How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone

by Rosie Garthwaite

  • Stay away from possible targets – army vehicles and obviously armoured or brand new-looking cars.

  • Take routes that possible targets don’t usually use.

  • Sometimes locals get news about an IED being planted somewhere for a particular target. They pass the news around the community and people avoid the area. You need to tap into this sort of information whenever possible.

  • If an IED goes off, you should hit the ground, facing away from the blast; cross your legs and cover your head with your hands.

  /ADVICE FROM AN EXPERT

  I also offer the following advice from an explosives expert in the British Army. He works for a regiment that specializes in disarming IEDs. Due to his position within the forces, he has provided his advice anonymously.

  ‘IEDs differ from conventional bombs and mines in that they will always be placed by a perpetrator in an area of their choosing as opposed to being in a minefield or former bombing range. This means that it is potentially more difficult to determine where you might stumble upon them. The question you need to ask yourself is, “Who is likely to have placed an IED and why?”

  ‘An IED can take many forms and will always be designed to blend in with its background so that it is difficult to identify what is or isn’t an IED. For example, is that shopping bag in a crowded supermarket out of place or just someone’s shopping that has inadvertently been forgotten? That is what the perpetrator is hoping you will think, but before paranoia sets in that every bag is an IED, you have to ask the question you asked before: “Who is likely to have placed an IED and why?”

  ‘Before carrying out an IED attack the perpetrator will study their target and look for a weakness they can exploit, or something they can do that will go unnoticed in normal life. Now look at where you are and what the conflict you are following is trying to achieve: that will give you the best indication if you are in an area where someone might wish to use an IED.

  ‘If you have been in an area for some time, you will know what normal life is like, so look out for what is not normal. Are children who normally play in the streets missing from view? Is a usually bustling hive of activity oddly quiet? These can be indications that something might be about to happen.

  ‘So what should you do if you happen to stumble across what you believe to be an IED? First, stay calm. If it hasn’t actually exploded, don’t do anything to it. Simply retire to a safe distance and take others with you, making sure there isn’t another IED where you move to. Report your findings and stay back.

  ‘Remember, IEDs are indiscriminate and your best chance of identifying a threat is by knowing who the perpetrator is trying to target and then making sure you don’t present yourself as that target.’

  /CHEMICALS AND RADIATION

  The threat from chemicals, radiation spillage and depleted uranium can also be high in war zones long after the battles are over.

  BBC correspondent Caroline Hawley advises: ‘Be aware that hazards can lurk where you’re not expecting them. I still regret not being better prepared for a visit to Iraq’s nuclear site at Tuwaitha, which was extensively looted just after the war that toppled Saddam Hussein. People living in the area had taken away barrels used for storing uranium, tipping the ‘yellow cake’ out first so that they could use them to store rice and water. They were becoming ill and wanted international help. As we filmed on the site with an Iraqi armed with a Geiger counter, the needle of the machine suddenly pinged past its highest reading and the man shouted, “Off scale!” As a dusty wind blew, laden with I hate to think what, we jumped back into the car and covered our faces with scarves. Call me a hypochondriac, but I have always worried that future health problems might be traced back to that former nuclear site.’

  Avoiding contamination

  Ask around locally to find out which are the danger areas. Avoid poking around blown-up vehicles, as they could be covered in depleted uranium. Don’t be afraid to use protective clothing and masks yourself, even if the locals don’t use them.

  Treating contamination

  If you think you have been contaminated, avoid touching your eyes and face with hands. You need to take off your clothes and shoes before you enter your house or hotel and rinse yourself thoroughly under cold running water. Don’t use soap unless the contamination is of an oily consistency. You will need to call for new clothes. Put the ones you were wearing in a plastic bag and throw them away as they might contaminate other items, or even the water supply if you wash them. If you were wearing protective clothing, throw it away in a plastic bag, writing some kind of warning on the bag in the local language.

  /EXPERT ADVICE AND FURTHER READING

  For further advice on chemical contamination you can call the following companies:

  Avon Technical Products: +44 1225 896 375

  Remploy: +44 151 631 5017

  Sema: +33 147 819 521

  Before going out in the field, it is strongly recommended that you read the UN Landmine and UXO Safety Handbook, available as a download from ngosecurity.googlepages.com/UN_Landmine_UXO_Safety_Handbook.pdf. It will provide you with accepted good practice for safer operations in landmine-affected states.

  You can be the most experienced journalist in the world, but the minute you stop caring about what you are doing, you have to stop. Shelley Thakral

  13/ Surviving a Kidnapping

  Be prepared to smile into the faces of your kidnappers and agree enthusiastically with their ideas. But you must also be prepared to kill them if necessary. You owe them nothing. James Brandon

  I have never been kidnapped, but I have been an outside force working to get someone released.

  I’ll never forget waking up one Friday morning to a message from a friend: ‘James has been kidnapped in Basra.’ It was the height of the hostage-killing season in Iraq, late 2004, and I’d just learnt that a few days after I’d left my former house, also in Basra, a group had come and kidnapped the housekeeper. He was a university student I had lived every moment with for five months. His father, an unemployed fisherman, cleared out his life savings and more to get his son back. The kidnappers had been looking for me. I was full of guilt.

  James Brandon hadn’t been taken by the ad hoc groups we saw on telly every day. Instead, it was the increasingly dangerous and well-organized Shia militia who had stormed his hotel in the city of Basra, beaten him up on camera and then dragged him off without a word about their demands. The pictures of his violent seizure were made public, but the British Foreign Office wanted to keep his kidnapping quiet.

  Choices, choices, urgent choices to be made. Do we – his friends with contacts across Iraq – stay quiet as recommended by the Foreign Office, or go large, make him front-page news? Against the advice of the experts, we decided to go public. Our aim was to get a renegade ‘enemy of America’ Shia cleric – the infamous Moqtada al Sadr – to stand up at Friday prayers and ask the kidnapping group, who claimed allegiance to his Mehdi army, for James’s release.

  I ran to the BBC newsroom – not such an effort since I was working on the same corridor – tapped on a reporter’s shoulder and told her the story. The BBC crew then jumped into action. Three hours later James’s bruised and battered face was plastered all over the afternoon edition of London’s Evening Standard newspaper.

  The story was out. James’s value as a hostage was up, but so was the danger to the kidnappers. All the stakes were higher. It was a risky gamble, but it worked. Moqtada al Sadr called for the group to release James, and some days later he was freed. We were lucky and so was he.

  /TIPS FROM TERRY WAITE

  Terry Waite became famous for his work in helping to negotiate the release of hostages in the early 1980s, then he became one himself. Held for five years in Lebanon, most of it in isolation, he explains that advance preparation isn’t really possible, but you must do everything in your power to remain strong.

  ‘Having worked for several years as a hostage negotiator, I was always aware that one day things mig
ht go wrong and I would either be captured or, worse still, killed. The first thing to say is that if one is captured, nothing can really prepare one for the experience. I had secured the release of many hostages and listened to their stories, but when eventually I was captured I had to learn, and learn pretty quickly, how to manage.

  ‘Each situation is different, but probably a good rule of thumb is to remember that when one is captured it is likely that the captors will be excited and nervous, so one must be aware of making sudden movements that might cause one of the group to pull a trigger. You want to preserve your life, so it is wise to be compliant.

  ‘Once under their control, keep your wits about you. Listen carefully to what is said and remember it if you can. If you are blindfolded, listen for sounds around you so that at a later date it might be possible to locate where you were kept. Remember smells too.

  ‘Treat your captors with respect. Being aggressive will not help you. There is no need to be unduly submissive, but remember that at this stage they have most of the cards, and until you have a better idea of who they are and what they want, you had better go along with what they request.

  ‘If they require you to write a message, introduce into that message a deliberate mistake that only your immediate family might know. This will convey to those outside that you are speaking under duress.

  ‘It is essential at all times that you maintain your self-respect. This is where those who have had military training ought to have a slight advantage as they will have been taught to keep themselves smart. I was in captivity for five years, four of which were in strict solitary confinement, and for the first week, when I had my own clothes, I put my trousers under my mattress on the floor to keep them pressed! My captors thought I was mad, especially when I requested shoe polish. After a week my clothes were taken from me.

  ‘I had no books or papers for many years, so had to keep myself alive mentally. Do not allow yourself to be over-depressed by the situation. Use it as an opportunity to explore your inner self and to use your imagination in a creative manner by writing in your head or composing music if you have that ability.

  ‘I was chained by the hands and feet, but managed to do regular exercise, like what you can do when confined to an airline seat for many hours. It is important to keep your health as best you can.

  ‘Don’t demean yourself by pleading with your captors, and don’t say any more than you have to. There is no need to be aggressive, and it’s pointless, as it will get you nowhere.

  ‘Keep hope alive. Remember that most hostages are released eventually. There is much, much more that I could say, but that is enough for the moment. Let’s hope you never need the tips that I have given.

  ‘Happy travelling!’

  /ADVICE FROM OTHER KIDNAP EXPERTS

  Sue Williams works at the very top of the mysterious business of hostage negotiation. She has been involved in hundreds of kidnap incidents, and not all of them have ended happily. She says there are two things to remember if you are ever taken hostage:

  1. Do everything within your power to maximize your chances of survival.

  2. Don’t underestimate the outside influences working tirelessly on your behalf.

  /HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL

  The information here is all about staying strong and able despite the strains that kidnapping will be having on you mentally and physically.

  Sue Williams advises: ‘During the extended periods of boredom and increasing feelings of hopelessness, it is crucial to remain focused. A daily routine can provide structure to an otherwise vacuous day. If exercise forms part of this programme, improvement may occur physically and that achievement can also improve your state of mind.’

  Chapter 10 is devoted to exercises that you can do in the confined space of a hotel room in a war zone, but they can also be done in the average prison cell. The importance of physical fitness, and its effect on your mental stability and levels of stress, cannot be overstated. It will also help you to sleep away the long hours.

  Your captors might use food as a bargaining chip for good behaviour or information. On the other hand, starving you could be their chosen means of torture. But remember, a dead hostage is worth little to your kidnappers. You too can use food to your advantage, but use it to build ties rather than break them. According to Sue Williams, the trade-off for refusing food is not worth it. ‘All offers of food should be accepted, not only due to its scarcity, but also to avoid offence, increase bonding and encourage rapport during mealtimes.’

  But James Brandon, the hostage and friend I introduced you to at the beginning of this chapter, offers a word of caution: ‘If your kidnappers give you food or water, it can seem like generosity. It isn’t. Your kidnappers are feeding you because you are more valuable to them alive than dead, not because they like you.’

  Another way to maximize your chances of surviving is to make your incarceration about more than just survival. Sue Williams advises trying to build as much of your normal life into your caged world as you can: ‘Do not be afraid of asking for things, particularly medicines, reading material and items that will assist in maintaining personal hygiene. Remember, it is in the kidnappers’ interest for you to remain alive and in good health.’

  Note that the more human you are, the easier it will be to build those key bonds with your kidnappers. James Brandon told me: ‘If you get kidnapped, you must get your kidnappers to empathize with you. My kidnappers accused me of being a soldier and a member of the CIA. In an effort to make me “confess”, they alternated mock executions with punching me in the head. After hours of this they stopped and one of them offered me a cigarette. I don’t smoke, but I took one anyway, hoping it would in some way break the ice. As I smoked it down to the butt, still blindfolded, a kidnapper reached down and gently took the smoking cigarette from my fingers before I burnt myself. In a small way it seemed like progress. A man who had been willing to kill me was now stopping me from giving myself a cigarette burn. He was being forced to recognize my humanity.’

  Jacky Rowland, a reporter based in Jerusalem, has a simple tip: ‘Always carry a photograph of you with your children. Or with someone else’s children. When push comes to shove, if you can connect with your captors or kidnappers on a human level (everyone loves their kids), it might just save your life.’

  Finally, no matter how isolated you feel, never forget that people in the outside world are working on your behalf. Sue Williams advises: ‘Hostages should never underestimate the wealth of activity being undertaken by those on the outside who are trying to ensure a speedy and safe release. It is easy for hostages to believe they have been forgotten and that nobody cares about their plight, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.’

  /WHAT HOSTAGES SHOULDN’T DO

  Everyone I have consulted agrees that there are no absolutes when it comes to kidnapping situations, but many concur with the following:

  Don’t be a hero. Accept your position as a prisoner and behave like one. Any attempt to show authority or rebel will result in the kidnappers picking you out from the group. If you are alone, ‘stroppiness’ might distinguish you as annoying, possibly easier to kill than the last person they held captive.

  Do not make any threats or promises based on your position in the outside world. You are no longer that person. You are now a hostage with a certain value. You have no authority any more. Claiming that you do will alter the kidnappers’ perception of you and might have bad consequences.

  Don’t escape unless you are certain that you can. Getting caught will simply put you or others in danger. Work out what you are gambling.

  Not everyone agrees with that advice. James Brandon told me: ‘I decided early on I would rather escape than wait for my kidnappers to decide what they wanted to do with me. I would rather die in an escape attempt than be slaughtered like a sheep with my final moments immortalized forever on YouTube.’

  Do not let on that you know your kidnappers. If they are trying to hi
de their identity but you recognize them anyway, play along with their disguise.

  Do not sustain eye contact with your kidnappers. Many people find this threatening.

  Don’t get too frustrated with deliberate attempts to confuse you. Keep to a routine to orientate yourself in place and time.

  Do not behave aggressively. It will make it harder for the kidnappers to empathize with you.

  Do not try to form genuine friendships with your captors. It might result in them exploiting you. It is also the road to Stockholm syndrome, where a hostage falls in love with and eventually aids their kidnapper.

  /GOVERNMENTS DO NEGOTIATE

  The resolution of almost all kidnappings involves an exchange of money. If kidnap negotiation were a science rather than a delicate art, your price or political value would be determined as shown on the following graph:

  The initial price demanded by a group of kidnappers is likely to be unacceptable to the government, company or family negotiating for the hostage. The negotiators therefore have to weigh the risk of your being killed against the figure they think the kidnappers will accept for a ransom. It is a delicate balance because the price must also be high enough for the kidnappers to take the risk of returning you.

  As the period of incarceration increases, so does the danger that the kidnappers will get caught. Likewise, as their fear increases, the price on your head will fall. The same is broadly true if your value is political rather than monetary. Media glare eventually falls away, making it less likely that the kidnappers will get the attention they seek.

  But negotiation is rarely as simple as an equation involving value versus time. There are many more factors that come into play.