90-Second Read: Ibn Hattuta Was on the Hantavirus Ship. His Message: Free Palestine.

When Arab travel influencer Kasem Hato found himself as a passenger on the MV Hondius, site of the Hantavirus outbreak, global media paid close attention. That's how he found himself onboard the MV Hondius departing from Argentina when the Hantavirus broke out, killing three of his shipmates and infecting nine others to date. Every Country in the World, Except Palestine With 109 countries under his belt, Hato has not stopped travelling for the past ten years. Since then, nearly every time Hato speaks about Palestine publicly, he does it in English.

Hato believes it would be a strong message to the world. There are millions of Palestinians living outside of Palestine whose families were forcibly removed from their land. If you want to partner with Kasem Hato, you have to support Palestine. But from behind quarantine walls, Hato does not want to talk about the lethal virus.

If you look at the timeline of how these people died, you would not be scared. When he asked Kashmiris why they cared so much about Palestine, he says, "they would tell me it's because we have the same struggle." This might seem political at face value, but Hato says it's just like any other video where he documents the authentic stories he encounters. In the meantime, he wants the world to do its research on Palestine. People should research, read, and talk to real people in Palestine to understand the true story of what's happening there," he says, "Anyone who does research is going to find out the facts, and it's very easy to do.

At this rate, Hato might succeed in visiting every country in the world. Kashmir was one of the places that made its way onto Hato's travel itinerary in 2019. This is a condition he made clear when global media outlets started reaching out about his experience on the MV Hondius.