Kidnappings
Kidnapping
is a terrifying experience, but you possess more personal resources
than you may be aware of to cope with the situation. Remember, you are
only of value to them alive, and they want to keep you that way.
The
common hostage responses of fear, denial, and withdrawal are all
experienced in varying degrees. You may be blindfolded, drugged,
handled roughly, or even stuffed in the trunk of a car. If drugs are
administered, do not resist. Their purpose will be to sedate you and
make you more manageable; these same drugs may actually help you to get
control of your emotions, which should be your immediate goal. If
conscious, follow your captors’ instructions.
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Captivity
A
hostage-taking situation is at its worst at the onset. The terrorists
are nervous and unsure, easily irritated, often irrational. It is a
psychologically traumatic moment for the hostage. Violence may be used
even if the hostage remains passive, but resistance could result in
death.
If taken hostage, your best defense is passive
cooperation. You may be terrified, but try to regain your composure as
soon as possible and to organize your thoughts. Being able to behave
rationally increases your chances for survival. The more time that
passes, the better your chances of being released alive.
Behavior Suggestions
Each captivity is different, but some behavior suggestions apply to most:
Try to establish some kind of rapport with your captors. Family is a
universal subject. Avoid political dialogues, but listen attentively to
their point of view. If you know their language, listen and observe;
and if addressed, use it.
Plan on a lengthy stay, and determine to keep track of the passage of
time. Captors may attempt to confuse your sense of time by taking your
watch, keeping you in a windowless cell, or serving meals at odd hours.
However, you can approximate time by noting, for example, changes in
temperatures between night and day; the frequency and intensity of
outside noises—traffic, whistles, birds; and by observing the alertness
of guards.
Maintain your dignity and self-respect at all times.
Manage your time by setting up schedules for simple tasks, exercises, daydreaming, housekeeping.
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Build
relations with fellow captives and with the terrorists. If hostages are
held apart, devise ways to communicate with one another. Where hostages
are moved back and forth, to bathrooms for example, messages can be
written and left. However, do not jeopardize your safety or the safety
or treatment of others if attempting to communicate with fellow
captives seems too risky.
Maintain your physical and mental health; it is critical to exercise
body and mind. Eat food provided without complaint; keep up your
strength. Request medical treatment or special medicines if required.
Establish exercise and relaxation programs. Exercise produces a healthy
tiredness and gives you a sense of accomplishment. If space is
confined, do isometrics. Relaxation reduces stress. Techniques include
meditation, prayer, daydreaming. · Keep your mind active; read anything
available. Write, even if you are not allowed to retain your writings.
If materials are not available, mentally compose poetry or fiction, try
to recall Scripture, design a house, even “play tennis” (as one hostage
did).
Take note of the characteristics of your captors and surroundings:
their habits, speech, contacts; exterior noises (typical of city or
country); and other distinctive sounds. This information could prove
very valuable later.
If selected for early release, consider it
an opportunity to help remaining hostages. Details you have observed on
the terrorists and the general situation can assist authorities with a
rescue.
You
can expect to be accused of working for the government’s intelligence
service, to be interrogated extensively, and to lose weight. You may be
put in isolation; your captives may try to disorient you. It is
important that you mentally maintain control.
Avoidance of Capture or Escape
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Efforts
to avoid capture or to attempt escape have in most cases been futile.
The decision, however, is a personal one, although it could affect
fellow hostages by placing them in jeopardy. Several other
considerations should be weighed.
To have any chance of success,
you should be in excellent physical condition and mentally prepared to
react before the terrorists have consolidated their position. This,
also, is the riskiest psychological time. You would need to have a plan
in mind, and possibly have been trained in special driving tactics or
other survival skills.
If you are held in a country in which you
would stand out because of race or other physical characteristics, if
you know nothing of the language or your location, or if you are held
in a country where anti-American or anti-Western attitudes prevail, you
should consider the consequences of your escape before attempting it.
If you conclude that an escape attempt is worthwhile, take terrorists
by surprise and you may make it. If their organization has a poor track
record of hostage safety, it may be worth the risk.
The
termination of any terrorist incident is extremely tense. If an assault
force attempts a rescue, it is imperative that you remain calm and out
of the way. Make no sudden moves or take any action by which you could
be mistaken for a terrorist and risk being injured or killed.
Even
in a voluntary release or surrender by the terrorists, tensions are
charged and tempers volatile. Very precise instructions will be given
to the hostages, either by the captors or the police. Follow
instructions precisely. You may be asked to exit with hands in the air,
and you may be searched by the rescue team. You may experience rough
treatment until you are identified and the situation has stabilized.
Finally, it’s worth keeping in mind three facts about terrorism:
The overwhelming majority of victims have been abducted from their vehicles on the way to or from work. A large number of people taken hostage ignored the most basic security precautions.
Terrorist tactics are not static. As precautions prove effective, they
change their methods. There is a brief “window of vulnerability” while
we learn to counter their new styles.
Additional Precautions
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Do not settle into a routine. Vary times and routes to and from work or social engagements.
Remember,
there is safety in numbers. Avoid going out alone. When traveling long
distances by automobile, go in a convoy. Avoid back country roads and
dangerous areas of the city.
A privately owned car generally
offers the best security. Avoid luxury or ostentatious cars. Keep your
automobile in good repair and the gas tank at least half full. Driving
in the center lane of a multiple lane highway makes it difficult for
the car to be forced off the road.
