Rosie Garthwaite - How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone

I should have known that from my time on exercise in Canada with the artillery. We were firing big missiles over dozens of kilometres, then going forward to check on the site for unexploded ordinance. One evening, with the sun going down, we decided to set up camp near a crater made by one of our missiles. We started ‘digging in’ – no mean feat when you have to bury a giant tank-size gun out of sight from an imaginary enemy. As we dug down, we found a network of chipmunk or some other local critter’s burrows. There were dozens of dead creatures, all killed by the force of one artillery shell 50 metres away and 3 metres of mud above them. A near miss can still kill.

I spent plenty of time dodging what felt like targeted fire in Iraq, but in reality I have never been directly shot at. In that situation you need expert advice on where to be if all hell breaks loose – and who better to supply it than Chris Cobb-Smith, a man whose job it is to prepare people before they are plunged into dangerous places, and then bring them out again in one piece. The following information is largely his.

These are my recommended actions for dealing with shooting, guns, bombs and missiles. They can strike at any time and usually when you least expect it. Where do you want to be when they hit? What can you hide behind or should you just run?

• Don’t wear military-style clothing. Wear bland colours that don’t attract attention, but differing shades top and bottom so it doesn’t look like uniform.

• Be careful if filming as a video camera can be mistaken for a weapon: the sun glinting off the lens can be mistaken for that off a weapon sight, or even for the flash of a weapon firing. It could attract attack on the ground and also from artillery or aircraft.

• Try not to have anything shiny that might attract attention.

• Be careful of using flash photography.

• Consider the implications of the markings on your vehicles – ‘Press,’ ‘Media’, the name of your charity or organization. Will it provide immunity or attract targeting? This changes according to the environment.

Monique Nagelkerke has worked for Médecins Sans Frontières for 20 years, and says that over time people living inside a war zone fail to remain alert and prepared for any eventuality. ‘The first time we were bombed by Khartoum forces in south Sudan it was Christmas morning. I was awake, but many were sleeping. A plane flew over, lower than usual. I put on my clothes and my contact lenses and got outside in time to see a plane fly back and bombs start raining down. I went straight to look for a team member who was still sleeping in her hut, grabbed her arm and yelled, “We’re being bombed.” She took out her earplugs and only then realized the danger. As we ran away – too late, the bombs had already landed – the earplug girl looked at me, and said in a lovely French accent, “I am not wearing my bra!” She clutched her rather large bosom in her hands and we continued running away from the stone buildings.

‘Lessons learnt: 1) When in a war zone, do not sleep with earplugs in. 2) Wear a bra when sleeping if you have a large bosom, in case you need to run. 3) Never continue looking at a returning plane when in an area that has already been bombed by similar-looking planes. Run!’

Study and rehearse the following procedures:

• Remain in the building.

• Keep communications equipment to hand.

• Stay together as a group.

• Take cover.

• Lock doors.

• Stay away from the windows.

• Raise the alarm using prearranged telephone numbers.

• Assess whether it is safe to exit the building or better to stay put.

Mary O’Shea recalls: ‘In Lebanon I was told to sleep in the bath when there was gunfire or shelling.’

• Move into the safe room (see Safe Room) or bomb shelter. Failing that, go under the stairs or into a room with no outside walls.

• Wait for the all-clear before venturing out.

• If there is time as the situation deteriorates, remove glass from the windows and any clutter from the room as it will fly around and cause injury in the event of a blast. Wet mattresses placed up against the walls will absorb fragments and possibly bullets.

• As a last resort, go onto the roof, if accessible. Once everyone is out there, lock the access door, stay away from the edge and signal for help with a torch, mini-flares or a phone.

Your first priority should be to take cover:

• Don’t look for the person firing – use your ears and move away from the sound.

• Don’t take cover in a place that someone was recently using as a firing position.

• If caught in the open, go immediately for the most obvious cover, such as a dip in the ground, then assess the situation.

• If you have a car, avoid hiding near the petrol tank, and remember that the door will be useless protection. Try to get behind the engine block, by one of the front wheels.

• If you need to observe to assess the situation, look around but never over whatever you are using as cover.

• If in a group and trying to escape the danger, move individually and at intervals, as unpredictably as possible.

• Leave any equipment behind if it is going to hinder your escape.

Monique Nagelkerke agrees totally with this advice, and says: ‘Keep your head down. So many times people stand up, look around or look out of the window when there is shooting and shelling going on. The best reaction is literally to keep your head down. Dig down behind a wall, behind a copy machine, behind a coffee table – anything as long as you do not stand up and look around.’

• If the bomb threat comes over the phone, ask the caller as many questions as possible and take down the details, e.g. where the bomb is planted, when it will be detonated and why. Also note whether the caller is male or female, the accent, attitude, any background noise, etc.

• Evacuate the target area.

• Inform the authorities, military, etc.

• Take cover immediately. Lie down under whatever cover is available, even a table or bed. As soon as it’s practical to do so, move to a bomb shelter or safe room.

• Assess the situation and bomb direction, then, when safe to do so or under orders, move to the emergency exit in the opposite direction from the sound of the bomb. There might be a secondary device or a gunman picking off targets at the main exit.

• Use prearranged escape routes (see Exit Plan).

• Do not stand in any gathering or crowd. The threat of a secondary bomb or bomber remains.

The Holy Koran says that whatever happens to us is our destiny, and we trust in the Holy Koran. The date for our death is written; we cannot change it.

The people I loveare those who tend to follow the path least travelled. They’re the opposite of me: I have always felt the magnetic pull of a crowd. If I hear a party, I’ll knock on the door. I see a queue and I wonder whether it’s worth joining. If I am on the edge of something, I want to be in the middle. It’s a weakness that nearly saw me killed several times in Iraq.