And all the expats who exploit it. I don’t know how many Americans, Europeans, Australians, etc I’ve met in Mexico who live in penthouses, hire butlers for parties and then spend an evening pissing all over Mexico’s idiosyncrasies and faults.

Babble off: That first photo of Yemen is fantastic.

I think that it is important to realize that the US mainstream media doesn’t provide a complete picture of Yemen (or anywhere else for that matter). But I think it’s even better to specifically seek out what is good about a place. That’s what frustrates me about how so many people here in Europe view the United States. They only focus on the bad – corporate corruption, the worst of pop culture consumerism, the Bush administration, parts of US foreign policy – but they completely ignore everything that makes the US so great. (Often times because those things don’t enter the European media.) It’s like when journalists visit Mexico only to report on drugs and violence (damn you Graeme!) – they’re only seeing .01% of the country.

Alexis,

These days I’m nomadic. My laptop is my teepee. Bruce Chatwin once has me convinced that nomadism is the natural state for humans, but now I’m not so sure.

On March 15, 2009, four South Korean tourists were killed in a suicide bomb attack in the city of Shibam in southern Hadramout province. On March 18, 2009, a South Korean motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber near Sana’a International Airport. On January 17, 2008, suspected al-Qa’ida operatives ambushed a tourist convoy in the eastern Hadramout Governorate, killing two Belgians. On July 2, 2007, suspected al-Qa’ida operatives carried out a vehicle-borne explosive device attack on tourists at the Belquis Temple in Marib, which resulted in the deaths of eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis. The targeting of tourist sites by al-Qa’ida may represent an escalation in terror tactics in Yemen. On February 3, 2006, 23 convicts, including known affiliates of al-Qa’ida, escaped from a high-security prison in Sanaa, some of whom remain at large. Two of the escapees were killed in vehicle-based suicide attacks on oil facilities near Mukalla and Marib on September 15, 2006. Those attacks were followed by the arrest the next day in Sanaa of four suspected al Qa’ida operatives, who had stockpiled explosives and weapons.

It’s definitely true that my view of the country is only informed by the bad news I see in US media and appreciate that it’s not a complete picture of the country. I guess I was just having a moment of cognitive dissonance when we’re talking about how cool a country is, how it’s not as dangerous as people make it out to be, and then watch a video and read a quote that highlight some pretty ugly treatment of women. And maybe this is my cynical side (yes, I have one) but if the president really cared about Najmia’s education he’d enact some policy, not pay for one girl to go to school. It just seems so patronizing.

Anyway, if anyone decides to go to Socotra, let me know, I’m in. (But I’ll be checking in with the US Embassy when I get there).

I don’t think the idea is to ignore or gloss over … for me what’s important is more awareness and better understanding. It’s easy to judge what is different, but much more difficult to understand it.

I agree with you about the treatment of women in Yemen (which is why I’m so glad that Rising Voices supports the work of Ghadia’a and EWAMT), but I’m not going to boycott or ignore the entire country because of that. And, as far as the paranoid prose of State Department travel warnings go, the one for Yemen is pretty mild.

Zadi,

That island is badass. Definitely put on the agenda!

I think that’s completely fair, and in discussing any country, both its good and bad points should be raised – however, I follow news and blogs about the Middle East almost obsessively, and this is the only post I’ve read in a long time that didn’t focus on Yemen’s injustices and human rights issues – so while you see it as glossing over, I see it as a refreshing perspective.

Also, I don’t trust U.S. Dept. of State travel warnings. The ones for Morocco and Syria contain blatant exaggerations and scare tactics. I’m not saying there isn’t terrorism in Yemen – just that the experiences of people who’ve traveled there are strikingly different than the fear-mongering travel warnings the U.S. puts out.

As for Americans, they’re not so much the targets as foreigners in general:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_936.html

Or maybe there just aren’t that many American tourists there to target.

Anyway, I get annoyed when people make blanket statements about the US so I shouldn’t do it to any other countries, it just seems we shouldn’t ignore the rank injustice, in this video in particular, we’re presented with. What would have become of her had this video not made it into the hands of the President?

Also, that little girl is amazing.