![]() Thailand is ranked two tiers lower in risk, but 72 people were killed in incidents of terrorism in 2017. Granted, in 2017 there were 61 deaths in Russia on account of terrorism (according to Wikipedia). Are Russian police fundamentally different from Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian, Belarusian, Macedonian, or Georgian police? None of these other countries bear warnings or warning levels as high as Russia’s (Albania and Georgia are colorless striped or two tiers safer and the other countries are not colored.) Is Albanian really two tiers safer than Russia? Russia’s safety level is also on account of instances of terrorism, but there are other countries with higher instances of terrorism with lower safety risks (such as Greece). ![]() Police harassment and arbitrary enforcement of the law is not a uniquely Russian phenomenon and while there may be some cultural and political norms regarding policing, police interactions are shaped by race, class, gender, nationality, religion, and basically, one’s relationship to state power. For instance, Russia is categorized as yellow striped, on account of the risk of terrorism, harassment, and arbitrary enforcement of the laws. government and the rest of the world than travel risks. However, the color codes speak more about the relationship to the U.S. After all, there is indeed crime and violence in El Salvador. The scale, while not particularly nuanced or scientific in its approach, creates a mental schema of how safe or unsafe the world is. A person’s risk in the world is impacted by access to resources that allow for safety. The map would look different for a rich, white, heterosexual male American than a poor, Black, lesbian, Muslim American. Of course, risk is not easily measured and like “very cold” it depends upon who you are and your position in the world. “Exercise Caution-Higher Security Risk” has about as much meaning as “very cold.” Within this system, Orange is different from Striped Orange or Red, but precise difference is unknown. To another individual, this could be -40 degrees Fahrenheit. ![]() But, what does very cold mean? To someone from a tropical region, this could be 50 degree Fahrenheit. For instance, very cold could appear on a nominal scale of weather. Because they are nominal, they don’t have any quantitative value. Thus, the State Department has developed a system of risk measurement based upon a nominal scale of colors and associated risks- with red being the highest risk and white being the least highest risk. There are seven warning levels: Red (Do Not Travel), Orange Striped (Reconsider travel-Contains areas with higher security risk), Orange (Reconsider travel), yellow striped (Exercise caution-areas with higher security risk), yellow (Exercise caution), colorless stripe (Exercise Normal Precautions – Contains Areas with Higher Security Risk), and colorless (Exercise Normal Precautions). The State Department divides the world into color coded warning levels. ![]() Decoding the State Department’s Color Code: With that said, I will explore this topic so that travelers can approach the State Department with skepticism. It is one of the main instruments of U.S. The warning is far from reassuring for a traveler, but, what exactly does the color coded system mean? Further, the State Department is far from a neutral entity doling out useful travel advice. Orange means that a traveler should “reconsider travel.” This warning level is on account of violent crime and gang activity. El Salvador is listed as “orange” on the State Department’s Travel Advisory Map. Before heading to El Salvador, I checked the State Department’s website for travel warnings. It is an easy topic to write about so I am being a bit lazy as a writer (by contrast it took me over two weeks to write my November post about the history of World War I.) With that said, a travel topic that I have been thinking about lately is the politics of State Department travel advice. Should Travelers Take State Department Advice? The Politics of Travel Warnings Should Travelers Take State Department Advice? The Politics of Travel Warningsįirst of all, I will admit that I have been writing about travel more often lately.
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