To Have Limited Sympathy for the Australian Vloggers Detained in Iran?

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

Obviously I have the usual human sympathy for young people going something so terribly traumatic, but seriously, what were they thinking?

It seems from the limited information currently available that they had deliberately planned their travels to encompass counties with a 'bad rep' for tourists apparently to disprove those reputations.

Then to fly a drone? How incredibly naive.

The tensions in the Straights of Hormuz have been well-documented in the press, and the plight of Nazanin Zachariah-Ratcliffe is never far from the public eye, how could they not have been aware of this?

It saddens me so much when instagrammers risk their lives, liberty, and for women, their chance of motherhood just for the insta-likes.

That poor couple, but gosh what a foolish thing to have done.

AIBU?

I have immense sympathy for them - they are young and foolish. Not a crime

Being young and foolish isn’t a crime, no. But what is pertinent here is that ‘young and foolish’ isn’t a viable defence if you get caught breaking the law while visiting another country.

Zero sympathy from me.

Iran is absolutely fine to travel if you aren’t Iranian or have an Iranian passport. Foreigners are treated very well generally. However since they are playing at tit for tat prisoner swap at the moment it wouldn’t be somewhere I’d be wanting to travel to (if I didn’t have family ties there and have a Big Gob that would get me into trouble anyway).

They are not that young though, late 20s I would guess. Certainty not teenagers. Foolish? Can't argue with that.

Whenever a Westerner gets banged up abroad, there's always the assumption that they are purer than the driven snow and that the mustachiod plod in furren are just getting their kicks from arresting innocent white folks.

Now, maybe in some cases this is true. But just being white and middle class doesn't automatically make you innocent, certainly not in the eyes of a country which has excellent reason to be wary about Western spies. I can't claim I know the truth of what's gone on in this particular case, but neither can anyone else here. As others have said, you don't have to be shady looking to be a spy. In fact that would be pretty daft. Not saying they are in fact spies, but it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable for the Iranians to suspect it.

I read it and thought, they are spies. But hiding this particular trip behind 'vlogging'. I don't see why it's impossible that they are spies. Wouldn't like to be in their shoes tho so I do feel a little sympathy. I don't believe they didn't know the risks. They just thought they'd get away with it.

One of my (White British) colleagues (lets call her Sue) went on a guided tour of Iran several months ago.

She was careful to wear the hijab, & only take photos of the (very beautiful) old buildings & Islamic architecture as directed by the tour guides.
Sue actually enjoyed her trip as she was treated very well.

Personally I wouldn't have gone as the tour had to be approved by the government of Iran.
I feel that by attending the tour & wearing a hijab Sue was in a way condoning the government of Iran who are arresting women who are fighting for the right NOT to have to wear a hijab.

But if these Australians vloggers had attended a similar tour & refrained from drone flying they still would have got insta likes but not been arrested!!

I could argue that my colleague Sue is the 60something far more sensible version of these vloggers.
She likes to visit dangerous places without thinking or caring about their human rights record; then puts all the photos on Facebook rather than Instagram.
Sue has been on a tour of Myanmar (what about the Rohingya?!!).
She went to Syria before the war when it was ruled by the tyrant Assad.
Of course she's been to China...

But as I said because she goes on tours approved by the unpleasant governments of these countries she stays safe.

Maybe Sue is s spy too!! Hmm

Maybe Sue is s spy too!! Hmm

Well, the best spies are the ones least likely to arouse suspicion, so ...

It would explain why she has a lot of money for travelling on HCA wages... 00Sue!