Is Barcelona Safe from Terrorism?

Old Nov 15th, 2015, 03:48 PM
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Is Barcelona Safe from Terrorism?

Hello, I am an architecture student who is studying abroad Fall 2016. I currently signed up for the Barcelona semester, however with the recent ISIS attack in Paris I am paranoid. I did research and Spain, France, and Portugal are all high risk for terrorism, and that article was before the attack in Paris, proving the article credibility. I also read that Spanish authorities arrested ISIS radicals plotting in Madrid earlier this month. Barcelona does not have a record of terrorism like Madrid, but in study abroad, I will have field trips across Spain (Including Madrid and Southern Spain). I will be in Barcelona for a whole semester. My school also has an alternative trip next Fall, in Urbino Italy. I could possibly switch if I did it right away because I have to start making payments in January, because Study abroad is required. Italy has a lower threat of terrorism then Spain and I would spend most of my time in Urbino, a small town. Although, we do travel to Rome, Florence, and Venice. I know this is a year away, but I have to decide now and ISIS might still be around next year. Where would be safer, Italy or Spain? Thanks for your help and opinions.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 04:20 PM
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No place is safe from terrorism, but the odds are distinctly long. You may recall that we had a small incident here in NYC a few years back. I would guess that the odds are longer yet in Urbino, but there is no way to know. Everyone has a different tolerance for risk -- follow your instincts. If you are frightened you will not get the most from your experience.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 04:22 PM
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No one can honestly answer this question for you. Any city in any country can be subject to crazy, unpredictable acts such as what happened to Paris. Who knows?? Here in Australia, we are rated as 'high' for terror alert too. But we still go on our holidays. Wherever you go - be it in Barcelona, Italy or your own home town - you just need to make the decision to get on with your life, and not succumb to fear.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 04:35 PM
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Many more die from violence in the U.S. every year than in any place in Europe. Guns, auto crashes, etc., etc., etc. No matter where in the world you are, there is no guarantee that you are free from some danger.
Go and enjoy every minute of your experience!
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 04:37 PM
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Agree that no place is truly safe from terrorism. Nor has it been since shortly after WWII. If you are going to worry to this extent now about terrorism you are going to make your whole life very difficult.

The truth is any plane can crash, natural disasters can strike almost anywhere, anyone in a car can be hit by a drunken driver - life is never totally safe.

So I would figure out which makes the most sense in terms of your education - and just go there - unless it's the middle of an active war zone.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 04:39 PM
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You are much more likely to get killed in a car wreck or by guns here in the US than to die in Europe.

The terrorists try to instill fear. The media assists them by hocusing on it and shouting about it (to attract more ears and eyes,hence more profits) - and thus increase the fear.

But look at statistics.

Yes, travel seems un-nerving and worrisome ... but to put it in perspective, a very quick google search shows it's safer in Europe than the US:

Population US in 2015: 320,100,000; the European Union: 508,200,000

Traffic deaths in US in 2013: 32,719 = ~ 10 per 100,000 people
Traffic deaths in the EU in 2011: ~30,000 = ~ 6 per 100,000 people

Gun deaths in US in 2013: 32,719 = ~ 10 per 100,000 people
Gun deaths in France in 2007: ~ 3 per 100,000 people *
Gun deaths in Germany in 2010 = ~ 1 per 100,000 people *
Gun deaths in the UK in 2013 = ~ 0.26 per 100,000 people *

Above figures are from a variety of years, so aren't totally comparative, but do give a fairly accurate picture
* I couldn't fine the gun deaths for all of the EU, so listed some typical countries, and are before the recent events.

But...

France's population is 61.9 million ... 150 gun deaths by terrorists only raises their gun death by 0.24 per 100,000 for an overall total of 3.25 per 100,000 compared to US at 10 per 100,000.

Still, one always needs be careful, regardless of whether you are here in the US or in Europe. One has to be aware wherever one is.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 06:11 PM
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No one can assure another's safety, but more people lost their lives in 2004 during the attack on Atocha Station in Madrid. Chances are Madrid would be the target, if Spain was the target.

The press and people's reactions are more prejudiced than anything else. The week there was Charlie Hebdo massacre, 2000 Nigerians were slaughtered by Muslim extremists. The march and slogans were for the French.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 07:59 PM
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We can 'bet' as to where the next attack will take place.
Bruxelles ?
I'm pretty sure I can safely in a few years retrieve this post and you'll give me 'credibility'.

Your call to decide what you do with your life.

Many US people died in WW2 liberating Europe.
Along with some others. It is for you to decide how you behave.
But avoid US schools, seems there is a shooting there quie often. I read it in a paper. Whihc was proven credible.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 08:10 PM
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How would a travel site know the answer to that? If you need to ask, and seeing the eay you have, I would suggest staying at home if you feel safer there.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 08:13 PM
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Pariswat is correct. Since the school shooting at Sandy, Hook, CT, there have been almost 150 more school shootings.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 08:40 PM
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There are definitely different levels of risk in different places, and there are many places in the world I would not go to now due to exposure to violence and the determination of terrorists to strike at particular targets. There are even different levels of risk within Europe, so your question is not stupid at all.

The information you are reading about Urbino being at much less exposure to terrorism is correct, although Barcelona is not a particular target of ISIS. Getting to and from these places using public transportation, airports, airlines, you face the same risks as everyone worldwide.

This is a personal comfort zone issue. You've done research, and I don't think more research is going to add much. You need to understand that you may not be much more protected from violent assault/mass shooter attack staying home than if you travel to Europe. Your call.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 12:54 AM
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agreed, you are paranoid.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 03:41 AM
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Nope, Barcelona is not safe.

However, neither is your local university, your church, your movie theater, your workplace, your concert hall, your job.

Sheltering in place in your home might be safe, but it's hard to survive that way.

Sadly this is our new reality.

It sounds like OP is a US student. Just to give you food for thought on the "safety" issue see here

http://shootingtracker.com/wiki/Mass_Shootings_in_2015

According to this site in the US in 2015 there have been 393 killed in mass shootings and over 1,100 more injured.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 03:42 AM
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Hit post too soon.

I think we all have to accept this is our reality and decide what we can deal with. For me, I will continue to travel. I can't quit living and hide under the bed so....
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 03:43 AM
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People who parrot statistics that they don't understand should parrot statistics.

"Gun deaths in US in 2013: 32,719 = ~ 10 per 100,000 people
Gun deaths in France in 2007: ~ 3 per 100,000 people *
Gun deaths in Germany in 2010 = ~ 1 per 100,000 people *
Gun deaths in the UK in 2013 = ~ 0.26 per 100,000 people *"

Statistics like this are thoroughly misleading. The vast majority of gun deaths in the US are among gang members. When they are removed, US gun deaths are not remarkably higher than other places in the world.

"Traffic deaths in US in 2013: 32,719 = ~ 10 per 100,000 people
Traffic deaths in the EU in 2011: ~30,000 = ~ 6 per 100,000 people"

Also completely misleading. A much higher percentage of people in the US own cars and they drive on average many many more miles per year. The average driver on the average trip is probably safer in the US since the roads are generally better.

As far as terrorism is concerned, your chances of being picked pocketed or mugged by Eastern European thugs is much higher than chances of terrorism in Barcelona. BUT

1. Everyone seems to forget that you personally don't have to be attacked to have an impact on you. Any attack would bring the entire city to a halt, like it did Paris. That is a very realistic risk.

2. These attacks are going to become a lot more common. And a lot more violent.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 04:11 AM
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Honestly, go where you want to go and don't be paranoid. Statistics are just that - numbers. Barcelona is no more immune to attack than Paris if ISIS decides is a "pernicious place of pleasure," which it is.

You might be caught unaware in any venue the world over. Don't let it impede your wanderings. If I'd worried about this sort of thing, I'd never have seen half the places in the world I've been to. Stay away from obvious war zones, though.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 04:19 AM
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I'd love to see all of the awful roads in europe that are in worse shape than the US. From everything I have seen - including more than 20 road trips in countries all over europe - the roads there are generally much more well maintained than in the US.

This is unless you are counting the incredibly endless miles of roads out west with no cars on them rather than the countless miles of roads in busy metro areas in the US - in which many major highways resemble swiss cheese.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 06:02 AM
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I do not know where Ambo gets his gang gun death numbers from, but here is a fact:

More Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the wars in American history.

I guess Ambo considers school children gang members.

And the reason why there are not more deaths is ironic. American doctors, nurses, and EMTS, have learned to care for gunshot wounds because of knowledge gained from all the wars from Vietnam through Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 06:16 AM
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Ambo, there were 1,824 gang-related killings (by all types of weapon) in 2011. In the same year the total number of homicides by firearm were 11,101.

The majority of gun-related deaths in the US is actually due to suicide. Accidental death and death for undetermined reason are also a fair chunk of that 32,000 figure quoted above. But even if all the gang homicides were committed with firearms, it still only be 16% of the total gun homicides.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 07:05 AM
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I think anyone who doesn't understand that Francois Hollande sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East to attack ISIS won't result in a higher terrorism risk for France doesn't understand much. Although ISIS has plenty of high-value targets on its wish list, its determination to lure France into a retaliatory "who can be made to bleed more" competition will mean higher risks of terrorism within France. People may think that is the right strategy (I don't) but people with choices to make about where they go are not wrong to assess the risks, just as they would about a trip to Turkey, Lebanon or Russia. That doesn't mean the next terror attack couldn't possibly be in Barcelona -- it could be, and not from ISIS -- but France has raised its terror-target profile and it will remain high until other approaches are tried and succeed.
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