Dear ladies & fellas
In this opinion piece I want to share my thoughts on the death of an innocent young man, who was, sadly, gullible enough, to travel to a country, that is currently ruled by a brutal & inhuman regime. This innocent young man was killed said regime.
I do not intend to sound rude, but warnings for travelling to certain places are there for a reason, so I think it was a huge mistake to travel to North Korea in the first place. Otto Warmbier would be, most certainly, alive today, if he did not go to North Korea. But I do not want to shame a dead human being. Personally I think, that adults need to be responsible & start taking travel-warnings seriously. Just because one can visit a certain place, does not mean one should visit a certain place & this opinion comes from somebody, who lived in the 90ies, in the post-civil-war-era, in Georgia (The country, not the state). It drains my soul & it drives me nuts, when adults, who should know better, travel to dangerous places & get abducted and/or killed, just because they could travel to said place. Like for example, this Swiss couple, who was abducted by Taliban, because they choose to travel through Balochistan in a van, decorated with Buddhist prayer flags. Unlike Otto Warmbier, there was a happy end for the Swiss couple, because it seems like the Swiss goverment paid a ransom.
However, one should avoid such situations beforehand, because honestly, if you are an adult & you do not suffer from any disabilty, that prevents you from reasonable thinking, you are the main person, that is responsible for your own safety. So do not fucking travel to North Korea & other places, where there are plenty of travel-warnings. Keep yourself decently safe & spare your relatives & yourself suffering & pain.