Terrible, terrible incident in Yemen. I don’t think it’s officially been declared a terrorist attack, but it looks likely. I’m sure we’ll be learning more later.
Condolences go out to the families of the victims.
Four Koreans Killed in Yemen
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It is terrible. Yemen is a pretty bad place to be visiting, at least if one isn’t into being targeted by terrorists/kidnappers/pirates. (Or if you’re really unlucky, mistakenly thought to be a terrorist and zapped by a Predator drone controlled by some guy a few thousand miles away…).
It is hard to believe how some people are seemingly unaware of the risks involved with going to certain places. One of my students — seemingly a smart guy with a good education and some experience living overseas — went to Egypt a month ago. Missed a bomb outside his hotel in Cairo by a few hours. Amazingly, he told me that he had no clue that he was visiting a place that has had a recent history of terrorist attacks.
Some places are well worth visiting despite the very real threats. Cairo would be one of them, Jerusalem another, don’t know about Shibam, maybe. It’s probably worth being at least aware of the risks though. Reminds me of this story about Japanese tourists wandering into the middle of a fire-fight;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1936241.stm
Did I ever tell you about time I got a job in a country that had been at war for over 50 years and whose nuclear-armed Northern neighbour was constantly threatening to turn it into dust? Crazy. Won’t be doing that again.
Yemen continues to draw tourists who are interested in seeing how the old Arab world operated. My wife and I passed on a ten day trip there just last month, even though the tour guides were heavily armed and had a very long safety record. Instead, we spent our time in Israel and other more stable countries in the region. I was surprised that there were quite a few Korean tour groups coming to Yemen at the time, though.
People continued to go to Thailand as well during their time of instability. There is danger everywhere. Sad news nonetheless.
Crossing the street and getting killed is more of a possibility than from terrorism in Cairo and Thailand etc. Street crime in New York is also more of a danger. Although I won’t be visiting Iraq or Afghanistan.
My condolences to the families, too.
Does anyone know what the group was doing there?
I would have wanted (well, still do but I’m no longer bullet-proof) to go botanizing to Soqotra and hike along the Haudramat on the mainland, but that trip looks to be not in this lifetime but in an alternative space-time continuum.
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