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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this has to be a hoax?

268 replies

Sashimimimi · 16/08/2021 13:06

British student went to Afghanistan on holiday Hmm Is now trapped in a safe house and has ‘accepted death’. He’s been live blogging about his situation on 4chan. Incel types hailing him as a legend.

AIBU to think this is has to be a windup?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brit-student-22-stuck-afghanistan-24768024.amp

OP posts:
Original poster
Sashimimimi · 16/08/2021 13:07

If it is real, I have to say I have very little sympathy for him.

OP posts:
EverybodyIsInteresting · 16/08/2021 13:12

Well if it is, he's playing the long game. He posted in may that he'd booked his flights

I believe him.

gardeninggirl68 · 16/08/2021 13:14

its a wind up how?

DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult · 16/08/2021 13:19

You have little sympathy for a young man potentially facing being murdered because he made a bit of a daft decision, and then things escalated unexpectedly? Confused

Its not a hoax either, he planned it months ago.

TigsytheTiger · 16/08/2021 13:21

I think it is true! My daughter goes to same Uni as him and it is known he is out there, she described it as 'dark tourism', which translates to totally fucking stupid, I believe.

Halloaten · 16/08/2021 13:22

I call hoax on this too

gardeninggirl68 · 16/08/2021 13:25

dark tourism was the netflix show recommended to him

he seems to enjoy the edgier side of life. took part in the covid trials, first trip abroad was chernobyl....was looking into visiting syria....

whats he got to gain through lying?

Original poster
Sashimimimi · 16/08/2021 13:28

its a wind up how?

Going to Afghanistan for a holiday seems implausibly stupid and reckless. Plus he’s apparently said he’s looking forward to doing interviews if he makes it out alive. It just doesn’t make sense.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sashimimimi · 16/08/2021 13:30

whats he got to gain through lying?

God knows. Attention perhaps?

OP posts:
CorrBlimeyGG · 16/08/2021 13:30

Afghanistan tours were available until very recently. It's certainly not mainstream, but there has always been a market for more extreme ventures.

Qwerty789 · 16/08/2021 13:31

@DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult

You have little sympathy for a young man potentially facing being murdered because he made a bit of a daft decision, and then things escalated unexpectedly? Confused

Its not a hoax either, he planned it months ago.

Why would you have any sympathy for him? Its either a hoax, or he's purposefully planned to go as a sick tourist to watch people die and have their lives destroyed, hoping to use his epic privilege to escape a the last minute to bring home his travel story and his tourist snaps with guns and tanks.

If he is there, and manages to get back, he should be fucking arrested.

CorrBlimeyGG · 16/08/2021 13:34

I'm not sure some people understand how quickly this situation has escalated.

Livinghereinallentown · 16/08/2021 13:34

@DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult

You have little sympathy for a young man potentially facing being murdered because he made a bit of a daft decision, and then things escalated unexpectedly? Confused

Its not a hoax either, he planned it months ago.

More fool him. What kind of idiot goes to Afghanistan on holiday.
gardeninggirl68 · 16/08/2021 13:35

he planned it in May!!
How did he know of the escalations we are currently seeing? he didnt....its bad timing

PlanDeRaccordement · 16/08/2021 13:35

@Qwerty789
How is what he doing anything different from a journalist? Except he’s not getting paid to do it, and they are. So why should he be arrested? He’s simply a freelancer who will put himself at risk and then sell his story opposed to paid journalists who get paid upfront and then go to danger zones to get stories.

I have sympathy for him and for everyone there facing death. Also for all the women and girls about to be enslaved again.

Carrysymons · 16/08/2021 13:36

I don't think it's a hoax, I do think he's a selfish moron who is endangering others and should be forced to repay every penny it costs to repatriate him.

PinniGig · 16/08/2021 13:36

I'm not sure he'll have managed to get out there from UK within the last week and it be easy as that to book a flight and head on over. More or less throughout the pandemic my daughter still had offers of places in China to do her six month working / teaching for Uni. Plenty of offers for more or less any / all areas as well it bothered me they were still welcoming in and even trying to encourage people to travel into the country but they did.

She politely turned down their offer and opted to be set back and delayed another 18 months or so but I'm sure many will have jumped at the chance and assumed if they are allowing UK students over on placement it's fine.

If this lad did go in the last week or so I'm guessing he was so naïve and clueless in general but I can't say he deserves it and should be left to crack on and hope for the best. Nobody deserves what is going on there right now it is fucking disturbing beyond words.

PlanDeRaccordement · 16/08/2021 13:37

Lots of victim blaming here. Do we say this about murdered solo female travellers? That they’re idiots for being female and travelling alone to....well anywhere....and end up raped and dead on a beach? Or at a hotel?

OhWhyNot · 16/08/2021 13:37

It was foolish to go but of course I have sympathy for him

Years ago I was in Cambodia at the time you were advised to only go to some ares. We were in a safe place but told that the Khmer Rouge fractions were further along our planned trip and advised by military (lots of military stops) to turn back. Incredibly a number decided to brave it out as they had come across the world and were not going to allow their trip to be spoilt Hmm

TheVolturi · 16/08/2021 13:38

What a wally 🤦🏻‍♀️

EverybodyIsInteresting · 16/08/2021 13:40

I'm not sure he'll have managed to get out there from UK within the last week and it be easy as that to book a flight and head on over

He booked in may, and he flew via other countries. Other stops included Turkey and Russia. So no, it wasn't 'easy as that'.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 16/08/2021 13:41

Plus he’s apparently said he’s looking forward to doing interviews if he makes it out alive. It just doesn’t make sense.

Well, he’s probably looking forward to doing anything if he makes it out alive…

And he’s a member of 4chan, which hints a lot about his personality.

But regardless, I don’t think it’s a hoax.

ComtesseDeSpair · 16/08/2021 13:42

Not a wind up. He’s a daft young person who wanted to do something edgy for a laugh, like hundreds of thousands of other daft young people who have made decisions which could have gone wrong. Nobody foresaw the past couple of days’ events as being as imminent as they were - hence why thousands of foreign nationals are now relying on emergency repatriation.

Stealbee · 16/08/2021 13:42

@CorrBlimeyGG

I'm not sure some people understand how quickly this situation has escalated.
I'm pretty confident that he knew there was a very real risk that it was a really stupid idea, even without the latest developments (especially as accelerating the withdrawl has been on the cards). Our government have also been advising British citizens to leave for a while, if he stayed put for likes on the Internet then that's his choice. I wouldn't ever wish harm on someone for a stupid decision so i hope if it is real then he can get back safely; although sadly seems fairly doubtful. For his sake let's hope it is a prank
PinniGig · 16/08/2021 13:43

@EverybodyIsInteresting

I'm not sure he'll have managed to get out there from UK within the last week and it be easy as that to book a flight and head on over

He booked in may, and he flew via other countries. Other stops included Turkey and Russia. So no, it wasn't 'easy as that'.

Yeah that's what I said - even if he flew out recently it won't have been as easy as booking a flight and hopping on a plane.