For the previous 20 years, we’ve journeyed throughout the globe, embracing the idea that “journey is deadly to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” as Mark Twain so eloquently said. We’ve shared our adventures, our images, and our experiences in numerous cultures, believing that by showcasing the fantastic thing about the world, we may assist folks see past borders and variations.
However occasions have modified. The world we’re touring in now’s now not nearly sharing stunning photos—it’s extra advanced, extra divided, and extra fragile than ever earlier than.
Journey Used to Unite Us. Now, It Feels Completely different.
Once we first began touring, every part was new. Social media was in its infancy, and folks have been being launched to locations that they had by no means seen earlier than. Journey felt like a device for connection—a technique to expertise completely different cultures, break down boundaries, and open minds to new prospects.
However now, we see a world that’s not solely extra divided but in addition extra cynical. Journey has been commodified, diminished to an Instagram backdrop moderately than a possibility for studying. As a substitute of sparking curiosity and empathy, it typically fuels comparability, competitors, and apathy. As a substitute of uniting us, journey content material generally reinforces the divide between those that can discover freely and people who are struggling simply to outlive.
And whereas the world scrolls previous one other good sundown, too many individuals are preventing simply to dwell.
The Actuality We Can No Longer Ignore
Conflicts are raging throughout locations we’ve visited.
- Sudan is within the grip of a devastating civil conflict, displacing hundreds of thousands.
- In Yemen, an ongoing humanitarian disaster has left folks ravenous.
- Ukraine remains to be below assault, with civilians struggling day by day.
- Myanmar’s folks stay below the management of a brutal navy junta.
- In Gaza, whole households have been worn out, and harmless lives proceed to be misplaced.
- Ethiopia, Haiti, Afghanistan, and so many others stay in turmoil.
And these are simply the conflicts that make headlines.
The World Is Burning—Actually
We can also’t ignore one other disaster unfolding in entrance of our eyes: Local weather Change.
The locations we have now visited—the glaciers of Patagonia, the seashores of the Maldives, the rainforests of the Amazon—are altering, and never for the higher.
- Wildfires have ravaged Greece, Canada, Australia, and California, displacing folks and devastating landscapes.
- Floods have swallowed whole villages in Pakistan, Libya, and Germany, leaving destruction of their wake.
- Coral reefs that we as soon as marveled at whereas diving are bleaching and dying at an alarming price.
- The Arctic ice we as soon as stood on is disappearing, and island nations like Tuvalu and the Maldives are actually sinking.
We’ve witnessed these adjustments firsthand. We’ve spoken to locals who’ve misplaced their houses. We’ve walked via landscapes that now not exist. And we’ve realized—we can’t simply preserve sharing fairly photos whereas pretending every part is okay.
We Can’t Keep Silent Anymore
We are able to’t proceed to stroll round considering every part is a dream anymore. We are able to’t sit in a spa, pretending all is effectively, ready for another person to say one thing.
We now have to talk up.
We have to speak about politics, poverty, and human rights abuses within the locations we go to. We have to speak about how tourism impacts native communities and whether or not it helps or harms them. We have to speak about local weather change, concerning the industries destroying our planet, and about what we, as vacationers, can do to make an actual distinction.
We need to face up towards fascism, authoritarianism, and oppression—and assist others get up as effectively.
We Don’t Blame Anybody for Staying Silent—However We Can’t Anymore
We don’t blame anybody who chooses to not communicate out. That is our selection alone.
For folks with jobs, households, and even our fellow journey bloggers and vloggers who’ve partnerships, talking out may imply shedding every part—contracts, alternatives, and even their whole livelihoods. We perceive why many keep quiet.
However we’re able the place we can take that threat. And when the danger is talking out towards cruelty, corruption, and fascism—we expect it’s price it.
For almost 20 years, The Planet D has stood for discovery—the journey of exploring the world. However shifting ahead, we would like it to face for one thing even larger:
1. Decency – As a result of human rights ought to by no means be up for debate.
2. Democracy – As a result of freedom isn’t assured; it have to be defended.
3. Dedication – As a result of change doesn’t occur with out motion.
What’s Subsequent for The Planet D
We’re not saying goodbye to journey. We’re nonetheless going to discover, nonetheless going to share guides and itineraries, and nonetheless going that will help you uncover the world. However we’re additionally going to inform the entire story.
We’ll nonetheless showcase unimaginable locations, however we’ll additionally expose what’s taking place behind the gorgeous photos. We’ll discuss concerning the folks preventing for justice, the communities on the entrance traces of local weather change, and the vacationers and locals making an actual distinction.
As a result of identical to that hammam therapeutic massage expertise we as soon as informed you about—there’s all the time extra to the story. And it’s time we begin telling it.
A New Journey, Collectively
We all know this shift may really feel surprising, however it’s the appropriate one. Journey has all the time been about discovery—and generally, meaning dealing with uncomfortable truths.
Thanks for being a part of this journey with us. It received’t all the time be simple, however it will likely be price it.
Dave & Deb
