“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.” – Helen Keller
I’ve noticed that a good number of conversations among expats and travelers include the topic of safety.
Is it safe to visit that country? Is my new apartment building safe? Is it okay to walk there at night? Or, one of the more pressing concerns, is it safe to date in Dumaguete?
Understandably, safety is a paramount concern for tourists and expats. Just the idea of something out there that could bring us harm makes us reevaluate our world view, as well as redefine our place in it.
These days, the Philippines falls under additional scrutiny, thanks to the issues of martial law, extra-judicial killings, Muslim terror in Mawari, and the emerging threat of foreigner kidnappings — not only in Mindanao but here in the Visayas.
However, as travelers, we also frequently encounter misguided concern from friends and families back home. I wish I had a peso for every time I’ve received an email or message saying, “OMG, are you OK?” when there was an earthquake 1,000 miles away, or a coup attempt somewhere on my side of the world.
I’m reminded of this as I get ready to embark on a trip to Davao next week on Cebu Pacific’s first direct flight there from Sibulan airport. I can’t think of a more polarizing place in the world than Davao when it comes to that conversation about safety.
Is Davao truly one of the safest cities in the world, as has been voted in recent years?
Or is it the epicenter of a spreading international Muslim insurgency so I’m crazy to even set foot there?
I honestly think that Davao is a victim of guilt by association, as is Mindanao in some regard, and the Philippines as a whole. But I can’t blame people in the U.S. for being wary, as the only time they hear the word “Mindanao” is in the context of international terrorist uprisings and martial law, and they get terrified by the President’s pronouncements and his roaming “death squads” because that’s the way he’s mostly portrayed by the Western media.
So for this week’s column, I wanted to uncover the “facts behind the fear” when it comes to foreigner safety here in the Philippines.
A good place to start is the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 countries in the world on how peaceful — or dangerous — they were the previous year.
Topping the list of unsafe places is Syria, earning the dubious distinction as the most dangerous country in the world; with Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Sudan on no. 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
Scrolling down, I was surprised to see the Philippines at #26, sandwiched between Egypt (#25) and India (#27).
That Philippine rating seems high for me but then again, the GPI ranks countries not just on homicide or violent crime rates but their “level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization”.
Still, that means that the Philippines is only 12 rankings safer than North Korea (#14), and is less safe than Iran (#35), South Africa (#41), grimy Guatemala (#47), Honduras (#58), crime-riddled Brazil (#56), and African trouble-spots like Chad, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda.
Interestingly, the United States of America shows up at #50 on the list, which means that at least 113 countries in the world are now considered safer than the US, including Rwanda (#51), Cambodia (#75), Nicaragua (#90) and even Burkina Faso in Africa (#73).
It’s no surprise that Japan and Singapore are the safest in Asia, with Iceland (gently) beating New Zealand for the honor of safest country in the world.
But data on countries can be misleading, since some regions or cities can be disproportionately rife with crime and violence. So a more accurate barometer may be the Business Insider’s list of the 50 Most Dangerous Cities in the World.
Incredibly, 41 Latin American cities sit on that list, including 21 cities in Brazil. There are also three cities from the U.S. on the list (St. Louis, Detroit, and New Orleans).
However, there wasn’t one single Asian city on the list (hello, Manila?!) which means either that Asia is super safe (maybe), Latin and South America are super dangerous (definitely), and/or the reporting is skewed towards the Americas (probably).
What these lists also don’t take into account is the difference in safety for locals compared to tourists and foreigners. But I did find a report that speaks of this, called the 2017 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum. Despite the long name, it has a clear message about the Philippines: It’s not safe for foreigners.
In fact, according to the report, the Philippines is the 11th most dangerous country in the world when it comes to ensuring the safety of tourists, ranking #126 among 136 countries, and one spot more dangerous than Lebanon! Ouch!
That’s the same general assessment I got when I asked “DJ,” a career U.S. Special Forces badass, whether it was smart for me to visit Davao next week.
“If we are being honest, no,” he replied. After a string of invaluable advice, DJ concluded with this: “Stupid, drunk, and alone — these make great targets. Don’t be these things.”
I can’t think of better advice, and I try not to be “stupid, drunk, and alone” these days unless I’m behind locked doors in my apartment.
I have traveled all over the world, and found myself in a lot of places and situations I shouldn’t have been in, so I’m not naí¯ve. I understand better than many that the world is filled with sharp things, and any day can be our last, one way or another.
But if we really pay credence to the statistics, shouldn’t we all be far more concerned with heart disease and cancer, which are the leading causes of death in the world (one-in-six and one-in-seven odds, respectively), as well as motor vehicle accidents (one in 88), and even suicide (one in 121)?
In fact, the odds of being killed in a terrorist attack are only one in 9,300,000 — which means that you’re far more likely to meet your maker after being eaten by a shark (one in 300,000), or bonked on the head by a falling coconut (one in 250,000).
This leads me to the revelation that there’s a big difference between what’s actually unsafe, and what just makes us feel unsafe.
That’s why the fear of flying is the #1 phobia in the world, followed by Glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking at #2. Our conversations tend to revolve around terrorism and gruesome crimes, not cutting fat from our diet, getting on a treadmill more, and wearing a helmet when we ride a motorbike.
But maybe I’m just trying to justify my (non-refundable) ticket to Davao since these statistics are averages for every human being across the world. If you swim in shark-infested waters every day or spend a lot of time hanging out under palm trees, of course, your odds go way up astronomically. Likewise, we’re pulling the tiger’s tail if we visit Marawi right now, make a pit stop in North Korea, or even live in downtown Jerusalem, for instance.
So is it really better to live our lives like a turtle, staying put, and retreating into our protective shell?
As one expat, Paul, who just moved to Cebu told me, “I live in a gated community with a roving guard. I have a big aggressive Doberman Pinscher. I only go to guarded places. I feel great.”
That lifestyle sounds awful to me!
Or is being bold, intrepid, and adventurous no more treacherous in the long run, like Hellen Keller thought? It might be impossible to say.
But two things we can all agree on is that the Philippines probably gets a bad rap when it comes to safety, and Dumaguete is a relatively secure place in the world for foreigners.
Like what Naomi, a local Filipina, responded in my unofficial poll about safety in Dumaguete, “Our place is safe and peaceful. Only on weekends, you can hear ear-splitting karaoke singing and people drinking, but it’s still safe.”
If that’s our biggest clear and present danger, we’re going to be alright.
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Author’s email: hi@normschriever.com
