Travel is a Mirror and a Telescope

Saint Lucia is a safe place but something scary happened while I was there earlier this month. A friend and I were driving past the small town hospital on our way home from dinner. For no apparent reason a sizable crowd had formed. As I scanned the area to figure out why people had gathered, someone screamed, “Shots have been fired!” More screams followed and the crowd surged past our car toward the source of the yelling.

Fear set in. Whatever was happening, I did not want to be there. Afraid the sound of gunshots might follow, I tried to drive swiftly away from the commotion.

When we arrived at our Airbnb I messaged our host to ask about the incident. He said a young man had been shot and killed. A newspaper article published the next day indicated the police had been called about the shooting just 22 minutes prior to our driving past the hospital. The victim was driven to the hospital in a car and pronounced dead.

As the details of the incident emergec we became aware that while the incident was scary, we were not in harm's way. From the distance of the next day, I recalled the faces of the people in the crowd as being concerned, not angry. Word travels fast in a town of less than 8,000 people. Somehow the Airbnb host who lives a 15 min drive away knew about the incident almost immediately. Community members showed up to the hospital out of a sense of loving concern at best, morbid curiosity at worst. The screams we heard were that of grief not fear.

The Saint Lucia prime minister denounced the killing and expressed zero tolerance for gun violence. A local member of parliament called for a renewed focus on the sanctity of human life. She stated, “I am speaking not just as a parliamentary rep but as a senior person in our community—all of us must speak to our young persons about the way they manage themselves and the fact that they just don’t seem to understand what life is.” The implication is that life inherently valuable.

The incident reminded me of the time when a mass shooting at a mosque happened while I was in New Zealand. The reaction of the community blew my mind. The attention of every Kiwi I met was consumed by the incident. People were distraught, there were vigils and signs expressing love for the Muslim community everywhere, and the government response was swift. New Zealand outlawed semi automatic weapons.

In the United States a mass shooting happens on average more than once a day (there were 586 in 2024) and we barely bat an eye. My niece has huddled under her desks due to a school shooting threat. An innocent person I knew was hit by a stray bullet. I watched the police almost shoot a one-armed man because he “refused” to put both hands up. I was awoken by gunshots one night when a young man was killed on my street corner. My entire neighborhood walked past the lonely prayer candle near the street sign where it happened and moved on with our days.

I am deeply troubled by gun violence and yet it is only through observing the reactions of foreigners to gun violence that I recognize how normalized it has become in my life. What I experienced in Saint Lucia and New Zealand is the response of a community with its humanity intact. The ubiquitousness of gun violence in the US has hardened our hearts and distorted our minds.

Travel is at once a mirror and a telescope, allowing us to see our own selves and other cultures more clearly. It reveals blindspots, encourages nuanced thinking, and helps us bring to light previously unexamined or unacknowledged beliefs. Through immersing ourselves in other cultures, we become aware of our own cultural lens through which we see the world. We are able to identify and question assumptions unconsciously absorbed by our society.

It’s more important than ever that we maintain soft hearts and clear minds, especially as the new administration takes aim at the rights of marginalized populations, compromises efforts of mitigating the climate crisis, and disregards democratic principles. May our travel endeavors highlight the connections between us, foster compassion, and help us understand the value of human life ❤️