I wouldn’t have entered this conversation if I hadn’t asked myself a few questions and if, after reading articles, reactions, and official positions, I hadn’t arrived at an answer that was less discussed.
One of the questions I asked myself was why a parent would choose to pay 1,000 euros, a very conservative estimate, for their child’s trip to Dubai, instead of paying around 300 euros for a trip of the same duration (5 days) to Sofia, Bulgaria?
For example, in Romania, we don’t learn much about the history and culture of our neighbors to the south, and the National Museum of History in Sofia has on display The Panagyurishte Treasure, from the 4th-3rd centuries B.C., one of the most spectacular collections of Thracian civilization, containing 9 vessels made of solid gold.
I used the above example because there has been much discussion about cultural experiences. In my opinion, Dubai can be visited as an adult, using one's own salary, while a parent concerned about their child's education should provide rich and formative knowledge experiences frequently and at a modest price, because child education costs and does not end with a trip.
I did not write this text to give parenting advice or to provide financial education to anyone. Everyone can do as they please with their money and support their children as they see fit. The love of parents and the unconditional help offered to children are the foundation of successful education. Otherwise, no one is perfect.
The Mythology of Entertainment
I used the above example because it seemed to me a great hypocrisy to claim that you go to Dubai for cultural experiences.
You go for anything else, and when you get into the Uber from the airport heading to the Emirates, culture is the last thing on your mind.
Another phenomenon I wanted to highlight, one that has been discussed less - the fundamental crisis in education. One that has eliminated any form of critical thinking, being replaced by a continuous flow of information, superficial, if not dangerous and immoral lifestyles, plus questionable references that flow on social networks and have the effect of causing real individual catastrophes.
Let's be honest and admit that most Romanians go to Dubai because it's trendy. A mythology of vacation, entertainment, luxury, and opulence has been created around the metropolis in the United Arab Emirates, to the extent that, for a certain segment of the population, going there, having an experience means being accepted in a group, projecting that you are a successful person.
Many young people go to Dubai because it looks good on Instagram. And thus, we reach the point where we must acknowledge that social networks shape the lives of millions and millions of people, that fake gurus, imagined experts, and trick specialists drain their money, maintaining a false image of success in life, based on what you display, not on what you have truly learned and can do.
Because It's Cool
The parents of students at Ion Basgan School in Focșani agreed to pay 1,000 euros for their child's trip to Dubai because they believed it would help them.
I could bet that they were not thinking about local culture and history when they considered that the experience was worth it, but rather about the social status of the student and, indirectly, of the parents. They wanted to project a certain image in the community, and the value of this image was worth all the money.
There are dozens of subtle arguments supporting the decision, from the fact that a child who participates in such exotic events is better seen by the teachers who organized them and may get better grades.
They are more easily accepted at various tutoring sessions because they have proven material possibilities. Those children are better seen by their classmates who consider them "cool" and so on.
The big problem is that on the path to making such a decision, that of sending their child on vacation to a war zone, there is no public authority, no relevant information, and no consistent reference to show those adults that such a decision also involves certain risks.
At least two weeks before the date of February 28, when the military operation was launched, the international and Romanian press extensively reported that the American administration had transferred three aircraft carriers to the area and there were intense preparations for battle in several military bases.
On January 14, 2026, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the highest alert level 9/9 for Iran with the recommendation: LEAVE THE COUNTRY IMMEDIATELY!
As recently as the end of June 2025, Iran was the target of a large-scale military operation launched by Israel and the USA with the aim of destroying the nuclear facilities in the targeted country.
And at that time, the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf were affected. Flights were interrupted, there were bomb alerts in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and daily life was severely disrupted.
The Limits of the Virtual World
There have been and are enough official information, precedents, and credible references that in the Middle East, at this time, there is a dangerous situation, but they have not passed the barrier of influencers and social networks that have continued to promote vacation destinations, sell expensive apartments, and entertainment in a conflict zone.
And, in fact, here lies the big problem. The lack of trust in authorities, the crisis in education, and the failure of critical thinking development lead to dangerous situations for hundreds of thousands of people, to poor investments, and even death.
It is not possible for a person who embarks on a journey of thousands of kilometers by plane not to consider that during the journey the weather may worsen, incidents of all kinds may occur, unexpected situations may arise, and differences between what an Instagram expert promised you and the reality on the ground.
Comfort, in all its forms, the lack of mental decision-making tools, the inability to search and document a situation, but also the profound confusion between reality and the virtual world endanger entire segments of the population - from children to the elderly, but also adults overwhelmed by the power and complexity of technology.
More and more people live in a world they build themselves through intense exposure to social networks, an ideal world devoid of challenges, but with no connection to reality.
So that when, indeed, they experience something in their daily lives that contradicts that world, a tragedy occurs - unhappiness, depression, despair, feelings of guilt, and the whole range of negative emotions.
Do you remember the debate about Ro-Alert, the message that announced massive snowfalls at 4 in the morning? How there was an opinion that it should have been sent at six or eight, when people woke up.
Too few thought the other way around. How many people were saved by that message? How many did not leave home by car or changed their schedule, avoiding a difficult situation for themselves and those around them?
Unfortunately, in Romania, there is little to no concern to solve the crisis in the education system, which is currently one created in the interest of teachers, not children.
Generation after generation of individuals less and less trained to read reality will end up in a situation where they make decisions at a personal or group level with catastrophic effects for the entire society.