In the post 9/11 World travelling overseas has become something of an art form in itself, at least as far as providing oneself with realistic personal security skills.
Numerous journals and magazines describe a never ending list of do's and don'ts and most travel country guides offer the usual "be aware" advice. Which is all very fine but unless you have a vague idea of what you are actually being aware off, you will be quickly thrown into a maelstrom of paranoia and the point of the vacation will have been for nothing with you being too afraid to leave your hotel room?
In any destination in any part of the World there is always what we classify as a Red-Zone. To define it a Red-Zone is an area, community or a specific time-frame that offers the most potential risk of threat or danger to the unwary traveller. In Algeria it would be Algiers Town after dark, in Mexico City it may be the local police willing to extort money from you, or in the Middle East it may be during the anniversary of a political group's military action. The skill lies in locating this threat, identifying it and, hopefully, avoiding it. The risks unfortunately are many and multi-faceted and can range from severe weather conditions (such as the recent Tsunamis), to political unrest or from the threat of war (Iraq or Afghanistan) to local street crime or home invasions in your destination (as is becoming more and more prevalent on the Spanish coastal resorts).
So what to do? While we can't control every event that happens whilst we are overseas we can at the least minimise the threat by the use of competent pre-journey intelligence gathering and adherence to some basic security procedures, both pre-journey and during our time "on the ground."
Research:
I can't stress this strongly enough - research, research, research. Get to know about the place you are visiting, the people, the culture and the political and economic climate that you will be operating in. This not only helps with your general awareness of what to look out for but will also assist you with actually enjoying and discovering more about your destination and its people. If we are better informed then surely we can have a "heads-up" about where trouble might come from. All this information should culminate in the creation of a risk assessment, a formalised document that provides the traveller with a brief overview of the location and the range of risks.
When going overseas I always carry at least some basic notes about the local situation and what to expect. But a risk assessment is a fluid animal - it does not always remain static and some, for example a tourist visit to Europe, would be far less complicated than a corporate risk assessment based on a C.E.O. visiting a Third World destination. As an example, several years ago whilst conducting a VIP protection operation in the Middle East our risk assessment was changing constantly, day by day, due to the tension in the region because of the ongoing hostilities caused by military action during the invasion of Iraq.
The risk assessment is an invaluable tool that provides the traveller with the necessary groundwork of what procedures they should be putting in place and what type of equipment they will need. A fundamental skill for operating abroad is the use of language. Having a reasonable grasp of the host country's mother tongue will not only ensure that your visit is less likely to be troubled, as the local populace of most countries will gladly engage in conversation with visitors that can at least try to speak the language, but it can also get you out of a potentially aggressive situation by understanding even a few basic phrases - again forewarned is forearmed.
If you are on a business trip and have the logistical support of an in-country partner or regional office, then a Translator/Fixer can be an essential resource. On a security trip to Egypt several years ago our translator was a woman (virtually unheard of) who broke through all the red-tape for us on several occasions and was invaluable member of the team - I honestly doubt that any of our European team could have accomplished so much!!
Procedures:
We get off the plane, we throw the bags into the room and we hit the beach/bar/surf (take your pick). All thoughts of awareness goes out of the window, we've done the hard part and travelled all day and now we want some R&R - to hell with the consequences we want to relax.
Even the most professional people can be guilty of this and assume that because the destination has palm trees and beautiful women lounging on the beach 24/7 the place has the veneer of safety. Mostly it will, but scratch that veneer and it will be the same as any city or tourist spot anywhere on the planet; where a turn down a side street or entrance into the wrong bar will land you in hot water. This is true of Tenerife to Mexico, Marrakech to Prague. Its there - you just need to see it! It is a very human trait and I should imagine that most people feel the same, you work hard all year round and "dammit" you want to make those 2 weeks of sun, sea and sand really count.
However for an effective personal security protocol to work at least a minimum of self restraint and commitment is needed to make it work. It won't happen by itself. Your procedures should have started before you actually left home - do you have all your paperwork in order? Passports, visa's, travel/medical insurance (a definite necessity!!). Are your legal affairs up to date back home, is the house secured, have you cancelled any deliveries and asked either family or friends to check on the homestead on a regular basis? Do you have all current contact numbers in case of an emergency - Embassy, Travel Agent, Family/Office contacts, etc?
All these are basic procedures and if nothing else stop you worrying that everything has gone "bad" back home and get you into the habit of thinking from a security point of view. When entering any new environment the most important thing is to actually get your bearings; where are you in relation to the potential trouble-spots or high-risk crime areas? Do you have your escape route from your hotel planned in case of a fire or attack? Do you know the locations of the local security officer, police station or medical facilities in the area? One of our fundamental priorities is the constant need for awareness.
From our pre-gathered intelligence we can glean the information of what exactly we are being aware of. Is it criminal gangs, such as pickpockets operating in the tourist areas? Or is it the surveillance of the state security services (oh, yes it still goes on?) whilst we are on a company business trip.
Whatever the potential threat is the rules of personal security are the same, be AWARE of it, and if possible AVOID it!!! Any type of criminal attack is usually preceded with a period of offensive surveillance -this can range from a matter of seconds to many weeks. Our response is to upset the attacker's plan of action and detect this surveillance at the earliest opportunity. From there we can make an informed decision whether it is to avoid or pre-empt the attack. Take away the intention from the bad guy and you have the upper hand.
Also we need to look at ourselves as visitors to that country in both how we perceive the local population and culture and more importantly how WE are perceived by them. Do we walk around openly flouting our wealth in the shape of gold watches, digital camcorders, acting in a loud and brash manner, possibly flouting local religious belief's. I have witnessed this at first hand in several North African states where tourists wander around dressed in skimpy beach clothes, often in very deeply religious communities and then wonder why they are being verbally abused by strangers on the street.
Is it any wonder that they leave themselves open to any street rat or mugger, especially when you consider that in the more economically impoverished parts of the World the trappings of wealth and material things could be seen as rubbing the local peoples noses in it. The correct attitude is to blend in by being "the grey man" and toning down both our trappings of wealth and our personas so as not to be targeted.
As we have already stated our key skills are to be aware and to avoid, and if we were operating on our own "turf", to coin a phrase, if things didn't go to plan and the bad guy started "fronting" us we would go into pre-emptive mode and get in what our close combat group calls a "little live-action training." All well and good - he's a bad guy, he asked for it and he got what was coming to him!
However (and here is the get out clause) we are not operating on our own turf. We are visitors to a different country with its own rules and ways of doing things, and just because you were morally right to protect yourself doesn't mean to say that the local police will see it that way. In certain parts of the World foreign visitors are seen as "troublemakers" and/or "marks" to be extorted by the local police - certainly in parts of South America and Mexico City. And even though the criminal was probably in the wrong, he speaks the language and can quite easily talk his way out of it, whilst you are left in the local prison or having to pay out your hard earned dollars to grease your way out of trouble. Depending on your chosen destination a working knowledge of the local laws regarding self protection would definitely be an advantage.
Equipment:
Taking kit abroad is a very "task specific" thing. Some guys take everything including the kitchen sink (just in case I need it) and end up carting all this equipment around, and at the other end of the spectrum you have the people who take absolutely nothing - and then panic when they need a certain something to assist them!!
As I say it's a task specific operation, I've taken a small amount of personal security items when travelling abroad - door jam, personal alarm, basic medi-kit - and we've also taken a large amount on other close protection visits, including a full trauma pack, personal security weapons and holsters, surveillance items and advanced communications kit. We tailor the cloth accordingly.
The trick is to trim it down to what you reasonably need in case of an emergency, and what you can least afford to lose in the event of a crisis. For the average business or tourist traveller I would recommend that the minimum you should take would be;
1. Personal Security Kit:
This could consist of door jam, personal attack alarm, and small torch.
2. Personal Communications:
We all need to contact home at some point and never more so in the event of a crisis. I've operated in some parts of the World where it is a miracle to actually find a telephone let alone one that actually works regularly. A good Dual/Tri-band cell phone or at the very least phone cards that can be used in the host country are a must.
3. Medical Pack:
This should consist of a large pack for your hotel room or apartment (sort of a base station First-Aid kit) and a smaller personal medi-kit which can be clipped onto your belt or carried whilst out and about. The most important thing about either of these sets is to have relevant equipment and more importantly relevant training.
The amount of "professionals" I've seen that go out and buy top of the range high-tech medical kit and then don't have the first clue what to do with them is unbelievable.
Reminds me of that old saying: Toys for boys and tools for men.....
Common Sense:
This seems to be the hardest thing to teach someone. You can learn all the do's and don'ts but having the savvy to put them into place takes a bit of work, and unfortunately not everyone can pull it off effectively.
It seems that as soon as certain people step onto the aircraft they throw out all reason and logic, and behave in a way they may not normally do. Horror stories are plentiful and I'd like to share with the readers a true story that sums the above statement up very succinctly.
Several years ago on a business/security trip to North Africa we happened to meet an English couple who had decided to travel to one of the Northern cities of that country to visit the historical and cultural sites. They made there own way there by vehicle and everything seemed to be going fine. However upon entering the Medina (a giant walled city inside a city) they were soon approached by a local man who the lady described as "very charming and the spitting image of that nice Sean Connery - very handsome and with excellent English!
After gaining their confidence and smooth talking the couple he decided to take them on a "guided tour" of the Medina, which included visiting several expensive shops which his cousins owned (and which the couple had to purchase several unnecessary items) and numerous visits to local coffee shops (again which they paid for - this guy really worked his expenses?)
After several hours of this tramping round down back alleys and the like, "Sean" decides he's had enough of Mr.Nice Guy and demands money up-front in order to guide the couple back out of this maze of a city. This was re-enforced with threats about what would happen to two Europeans trapped inside a maze-like city after dark.
The couple thought about it for all of 3 seconds and decided to pay up...well what else really could they do. After relating this story to us in the Hotel bar we shook our collective heads in wonderment and told them that although they may have been "taken" of all of their cash they at least had the good fortune to make it back alive and hopefully a little wiser than before.
A worst case scenario would have been for them to have become hopelessly lost and been attacked by back alley robbers or even a gang of agitators. This was several months after 9/11 and during the Allied attack on Afghanistan when feeling towards Western visitors was less than friendly in this part of the World. I doubt they would have made it to morning, and yet the couple had described themselves as experienced world travellers - been there, done that, travelled the World.
Yet they did EVERYTHING wrong - they isolated themselves, they put they're lives in the hands of a complete stranger, and they didn't take notice of the political and cultural climate at that time.
Conclusion:
Whilst travelling overseas can be a risky business these days with a few reasonable security precautions and risk management techniques we can, like most things as part of our hectic lifestyles, ensure that it flows relatively trouble free and without incident.
Most travel overseas is either for business or for vacation time, and each presents its own different set of issues and potential problems, the basics of which we have covered here. Like most things of importance it requires good planning and a heavy dose of common sense to make it effective and run smoothly. However there is always the "X" factor - that unknown quantity that can upset your journey if you haven't accounted for it. But with good pre-journey intelligence, contingency planning and some sensible immediate action plans in case of disaster we can at the least minimise the risk and, hopefully, make it home in one piece.
Have a good journey and stay safe.
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