In the wake of this weeks shocking Sydney tragedy you’d be forgiven for thinking the worse of society. But there’s a way all of us in travel can do our bit to share the love.
Perhaps the most uplifting story of all to come out of this weeks tragic siege was that of Rachael Jacobs, the young Sydney Woman who followed a fearful Muslim woman removing her hijab on a Sydney train and asked her to put it back on, offering “I’ll ride with you”.
As you’ll have no doubt seen, she tweeted the encounter and generated the #illridewithyou hashtag which has already gone on to famously become a global phenomena, at one point yesterday generating an amazing 400 tweets a second.
It was a beautiful reminder of the human spirit and how together we can create a positive response to hate and the fear it instills in people.
Good will always triumph over evil, but we’re all responsible for helping make it happen. Thankfully in todays world, we can also make a wave of goodwill happen a lot faster thanks to social media.
One of the reasons I exited the more meaningless side of the advertising industry years ago to work in travel was that I firmly believe in travel being a bulldozer to smashing down the barriers of xenophobia, cultural naivety and difference.
When we travel, we experience diverse ways of life that enlighten us to the realisation that actually we’re all one and the same when it comes down to it, mostly desiring similar outcomes from our precious time on this planet.
The more we travel, the better educated and sensitive to the world’s cultural differences we become and the more we take on an ambassador role against the kind of hatred we have been reminded of from all sides this week.
Personally it’s what helps me sleep at night knowing I’m actively playing my minuscule part in making the world a better place by promoting travel. And I’m betting you feel the same if you work in our glorious industry.
The last few days for me have brought back awful, uncomfortable memories of that post 9/11 feeling. That glancing around airports, planes and travel hubs and seeing faces of anxiety in both muslim travellers and their fellow passengers around them.
Innocent people fearing backlash on one side and others dreading and visualising a catastrophe that in their minds could happen at any moment.
It shouldn’t be like this and it doesn’t need to be like this.
So today I’d like to float an idea with you taking inspiration and paying homage to Rachel Jacobs wonderful #illridewithyou hashtag.
What if we rallied the travel industry to promote the idea of #illtravelwithyou – to promote random acts of kindness travelling in Australia as well as whilst we’re on our worldwide travels?
Kind acts like seeing a solo Muslim traveller at the airport and striking up a conversation or offering to board the plane together. Maybe you’ve got kids travelling with you and you bring your kids together to play while you wait to board. It doesn’t take much to make a small difference and kids are the best teachers of all.
Does someone look lost or genuinely nervous about his or her surroundings? Sometimes a smile is all it takes. A smile that says ‘I’ve got your back’. It can take some nerve to do it for some. But the reward will be a universal one.
If you’ve carried out a random act of kindness like this or seen someone else going the extra mile on their travels then tweet it – #illtravelwithyou and let’s all do our bit.
Let’s celebrate it together and help be the agents of change.
