Soumya Sarin addresses criticism regarding her Turkiye trip photos, clarifying that the trip predates the Pahalgam attack and emphasizing the distinction between people and government policies.
Thiruvananthapuram: Dr. Soumya Sarin has responded to the cyber criticism she faced after sharing pictures from her turkiye trip. In a Facebook post, she clarified that the trip took place in late March, before the Pahalgam attack. She added that this is evident from the dates she started sharing the travelogue. She explained that the clarification is for those who question her patriotism based on her turkiye trip posts.
Our opposition isn't towards the people of that country, but towards the current regime and their diplomatic decisions. We must respond accordingly, without a doubt. Decisions like halting Turkish services at our airports and imposing export-import restrictions are examples of this. I believe it's also right to decide against traveling to that country as tourists, to a certain extent, given the current circumstances. However, Soumya Sarin stated that none of this justifies hating the people of that country.
Full Text of the Facebook Post
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We traveled to turkiye at the end of March. If you look at the dates I started sharing the travelogue, you'll see that it was all before the Pahalgam terrorist attack. I've also been to Azerbaijan, last year. Both these places gave me wonderful experiences as a traveler. I've shared all of that with you here.
Look, I love traveling. My travels aren't just about seeing a place. When I travel, I try to see and understand the culture, the people, their ways, their food habits, their customs, and so much more. I often post these travel experiences on my page.
Not all countries in the world have to be friendly with us. Politically and diplomatically, there are countries that are close to us and those that are distant. But for a traveler, it's impossible to decide on trips based on these factors, especially when there were no issues at the time of travel.
Look, our opposition isn't towards the people of that country, but towards the current regime and their diplomatic decisions. We must respond accordingly, without a doubt. Decisions like halting Turkish services at our airports and imposing export-import restrictions are examples of this. I believe it's also right to decide against traveling to that country as tourists, to a certain extent, given the current circumstances.
But none of this justifies hating the people of that country!
It's when we visit a country that we get the opportunity to interact with its people. When we visited turkiye, the guides who were with us spoke so warmly about India. They have affection for us. A guide named Osan showed us around Cappadocia. Pappu, after hearing him talk about India's culture and history, asked me how he knew so much about us. Osan also expressed a wish - he wanted to marry an Indian girl...
Not just Osan, but also Mary and Osman, the other guides who were with us, were the same. Osan also talked about their country. From that, I understood that they are not at all happy with the current government. When we talked about their president, he said, "I won't say anything more," and ended the conversation.
Similarly, Adam, who took my hot air balloon photo, still messages me. He asks about the situation in India. When the earthquake happened in turkiye, I inquired about him too. Because they are just people. They don't hate us, they only have love for us. The situation in Pakistan is no different. Do you think the people there are happy with their government? Absolutely not. They are starving.
Those who work in the UAE know this. You won't go a day without seeing a Pakistani. They are here just as much as Indians are. Most taxi drivers are Pakistanis. They deal with sectors like clothing, furniture, and car spare parts. They don't see us as enemies, and neither do we. Everyone addresses each other as 'bhai' here...
Among the children I see every day, there are always some from Pakistan. They don't see me as an Indian doctor, but as their own doctor. If they had any animosity towards us, would they come to me with such trust? During Operation Sindh, a mother came with her child. She told me then, "I've booked tickets to go to Pakistan next week. My mother is unwell. All flights are canceled. I wish these problems would end soon. I wish peace would return."
Here, get into a taxi and ask any Pakistani driver about their country... they will sigh sadly. Last time, an elderly Pakistani uncle asked me if I was from India. When I said yes, he said, "You Indians are smart. Look, all the big establishments here are yours, aren't they... Lulu, Nesto, everything. I have relatives in India. I want to see them too. But I don't know if I'll be able to before I die. I wonder when these problems will end..."
So, these are the people here... just like us... just ordinary people.
The problem is terrorism, which has afflicted their country like cancer, and their government that supports it. To a certain extent, the people there are innocent. The cancer needs treatment. What's the point of harboring hatred towards the entire body! May all beings be happy! If we Indians don't understand this, then who will 😊!?
(The picture below was taken when I went to turkiye... from Istanbul... This is not promotion. Just memories and experiences.)
