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- Traveling the world isn't so easy when you don't have the power of a privileged passport.
- I'm from Syria, and my passport is one of the weakest in the world.
- Here are some of the things I go through if I want to travel beyond a short list of countries.
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Traveling around the world has never been easier.
Unless you don't have the power of a privileged passport, that is.
If you are Syrian like me, or were unlucky enough to be born in another conflict-ridden developing nation, the process of traveling is not so easy.
The Syrian passport ranks as one of the weakest in the world - of the 199 passports ranked in the Henley Passport Index, only Iraq and Afghanistan had weaker passports. Syrian passport holders have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to just 29 countries, compared to the more than 180 places you can easily reach with an American, German, or Japanese passport, to name a few.
Traveling to most parts of the world is extremely difficult for someone in my shoes. Here are some of the most challenging things about traveling the world when you don't have a privileged passport.