How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone

by Rosie Garthwaite

  Nick Toksvig, former foreign editor at Sky News, and now a senior news editor for Al Jazeera English.

  Giles Trendle, spent over 10 years in Beirut reporting for, among others, the Economist, the Sunday Times, CNN and CBS radio. He became an award-winning film-maker and now heads up a part of the programming department for Al Jazeera English.

  Laura Tyson (née Conrad) worked for Save the Children and is a former senior media officer at the Department for International Development.

  Terry Waite, CBE, conflict negotiator and former hostage.

  Sebastian Walker, journalist for the Baghdad Bulletin, then Reuters and Al Jazeera; covered the Haiti earthquake in January 2010.

  Sue Williams, a trained hostage negotiator since 1991 and former regular contributor to meetings of COBRA, the UK government’s emergency taskforce, while head of the Hostage Crisis Unit at New Scotland Yard.

  Vicki Woods, contributing editor at US Vogue and columnist for the Daily Telegraph; mother of my colleague and friend Sebastian Walker.

  1/ Planning, Preparing and Arriving

  Never go in blind. Don’t move until you know everything about where you are going. Leith Mushtaq, senior Al Jazeera cameraman

  I was very unprepared for my trip to Baghdad. For a start, I thought I was going for six weeks, but ended up staying for five and a half months. This was no holiday: there were things I should have sorted out before I left, but just didn’t.

  You need to take control of your own destiny. Don’t go along for the ride. You need to have thought through all the risks before you go in, and made sure you have done everything possible to minimize them.

  You need to keep your family or friends informed and get them involved in your preparations.

  /BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME

  Here is a list of stuff you need to think about before you go, but I’m sure others will offer useful suggestions too.

  Prepare your grab bag (see Grab Bag).

  Begin your medical preparations – ideally about six weeks before you’re due to leave. You need to find out if you should be taking any pills or having any vaccinations. Go to your local doctor or a reputable travel website to find out which ones.

  Dr Carl Hallam, MSF volunteer and former British Royal Marine doctor, advises: ‘Get yourself vaccinated for everything possible. Don’t die from something you could have been saved from. I was shocked to find workers in Aceh in Sumatra who had not been vaccinated for rabies. I think that’s crazy. One little prick in the arm can save your life.’

  Pack at least a month’s supply of any prescription medication required. Carry it in your hand luggage.

  Pop into the dentist for a check-up if you are going to be away for more than a few months.

  Get decent medical insurance, making sure you have cover for your destination country, and check if your activities there require any extra cover. Make a separate note of how to contact the insurers in case of an emergency. Put your insurance contacts along with your medical history somewhere you can easily find it.

  Prepare a medical kit, or check your old one for ‘best before’ dates (see Your Medical Kit).

  What kind of contraception would you like to take? Even if you think you won’t need it, take some for your friends. Condoms are valuable things in a war zone (see Condoms).

  Find out your team’s pre-existing ailments and allergies. If you are travelling with a team of people, you need to know where they keep their medicine and how to administer it if they can’t do so themselves. Everyone should write down their medical history and everyone should know where that is kept.

  Choose your next of kin, and remember that whoever you choose needs to be asked rather than told. You need to give them all your details: medical history, insurance details, bank account numbers, where your will is kept (if you have one), the password to get into your safe…anything they’d need to know if something goes wrong. It isn’t morbid to do this. Next of kin are a first port of call in an emergency, such as your kidnapping or arrest, not just in the event of death. Don’t leave them unprepared.

  In my experience, tragedies happen at the worst times: your primary contact – news editor, producer, partner – must have immediate and 24-hour access to your next of kin and medical details.

  /ON THE WAY IN

  You are at your most vulnerable on the way into a country because you are unfamiliar with the procedures, the language and the culture. Here are some useful tips.

  Know who is picking you up. Get their phone number and call them in advance for advice on what you need to do to smooth your way into the country. (I remember asking my boss whether my pick-up would bring my body armour, and having a fit when he shrugged and said, ‘You’ll find out when you get to the airport.’ My next stop was Baghdad.) Take the initiative and make sure you know all the answers before you go.

  Arrange a meeting place and, if necessary, a code word to identify that the right person is picking you up. Get their phone number and give them yours.

  Take all essentials in your hand luggage – some clothes, a washbag, valuables and your grab bag (see Grab Bag).

  Find someone friendly enough to be your temporary translator so they can help you through any problems on the journey. The person who smiles at you when you struggle to buy a ticket will usually work.

  /ON THE WAY OUT

  Leaving a country is another vulnerable time because you tend to let your guard down. It might sound strange, but you need to know your way out before you go in.

  Call people who are already there and discover your options. You need to find out the following things:

  What are the emergency and medical evacuation procedures (often shortened to medevac)? Your embassy will know. Your travel agent will also know. And, if you have one, your employer should know. If they don’t, then make sure they do before you go.

  I’ve frequently found the embassy rather unhelpful and unreliable when it comes to planning for a possible evacuation. Both ‘Medevac’ and ‘Emergency Evacuation’ should be sorted out prior to deployment. It’s always worth a call to the insurers to find out where the nearest airport would be if they had to come and get you. Chris Cobb-Smith, security expert

  What are your alternative routes out if the road, railway, airport or sea route you arrived on is closed down? You need to be informed in order to make a decision if everything goes wrong.

  /CARRYING CASH

  On my first trip to Iraq with Al Jazeera I was asked to take a large amount of money with me because we needed to put a down-payment on our bureau. Suddenly I was a walking ATM for any criminal who managed to find out. It was a dangerous situation in which to be placed.

  My friend Nick Toksvig, senior news editor for Al Jazeera English, recalls the perils of carrying huge wads of cash: ‘The Iraq war of 1991 saw the old Iraqi currency fall prey to hyperinflation. Suitcases of bills were required to pay even for small things. Paying local fixers was like taking part in some massive Las Vegas poker tournament. Be careful not to flash the money at any stage.’

  Don’t tell anyone in your destination country that you will be carrying large amounts of cash. If it slips out at the wrong time to the wrong person, you will become a target.

  When it comes to your daily cash, carry just enough for the day and try to spread it around your body. Also carry a credit card for emergencies.

  Former EU and UN staff member Mary O’Shea has some good ideas for things you can do in case of a mugging or car-jacking: ‘I have been robbed twice in my life. Once in the Paris Métro and once in an airport in Cameroon. In Paris it was a clever knife slit along the bottom of my bag in a crowded carriage. Presumably another bag was positioned underneath to catch my things. In Cameroon it was a good old-fashioned set-up – electricity cut, surrounded by men, etc. In terms of a confrontation, I would advise you to carry two wallets – one being a dummy wallet that can be handed over with a small amount of cash inside and some out-of-date cards.’

  Keep around $1000 plus a few h
undred in local currency in your grab bag at all times.

  Cheque books, backed by a cheque card, can be used in many countries.

  Be especially cautious at ATMs and coming out of banks and money exchange places.

  Carry some low-denomination notes for tipping. Dollars will work for the first day or two until you can get your money changed. Store this money separately from your main cash so you are not flashing it every time you open your wallet.

  /EMERGENCY NUMBERS

  Always carry a list of contact numbers (sometimes known as a call sheet). It should include your hotel, your embassy, the local hospital, the airport, police, colleagues, local contacts, your next of kin and whoever it is you are calling into back at base, wherever that may be. This information might be in your phone, but remember that you could lose your phone or it might be stolen.

  /COMMUNICATION

  Make sure you have a point person – someone back at base, be it a colleague from your company, a family member or friend, who will be responsible for noticing when you don’t call in. But remember that you are responsible for making sure you can call. This means always taking your phone and charger, or a satellite phone if you are likely to be out of network coverage.

  Give your point person some idea of your itinerary at all times and let them know if it changes.

  Give your emergency numbers to your point person.

  Ensure you have two working and charged methods of communication. I take my UK phone, a back-up UK phone (both with all numbers), a cheap mobile for use with a local SIM card, and always a satellite phone. If working with the media, ensure that the M4/BGAN can also be used as an alternative. Do make sure your SIM card has enough cash on it if it is pre-paid, and always carry a mobile phone charger: car chargers can be life-savers, as can wind-up phone chargers, or solar-powered ones that sit on top of your backpack. Also make sure everyone in your team is aware of how to work your communications system – whether it be a phone, e-mail, VHS two-way radio or a satellite mast – so that they can step in during emergencies.

  The call-in should be a rigorous procedure – according to area or threat – every three or six hours. In the event that the call is not received, the procedure should be equally rigorous: no call for an hour – alert people that there may be a problem; no call for two hours – start emergency procedures. Chris Cobb-Smith

  Choose communications equipment you understand. Simple is usually best because a phone that has a hundred gadgets will simply eat up the battery. It could also get you into trouble as people might assume it is something more exciting than it is – some sort of new-fangled spy system or secret camera. It is less likely to get stolen if it’s similar to what everyone else in the country has.

  /YOUR PAPERWORK

  My friend and senior Al Jazeera cameraman Leith Mushtaq says it loud and clear: ‘Get your papers in order and do not move until they are sorted.’

  Your passport should be valid for at least six months and have several empty pages. Some countries are fussy about these things when it comes to giving out visas.

  Check and double-check visa procedures and make sure you do it right. Getting it wrong can cause delay, cost money and get you into trouble.

  If you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, you should get a second passport if possible. Many countries will not let you in with an Israeli stamp. If you are arrested or caught by kidnappers, it is the sort of thing that might get you into trouble, so it’s not worth the risk. Ask Israeli border guards to stamp a separate piece of paper rather than your actual passport. Equally, if you are travelling to Israel, be careful about what stamps you have in your passport. Friends of mine with Iranian and Syrian stamps have had difficulties.

  Use your least offensive passport, if you have more than one nationality, choosing the best one for your destination. Take the other passports with you, unless they might get you in trouble. In some countries a US or a UK passport could get you killed if found in your luggage, or they might be a ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card in the right hands.

  Get visas for neighbouring countries too if you think you might need to escape quickly.

  Make multiple colour photocopies of your documents: passport, ID card (if you have one), driving licence (back and front), insurance papers, emergency numbers (including next of kin) and credit cards (back and front). Keep them in a separate place from the originals. Give copies to your team, your company and friends or family back home.

  Pay your bills before you go so that you don’t get stung with a late payment fee or, even worse, have your utilities cut off while you’re away.

  Check your credit cards will remain valid throughout your trip, and give your bank a call to let them know you will be travelling so that you don’t get cut off for unusual purchases that look like fraud. They will put a note in the system.

  Update your will or write one. I found it quite therapeutic, and others with a family say they found it helped them to sleep better knowing it was written.

  /LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

  Your most important investment when working in a foreign place is in local knowledge. Think about this ahead of time. Who will be your friend and fixer on the ground? Have you done as much groundwork as possible ahead of your visit for making those key connections?

  Find a trustworthy and knowledgeable local who is able and willing to look after you – and do it quickly. To do this you must understand the cultural divisions of the place you are going to. Your fixer has to be from the right part of town if he is going to be able to help you – and in Baghdad, for example, that could change from day to day, so we organized several fixers. We hired four translators – one Shia, two Sunni and one a Christian Kurd. Most of the time they got on, but when things went wrong or events by one side damaged another, we discovered they hated each other more than they hated us, and that was a comfortable position to be in. But you must be aware of the rivalries and jealousies involved in running a team of people who have never worked together before.

  By the time I got to Basra I knew I wanted less tension among my helpers, so I chose a man who came from a tribe with mixed religious affiliations – a tribe that always seemed to be in the middle. I didn’t necessarily get everything I needed done as quickly without other key connections, but at least our two-man team didn’t offend people.

  Read up about the local culture and don’t stop until you touch down back at home again. Leith Mushtaq says: ‘Books about the area are a key piece of your kit. You could read something the night before that saves your life.’

  /LOCAL TRANSPORT

  You need to think about how you are going to get around the country (see Planes, Trains and Automobiles) and make sure it is sorted from the beginning. Don’t jump into a taxi on the first day only to find out it’s been waiting for someone like you to put their hand up and volunteer for a kidnapping.

  Laura McNaught, a freelance film-maker and founder of Sam’s College Fund for children in the developing world, told me about a narrow escape she’d had as a result of too little forethought: ‘It was my first morning in Baghdad. We were getting a lift into the Green Zone with an old Iraqi dude driving a red sports car. He’s chatting merrily with his foot flat down on the gas when I see a Checkpoint – No Entry sign flash past us. I’m about to scream “Stop!” when a series of No Stopping signs whip past the window. Our driver won’t slow down, so in desperation I grab my hair, press pass in hand, and hold it as far out of the tiny back window as I can. We’re greeted by a far from impressed US army officer chastising, “We were about to open fire there, ma’am, if I hadn’t seen your hair…”

  ‘What I learnt…when Plan A doesn’t work out, an improvised Plan B involving a driver you don’t know is not acceptable. A good driver can save your life; a bad driver can get you killed. Never trust men driving sports cars.’

  On the other hand, if you are absolutely certain that taxis are a safe way to travel, save money by using them rather than hiring a car and a driver.

&nbs
p; /LANGUAGE ESSENTIALS

  Take a basic book of the local language – the one that most people speak. It needs to show how it is written, not just how it sounds to your ear. That way you can point to phrases or words in the book if local people don’t understand what you are saying. You need to learn how to say your name, your job and where you come from. If you will need to lie because your identity isn’t especially popular in that country, please practise and practise that lie. In Iraq I always said I was Swedish until I realized that many Iraqis had escaped to Sweden under Saddam and I didn’t know my rollmops from my pickled herring. Be careful who you lie to. Get your name, address and next-of-kin phone number written down somewhere in the local language as soon as you get there. And finally, if you have a medical condition, learn its name in the local language and how to ask for a hospital or whatever you need in order to make it better.

  Marc DuBois, executive director of MSF–UK, offers some useful advice about getting to grips with the local language: ‘Try to learn a few words as this sets you apart from other strangers. But a word of caution: I was mimicking the language of those around me in one African village. Most of the people there during the day were women, so I was using all the feminine greetings. It didn’t work too well as a 6-foot 3-inch guy.’

  This next piece of advice, from Samantha Bolton, former world head of press and campaigns for MSF, has been repeated again and again by people, Muslims and Christians alike: ‘In Islamic areas make sure you know the words of the call to prayer, or at least one other full key paragraph from the Koran. It saved the life of one MSF kidnap victim, a Serbian aid worker from Sarajevo, when she was in Chechnya. She was tied up and about to be shot when she suddenly remembered the call to prayer, which she had heard so many times in her childhood. The kidnappers started arguing about how it was a sign from God and decided not to shoot her. She was eventually released.’