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In dangerous places
World Trade; Irvine; Oct 1998; Steve Barth;
Copyright World Trade Magazine Inc. Oct 1998
Abstract:
High-profile attacks against Americans abroad receive worldwide
attention and should make expatriates more careful. But experts say
terrorist attacks are quite rare relative to other dangers facing
Americans working or traveling abroad. One type of crime which has
been increasing dramatically in some parts of the world is
kidnapping, a cottage industry in countries like Colombia, Mexico and
Brazil. Responding to the threats of crime and violence has also
meant business opportunities. Security and risk mitigation consulting
firms have been expanding rapidly. So has the armored vehicle
business. The Overseas Security Advisory Council at the State
Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security serves more than 1,700
member companies, with 21 corporations invited to sit on the advisory
council itself. Any company incorporated in the US is eligible to
join.
U.S. businesses operating overseas need to protect their personnel from crime, violence, and unrest
The simple routines can make life so much easier when on assignment in a foreign city. But when it comes to innocents abroad, simple routines taken for granted here are not so secure.
For four Houston-based auditors on assignment in Karachi for Union Texas Petroleum in 1997, one of those routines was the convenient company shuttle that arrived at the hotel every morning to drive them to the office. On Nov. 12, only a day after the State Department issued an advisory warning Americans of possible terrorist threats in Pakistan, the auditors were taking their usual route through rush hour traffic. At 8:15, as they crossed a small bridge, gunmen burst from the red car behind them, forced them off the road, and began firing into the car through the front windshield. The Americans and their driver were killed instantly.
The Americans, perhaps, would have survived, if they had followed experts advice to be less predictable. Few terrorists are willing to wait on a public street more than 30 minutes for their quarry. Varying their route through the city, in addition to staggering the times they left the hotel, could have meant the difference between life and death.
High-profile attacks against Americans receive worldwide attention and should make expatriates more careful. But in spite of the recent bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, experts say terrorist attacks are quite rare relative to other dangers facing Americans working or travelling abroad. While even the worst-case scenario may not have too much impact on a company's bottom line, you don't want your employees to be caught in political riots in Indonesia, taken hostage by striking workers in South Korea, kidnapped for ransom in Colombia, or robbed and possibly murdered in Mexico. The precautions, which would make the unlikely event of being the victim of a terrorist attack even more unlikely, are the same precautions that will reduce the chances of being caught in more mundane, more common, but no less dangerous situations.
"Nowadays, as an American, you're as likely to be a victim of a terrorist attack as you are to be struck by lightning," says Michael Hershman, chairman of Decision Strategies/Fairfax International (www.dsfi-investigator.com), an international investigative and security consulting firm. "The threat from terrorism against United States citizens, businesses, and property abroad has declined dramatically over the last several years." Although not ready to trumpet this as a long-term trend, Hershman points to better international perceptions of U.S. foreign policy and the failure by terrorists to win sympathy for their disparate causes through acts of public violence.
"But the risk goes up dramatically of being a mugging victim in cities like Johannesburg, Manilla, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro," he warns, emphasizing the risks of doing business south of the border. "Mexico City is a very dangerous environment. The threat of carjackings, muggings, assaults, and robberies at your home or place of business has grown dramatically-a factor of the very desperate economy."
According to Frank Johns, managing director of Pinkerton Global Intelligence Services, "Your best bet is to go into a country with no visible signs of affluence. Leave the Rolex, the gold rings, the `Made in America' t-shirts, and travel low-profile."
Worldwide, Johns points out, you are 70% less likely to become a victim of street crime if you are travelling with one other person, and 90% safer if travelling with two or more people. (See box for more safety tips.)
Kidnapping
One type of crime which has been increasing dramatically in some parts of the world is kidnapping, a cottage industry in countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. According to Bob Hoffman, managing director in the U.S. for London-based Control Risks Group, "It's common where law enforcement is either poorly trained and ill-equipped or where they are largely corrupt and may even be involved in kidnappings themselves. It's mostly found in the Third World because you don't have good law enforcement to stop it."
However, Hoffman and other security experts point out that very often the professionalization of kidnapping also makes it much safer.
Control Risks (www.crg.com) responds to 50 or 60 kidnappings per year. Hoffman says that although a typical kidnapping can last for a few weeks to a few months, about 96-97% of kidnap victims in Control Risks' cases are safely returned (the 3-4% that don't come back alive include those that die from injury or health problems).
"People who are going to commit kidnapping, whether they are a criminal group or a guerilla group, want the kidnapping to be successful. You are not tortured; you'll be fed, sheltered, and live at least as well as your guard. Relatively speaking you're not going to be abused," Hoffman says. "Experienced criminals understand that they have to keep their commodity-the victim-alive and well. It is a business."
Control Risks' response services are provided as part of kidnap and ransom (K&R) insurance policies from Lloyd's of London (Kroll Associates has a similar arrangment with AIG). Holders of such policies, in fact, get premium rebates for signing up for security awareness training, conducting physical security audits of homes and offices, and developing a crisis management program.
In case of abduction, he advises clients to be respectful rather than threatening. Cooperate and talk to captors, so that they see you as a human being who values life. Exercise and keep your mind active. Keep track of time with a calendar or diary, if possible.
On the bright side, Hershman of Decision Strategies says that Americans are not the victims of choice. "Generally speaking Americans are not the targets du jour," he says. Abduction of an American or Japanese victim gets too much attention, and places much more pressure on local authorities to solve the case and improve that country's security posture. From the kidnapper's point of view, that's bad for business.
The Best Defense
Responding to the threats of crime and violence has also meant business opportunities. Security and risk mitigation consulting firms have been expanding rapidly. So has the armored vehicle business. The O'Gara Company, maker of armored vehicles and other security hardware, recently merged with Kroll Associates, a global security and risk management firm. O'Gara sold 450 protected automobiles last year. And one Kroll-O'Gara subsidiary, International Training Inc., just opened another anti-terrorism training facility near San Antonio, where executives receive hands-on training to recognize and counter terrorist attacks.
Pinkerton's Johns, however, discourages over-reliance on armored vehicles. And although the company is a major provider of security guard services in the U.S. and overseas, Johns does not recommend travelling with personal bodyguards-who often end up being lightning rods for trouble. Rather, he suggests that, if necessary, the executive retain a personal security advisor. His job isn't to be the Hollywood strongman, but to scout ahead, identify threats, and devise ways to counter them.
Above all, Johns and other professionals stress that the best protection is knowledge. "Before an American goes overseas-or even to Canada-he should know what the situation is in terms of crime, terrorism, political violence, and also about the culture," he advises. At the very least, he adds, 'A cultural faux pas may not make you a victim of crime or violence, but it won't help you do business, either."
Johns and other security professionals highly recommend one government service launched in 1985 in cooperation with some of America's largest multinational corporations.
They weren't getting the kind of information from the U.S. government that they needed to make informed corporate decisions about where to invest abroad, and if they had invested, how best to protect that investment, their people, their property, and proprietary information," says Nick Proctor, executive director of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) at the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. OSAC puts at the disposal of the private sector the resources of such agencies as the FBI, Secret Service, Federal Aviation Administration, National Security Agency, and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Center-each of which provide technical advisors.
Today, OSAC serves more than 1,700 member companies, with 21 corporations invited to sit on the advisory council itself. Subcommittees work on specific security topics. Also, 22 country councils cooperate with embassy security, commercial, political, and economic analysts in the countries in which they operate.
Any company incorporated in the United States is eligible to join. OSAC's website (www.ds.state.gov), provides daily global news headlines and unclassified reports from U.S. embassies. With the password provided after free registration, other areas of the website offer more businessoriented information, discussions of pending legislation, transnational crime and financial fraud, and "think pieces" from the council on topics such as economic espionage, Internet commerce safeguards, intellectual property rights, and contingency planning.
Security and risk information by subscription is also available from several of the private security and risk management firms. Kroll Associates (www.krollassociates.com), for instance, has several products, including, Daily Intelligence Briefings, Country Risk Reports, and the Kroll Travelwatch. Pinkerton (www.pinkertons.com) offers daily and weekly Intelligence Summaries.
Security is Relative
In the final analysis, security is not about being impervious to crime, violence, and terrorism. "The key is to lower your individual or corporate profile so that you are less attractive than other potential targets around you," Johns says.
In other words, it's like the joke about two campers attacked by an angry grizzly in the middle of the night. When one begins calmly putting on his shoes, the other asks, "Are you crazy? You'll never outrun a bear!"
"I don't have to," the friend says. "I only have to outrun you."