libya isn’t bright by any means. With Gaddafi vowing to massacre anyone who stands in his way, and hundreds fleeing the nation daily, many experts perceive Libya to become the next Somalia and Afghanistan combined- an anarchic state in constant civil war that simultaneously serves as an international terrorist harbor. And that will bring us to our top 2 of the World’s Most Dangerous Countries.
2. Afghanistan- You were probably expecting to see this one. Afghanistan is a mess. The Soviet’s ravished the country in the 80s, then the Taliban in the 90s and now currently the Americans. Afghanistan is constantly struggling with external or internal forces battling it out, a phenomenon that’s created death, fear, destruction, distrust and abject poverty. If you’re not a rebel or military personnel, then the risk of being kidnapped or murdered by one of Afghanistan’s numerous Islamic extremist organizations will probably occur. The fighting in Afghanistan is so bad that they don’t even need natural disasters, disease or street gangs to push them to the #2 spot. Basically, in Afghanistan, there’s nowhere to run and absolutely nowhere to hide. Just ask Osama bin Laden, that’s why he fled to Pakistan…
1. Somalia- This should not be a surprise. While researching this piece, I found that just about everyone out there agrees Somalia is without question the world’s most dangerous country. You name it, Somalia’s got it- enough AK47s and bazookas to arm every man, woman and child, a growing international pirate dilemma, drugs, terrorism, civil war, extreme poverty, kidnappings, murders, famine, disease and a plethora suicide/car bombings. Furthermore, Somali culture is deeply rooted in clans. Everyone puts faith in their clans first, even before religion and nationality; making it difficult to trust the local population with issues of your safety. So think twice about bribing a security guard to protect you. Did I also mention that Somalia hasn’t had a functioning government for more than two decades? It’s the planet’s only true anarchic nation, so don’t count on your embassy or government to bail you out if you get into trouble. As a traveler, you have no friends or allies in Somalia and your life is only seen as a meaningless statistic.
And there you have it, the world’s most dangerous XTS style. As you can see, troubles come in many different shapes and sizes and affect an array of countries varying in culture and religion. And while most of the listed lay in the Greater Middle East and North Africa, that’s not to say these are the only volatile regions in the world. As mentioned earlier in this piece, no place is perfect and everyone out there experiences their own issues.
These countries are the most dangerous because they’re hazardous from the minute you step foot in their borders or even get close to their national territories. This is not the same for the Caucuses of southern Russia (because as a whole Russia is safe) or Israel (because you can still go to a beach resort to kick back and relax, or buy diamonds in Tel Aviv, and live a relatively safe life). This is why you might see Russia and Israel listed on other dangerous country indexes but not XTS's.
We at XTS aren’t your parents. It’s not our duty to tell you where not to travel to. If we did, we wouldn’t be an “Xtreme” travel site. However, we will present our findings based off facts and travelers who’ve personally gone to these places and present the information without bias. Then its up for you to decide. So from all of us at XTS, safe travels!
Image citation: June 2nd, 2011 Google Search "Somalia Street."
