With spring break just a few weeks away, many on campus may be scrambling to find that perfect place to relax, to get away from the stresses of school and campus life and forget all cares. 

If you’ve left your spring break planning to last minute, allow me provide the perfect solution: Abbottabad, Pakistan.

That’s right folks! The city where Osama bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011, is looking to promote itself and increase tourist traffic. Project director Sheikh Kaleemuddin hopes to attract “the tourists from all around Europe, America. People should come and see what we are doing.” (It could just be me, but isn’t that transparency a bit ironic?)

Kaleemuddin promises, “You won’t get such a beautiful landscape around anywhere in the world.” In the foothills of the Himalayas, it certainly may be true. Abbottabad has called to tourists and those looking to relocate for generations, and, before the whole bin Laden kerfuffle, was most well-known for its temperate weather.

Abbottabad has a new plan to help harness that nature and get the tourists coming over: an amusement park. At a cost of roughly $30 million, the “amusement city,” will initially cover 50 acres, later extended to 500 acres, said Syed Aqil Shah, the area’s minister for tourism and sports, to the BBC. 

The amusement park sounds like an amalgamation of almost every other type of amusement park, a Pakistani version of Disney World and Six Flags and Sea World all wrapped up into one. The park will host mini-golf, rock-climbing, paragliding, water sports and a zoo, and that’s just what’s planned at the outset. With the other $20 million in further private funding that could be coming Kaleemuddin’s way, who knows what other attractions will pop up? “Sesame Street” characters? Harry Potter? A drone strike simulation? 

So what about that bin Laden issue? NPR discusses the residents and the town, culminating in a description of black graffiti that reads “Here is where the ‘martyr’ Osama was killed.” They say it has an uncomfortable, “almost spooky” feeling — how welcoming!

According to Shah, the project is merely to “promote tourism and amusement facilities” and “has nothing to do with Osama bin Laden.” Well that certainly is a relief. I’m sure everyone who visits the area will be coming for the amusement park and the surrounding landscape, completely forgetting that one guy … What was his name? Obama bon something?

It’s a good idea for Pakistan and especially the region of and around Abbottabad to try to rebuild its image, but to expect incoming tourists to ignore the history that surrounds the area is impossible. While I wouldn’t go so far as to promote the bin Laden compound as a selling point, Abbottabad needs to recognize that part of its history, just like Pearl Harbor and Gettysburg and Auschwitz and Hiroshima. These places are forever tied to the events that occurred within them, and it remains impossible to think of them without being reminded of those events.

Abbottabad and Pakistan as a whole too often get lumped with bin Laden and the “War on Terror.” It’s ridiculous to discount a place because of its past. And while I think it’s unfair to both the country and its people, building an amusement park in an attempt to hide from the past is equally ridiculous.

The compound where Osama bin Laden was killed and the story surrounding and leading up to his death will remain powerful narratives, not only in the United States but around the world. And even though the compound itself was torn down a year ago, the area will forever be known as the place that sheltered bin Laden. Abbottabad could have lovely weather, picturesque landscapes and a reputation of peace and security, but as a tourist spot, it won’t be able to escape two major factors: its geographic location and its history.

So if you’re still looking for that great spring break getaway with your sorority sisters or lacrosse team, book your tickets. Pack your bags. It’s only 15 hours in a plane — not including layovers and connections — and roughly $1,000 in airfare. The landscapes captivate, the weather subdues, and there’s an amusement city that’s only three to five years away from completion.

Sarah is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].