Zamboanga ranked #9 as one of top Dangerous Cities in the world

Zamboanga ranked  #9 as one of

top Dangerous Cities in the world

ZAMBOANGA CITY (ZNS) –A story posted in the Internet has ranked the City of Zamboanga as one among the top dangerous cities to avoided (for now) along with other cities similarly classified by the writer of the story.

The story was written by a Tessa Riley for destination.com, a group of writers writing about unusual places, events and personalities in the world.

Her story was titled “Stay Away: Top Dangerous Cities To Avoid (For Now)” and posted September 24, 2014.

This story was posted at http://www.destinationtips.com/advice/top-dangerous-cities-to-avoid-for-now/

In her writeup Tessa Riley said “There are always travel advisories, news stories and rumors to scare us out of visiting certain places around the big bad world. If we take all of them to heart, we might never go anywhere. But us brave and adventurous types often throw caution to the wind and venture forth anyway. More often than not, these journeys are without incident and lead to those kind of serendipitous, enriching experiences that only travel can bring. However, there are some hotspots on the globe that really do pose a credible threat to health, safety and well-being at the moment. Now is not the time to go cowboy and take an unnecessary risky trip. Here’s a list of some of the top dangerous cities that are worthy of a visit someday, but are best avoided right now:’

She listed the top 12 dangerous cities as follows:

San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Fukushima City, Japan; Caracas, Venezuela; Kiev, Ukraine; Acapulco, Mexico; New Orleans, USA;Cape Town, South Africa; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Zamboanga City, Philippines; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Bogotá, Colombia, and Cairo, Egypt.

Tessa Riley described Zamboanga as  a “ large urban center in the south of the Philippines, is affectionately hailed as “Asia’s Latin City”. It’s culture is infused with Spanish influences and the official language, Chavacano, is a creole of traditional Spanish and Filipino. The area is ripe with waterfalls, forests, flower plantations, old forts, pioneer churches and geological formations that make it attractive to visitors. Up until recently, it was a regular stop on the local cruising circuit. However, this is one city you should seriously steer clear of for the time being. It has been the center of a battle between the Republic of the Philippines (RP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) since September 2013. There have been rocket attacks, heavy mortar fire, houses burned and hostage takings. Even an organized kidnapping-for-ransom plot targeting foreigners has been identified in the region. Clearly, heading to a city plagued with these issues is not recommended.”

Her report was countered by others in Facebook.

Jeffrey Bajade said “Hmmm.... Its seems the author did not make a very concrete research before writting this article especially about zamboanga city,, zamboanga city is just a center for news reports, because all vital installation for mass media and government institutions such as military headquarters for the southern region of philippines are located in our city. The said september 2013 arm conflict took only 28 days and not months or years of gunfights, unlike of those what happen in other cities in the middle east. Its so exaggerated,.. To me this article does not have validity and updated reports about the situation on the places she is citing... But thanks anyway for mentioning my muy hermosa ciudad in this article..”

Pedro Cruz countered “To  include Zamboanga city as top most dangerous in the world is unfair and untrue. the trouble occurred on a small area only and all the rebels were either captured or killed, there will be no repeat. the kidnappings occur outside the City and in the provinces, but it is only reported "dateline Zamboanga City" because of the presence of communication facilities. I do not deny of the existence of a level of crime or violence, but this does not make us more violent than Gaza, or Jerusalem or Tripoli or Cairo. London also had a very big outbreak of lawlessness, why did you not include it. The city itself is safe to travel, even now. Zamboangenos are very polite, respectable and kind people. We don't deserve this kind of report. Please visit first the City and confirm your reports before you make this kind of publications.”

Leda  wrote “True, I am much safer in Zamboanga than in Manila where people just stare when someone gets mugged. And the food is unimaginably delicious...”

Zamboanga is more of a paradise than unsafe.” (From Facebook) (102114)