Yes, I am thinking that is probably why he could be at peace and let go, because he was back with his family. It is so horrifying to think of what he went through.
I agree with you that it's unfair for the family to expect the government to intervene to try to get people back if they've gone somewhere like North Korea or Iran. The state department should be clear in their travel advisories that assistance won't be forthcoming in certain countries with governments known to be hostile to American citizens.
While I don't understand the appeal of a trip to North Korea, and this is a terribly sad outcome, I absolutely don't think it should be the government's role to make risk taking or stupidity illegal.
Agreed. I don't where I signed over to the Federal government the power to tell me where I can and cannot travel. And I don't see where I asked them to come rescue me if there's trouble.
I maintain a high-risk S&R policy, through my satellite phone carrier. When I first started subscribing to this, only two countries were excluded: North Korea and Iraq. The list is longer these days: http://www.geosalliance.com/iercc/country-alerts/
My daughter carries a similar policy. Earlier this year she was heading to Turkey for an archeological expedition, but due to the situation there, and upon the advice of the State Department and her academic institution's risk management folks (who have ample resources of their own...), the research has been put off for "a while", even though the initial plan included armed guards for the team. Nobody however stepped in to forbid it.
It still irks me that I can't go to Cuba to visit, while just a few miles across the border, my Canadian neighbors can hop on cheap flights and have sun-and-fun. America....freedom....
Some people will want to do risky and possibly foolish things. Travel to despotic pestholes. Cave diving. Dining on Fugu. Majoring in English.
I don't necessarily think it is government's place to tell adults what activities they can engage in, or in most cases to bail them out. Although I do think it appropriate to consider some kind of action when our citizens are murdered or abused abroad. If only to discourage that kind of behavior in the future.
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