In light of the protests against the election of Donald Trump around the country, Turkey has issued travel advisories to Turks visiting the United States. They want to ensure that their citizens are safe while visiting the United States, but they don’t seem to quite understand what’s going on with these protests.
Trump was elected in part on the promise of banning Muslims from the country, and building a wall along the border with Mexico. His campaign and subsequent election were very much one about targeting immigrants, LGBTQ people, women, and people who aren’t white, and that’s why people are protesting. The protestors are not, by and large, racists who hate immigrants or visitors, but they want to make it known that the United States is, and will remain, a country for everyone.
But Turkey’s travel advisory puts the emphasis on the potential violence of these protests, which has been minimal, and urges Turkish travelers to turn to the authorities if faced with racist abuse. But who is it that’s expected to be racist and violent against Turkish travelers?
This is a prime example of how something like a travel advisory can actually be harmful when the country releasing it doesn’t fully understand what’s happening. If you’re planning on visiting a foreign country, you need to understand the place you’re going to determine how any travel alerts will affect your safety. You need to do some research, and find out what the culture is like.
The cities listed as especially relevant to the advisory—New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland, and Portland, Oregon—are all cities that are known for welcoming visitors and migrants, and the protests are largest there because the residents of these cities overwhelmingly don’t support Trump. These are the cities that, frankly, international travelers are most likely to want to visit, and in which they would be the most welcome.