Friday May 18, 2018
By Colin Freeman
The recent kidnapping of two British tourists in The Democratic Republic of Congo has highlighted the risk of visiting some countries Credit: Television Stills/Tony Gerber
Most of my friends roll their eyes these days if I mention the time I was kidnapped while reporting in Somalia.
For one thing, they've heard the story far too often, and for another, very few had much sympathy for me in the first place. After all, I'd gone there in the hope of interviewing Somali pirates: if that wasn't asking for trouble, what was?
As is proved, though, by the recent kidnapping of two British tourists in The Democratic Republic of Congo, you don't have to be a nosy foreign correspondent to be at risk.
It can happen to anyone attracted to the riskier end of modern adventure travel - as Robert Jesty, 28 and Bethan Davies, 29 found out when gunmen ambushed their vehicle during a gorilla trek in Congo's Virunga National Park.
The pair were released three days later, but the story does not have a happy ending. Park ranger Rachel Makissa Baraka, 25, was killed during the abduction as she tried to defend them.
More than 17,000 people have visited Virunga, which has now been closed to foreign tourists until further notice, during the last three years, and for many, the "edgy" nature of the experience is part of the appeal - just as it is with travel in parts of Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
So how can you avoid getting kidnapped? Sadly, as I know all too well myself, once a gun is thrust in your face, there's very little you can do. Having learned the hard way, though, there a few tips I can pass on - some to reduce the chances of kidnapping in the first place, and some to make life easier on your loved ones back home if it does.
First and foremost, if going anywhere vaguely dicey, check the Foreign Office travel advice website, which has regularly updated security information on every country. If it advises against all travel, or even all "non-essential travel", your holiday insurance will probably be invalid, for a start. Should you be going there at all?
Kidnapping | The most frequently asked questions
How
many Britons are kidnapped overseas each year?
There is no definitive
data set for kidnapping. Statistics are held by the UK government and by
private security companies handling the negotiation for the release of
Britons overseas. These figures are not released publicly.
Why
are Britons kidnapped?
Britons – like most westerners – are kidnapped
for a variety of reasons. Some are kidnapped by terrorist groups, others
by criminal gangs. Criminals are looking to extort money. Terrorists
might be looking for money, the exchange of prisoners, a change in
policy or to gain propaganda. The motives vary from group to group,
place to place and over time.
Which are the main countries where
Britons are kidnapped?
Britons are kidnapped in many different
countries, from Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to Mexico,
Brazil and Iran. The geography of kidnapping changes over time.
What
kinds of people are taken?
There are many different kinds of people who
find themselves taken hostage. Some are business people overseas on
work assignments – they might be engineers in the oil and gas industry
working in Iraq or accountants conducting an audit of their clients in
Mexico or Pakistan. Some are journalists and aid workers, operating in
some of the more dangerous parts of the world, like Syria, Yemen or
Mali. Others are tourists who find themselves in the wrong place at the
wrong time, in countries like Kenya.
How long are they held
for?
In some countries, kidnappings are resolved quickly – a matter of
days or weeks. In others, hostages might be held for months or years. It
can vary according to the identity of the kidnapping group, what they
are looking to achieve, political factors on the ground, the identity of
the hostage and what those negotiating their release are able to offer
or do.
What is the UK government’s policy on hostage cases?You can read about advice from the government here.
Where
can I access the latest research on kidnapping?
There is a paucity of
research on kidnapping. Hostage UK has created a database of resources
that are available via our website. See its resources here.
Source: Hostage UK |
Secondly, use your mobile or smartphone to keep people informed of your whereabouts, and who you are travelling with, as often as possible. If you are kidnapped, the first thing the police will ask is where you were last seen, and who you were with. The quicker they can find the spot where you vanished, the quicker they can speak to any witnesses, and the more chance they have of getting on the kidnappers' tail before you're spirited away to some safe house.
Sure, emailing your parents or family back home all the time is not everyone's idea of a romantic, get-away-from-it-all travel experience. But while you may not feel like Wilfred Thesiger, at least someone will notice if you go vanish - unlike a journalist I knew in Baghdad once, who was released after a five day kidnap ordeal to discover nobody even knew he'd gone missing.
You can also use a smartphone to take photos of any vehicle you're travelling in - a car is much easier for the police to find than a person, and much harder to dispose of too. This is also useful in the event you're involved in a car crash too, which is generally a far greater hazard for the average traveller.
Prep your nearest and dearest a little on how things would unfold at their end if you were kidnapped. Despite what you may sometimes read, Britain's Foreign Office does not simply leave kidnap victims in the lurch. What they won't usually do, though, is provide families with a running commentary on any negotiations to get people freed.
This is frequently construed as keeping family members in the dark. But mostly, it's to stop them going nuts with stress.
My own kidnapping, for example, had some very tense moments, including several deadlines that came and passed for my execution, and a day when the kidnappers fought a gunfight with another clan. The team negotiating my release chose not to tell my girlfriend about these at the time, and much as that may have seemed like "news management", she later said she was profoundly glad not to have known.
Finally, don't just read this. Charities like Hostage UK have a wealth of useful information, and for those who want some less-than-relaxing holiday reading, many ex-hostages have written books on how they coped. The masterpiece of them all is An Evil Cradling, by Brian Keenan, about the four years he spent as a hostage in civil war-era Beirut. Meanwhile, my own effort, Life as a pirate hostage, will tell you everything you need to know about why a certain blundering reporter got himself into trouble in Somalia...