I found this article titled "American Held in Egypt Killed Himself, Officials Say" by Hubard and Shiekh on the New York Times. The article talks about how an American, James Lunn, was detained by the police in Egypt and was later found dead. It was later found that Lunn had hung himself.
What captivates my attention is that I read this news on BBC over the weekend, and it had stated that Lunn was detained because he was out during the curfew time. Curfew was implemented to ensure safety in the streets of Egypt, but this was not mentioned in New York Times. What occurred to me is that when foreigners travel to Egypt or to any country, they have to get visas in order to enter the country. This is a procedure that alerts the government that you are on travel or business by the aid of an official visa. If the Egyptian government knew that Lunn was a foreigner travelling in Egypt, why was he in captivation? There have been other incidents where various foreigners have been jailed in Egypt. Doesn't the visa validate that they are tourists and they cannot be harmed or be detained?
This intersects into the United Nations laws. My speculation is, if Egypt is trying to alienate itself from other countries, or is trying to start a war with various countries to gain super power?
Are we really safe while travelling to other countries? If a visa does not verify that you are a tourist entering a country legally, what else would protect foreigners?
Is it safe for foreigners to travel?
Posted By: Mila DeChant
You raise a good question. It certainly is something for Americans and all international tourists to think about. Good post!
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