Personal security is one
of the prime concerns for many visitors to Africa, but in reality the continent
is just as safe — if not safer — than most other destinations.
However, what can you do to minimise the risk of getting into trouble? We
offer a few suggestions.
• Edition 5 (page 106), Philip Briggs,
the much-travelled and respected author of eight African guide books, debated
the question “Is Africa Safe?” He concluded that the biggest dangers
were traveller ignorance and arrogance and that the continent is no more
dangerous to visit than any other, provided a few simple precautions are
taken.
The lack of information and the misconceptions that circulate
internationally about the continent are probably the biggest problems facing
tourism in Africa (See Ed. 9, page 3).
Sometimes tourists get abducted
by terrorists or killed by wild animals, but in a year it’s a minuscule
number of the millions who travel happily throughout the continent. In fact the
probability of having your pockets picked, your bag snatched or being taken by
a con artist are far greater.
Bradt, Footprint and Lonely Planet
guidebooks all offer good security information and advice based upon the
personal experience of the authors and their researchers. A review of these
publications suggests that there are a number of ideas that may just help you
prevent problems and get the most from your safari experience. These
include:
Afore Ye Go
• Get a sit-rep. Current situational reports
(sit-reps) from your local embassy, reputable tour operator, recent visitors
and other knowledgeable persons are advised — and essential if visiting
high-risk areas. Update this information in situ before setting off for remote
parks or resorts.
• Set up contacts. Get the names and addresses
of potentially helpful high-ranking officials and private individuals in places
you plan to visit — just in case problems are encountered.
• Be contactable. Arrange places where you can be phoned and/or have mail
sent. Have correspondence addressed by family name followed by first name(s) or
initials — it’s the custom used in many African states.
• Have a back-up. Arrange for a reliable friend at home or in a
neighbouring country to provide help if needed — to send money if yours is
stolen, for example. Maintain regular contact if travelling in unusual
situations so that your last whereabouts is known. Leave relevant details, or
photocopies, of important documents such as passport, visas, licences, travel
insurance policies and numbers of bank accounts and travellers’ cheques
with the contact.
• Cover possible losses. Prepare additional
document photocopies to carry with you. Keep these separate from the originals
and spread around yourself and luggage for safety.
• Pack your
bags. Discard easy-to-carry holdalls and fancy matching sets — a big and
battered (but sturdy and secure) suitcase doesn’t label you as a wealthy
tourist and is less attractive and portable for snatch thieves. Make sure all
items, including handbags and backpacks, are lockable (combination locks are
safer). Pack a long chain for padlocking cases together at airports, bus and
train stations. Secure your most important and valuable items at the bottom of
the biggest and heaviest suitcase. Buy a lockable pouch or wallet for documents
to be left in hotel safes.
• Dress with sense. Don’t
purchase designer safari wear. It carries a “raw tourist ripe for a
rip-off” label. Likewise leave the flash jewellery and watches at home and
put your fancy camera inside an innocuous-looking carry bag. Try to dress
conservatively and behave like a seasoned, local “ex-pat” and thus
attract less attention to yourself than the fool who openly flaunts his wealth.
Ladies, pack a wrap-around skirt or sarong and a headscarf for a quick cover-up
when required — visiting mosques, for example.
• Secure your
cash. Don’t buy an external money belt — it shouts
“tourist” and is easy pickings for the slash-and-grab thief. Rather
make and use cloth pouches that can be velcro-ed inside your shirtfront.
Don’t use open pockets, especially in trouser backs, and carry small
amounts of ready cash in a zipped shirt front pocket.
• Carry no
incriminating evidence. In general, journalists, hippies, gays and
“oddities” receive short shift in African countries, so don’t
sport or carry evidence of such dispositions with you. Make sure the occupation
listed in your passport is benign and that any prescribed medication is
supported by authoritative documentation. Be wary of writing down names and
addresses of locals you befriend on incoming flights; officials in sensitive
countries may find your list and motives suspicious.
On Safari
• Don’t be a
target. Don’t travel alone; stay in company as much as possible. Tell
others your destination, route and ETA. Avoid known danger areas, especially at
night. Don’t set up predictable patterns of behaviour if you are in one
place for any length of time. Always keep your luggage padlocked and never let
it out of your sight in unsecured places. Carry handbags and holdalls under
your arm and never hang them on chair backs.
• Take the right
cab. Use a reputable taxi, especially after dark. Never take a taxi if the
driver is not alone. If in doubt select the second or third cab in the rank.
Agree your destination and price including luggage before getting in. Place
your hand luggage on the floor (out of sight) with straps around your feet.
Make sure all doors are locked and your windows closed sufficiently to prevent
someone putting a hand in. Pay the fare before alighting. If staying in one
place for any length of time, befriend and repeatedly use one driver. In
crowded minibuses hold your luggage on your lap and keep your elbows over your
side pockets.
• Hire with care. Before boarding a boat ensure
that it and the boatman are registered or employed by a licensed company. Check
that it carries life jackets and back-up for engine failure. A working radio is
essential on large lakes and the ocean. When hiring off-road vehicles
insist on training in using the four-wheel drive, diff lock, winch and other
fitted equipment before departure.
• Don’t get car-jacked.
Avoid driving through rural areas, homelands, back streets and down town in
high-risk cities after dark. Drive with doors locked, windows up and handbag
under the seat. Stop at least a car length behind other vehicles at traffic
lights and be prepared to jump lanes and lights if threatened. If deliberately
followed by another vehicle drive to a police station. In the case of a hold-up
offer NO resistance — car-jackers are often armed and prepared for
violence.
• Think before you go walkabout. Plan your route
beforehand and take a torch and companions at night. Consider a personal alarm
or self-protection device if nervous but don’t carry firearms or offensive
weapons. Take as little of value as possible and use innocuous carry-bags for
cameras, etc. Don’t amble or look lost, move purposefully and confidently.
Avoid known high-risk areas and deserted streets, and walk in the middle of
“suspicious” and ill-lit streets, avoiding shadows. Use lights of
passing cars to search areas ahead.
• Deal with advances. Because
of their dress and behaviour, some western women (and men!) are considered to
be of easy virtue. To avoid being molested dress modestly, wear a wedding ring
and carry family pictures (real or borrowed), avoid eye contact with strange
men, ignore rude or soliciting remarks and make it clear that you are there on
company business. In Muslim areas, travel with at least one companion. Cover
your arms and legs, and have a male escort if possible. When riding in
minibuses, taxis, buses and trains, sit next to other women or elderly men.
You’ll probably still get some flirting and the occasional direct
proposal, but a polite yet firm refusal will normally suffice.
•
Don’t get hassled. Hustling is the name of the game, particularly in
Morocco and North African countries where many live off commissions for guiding
tourists around sites and into shops, or on profits from direct sales. The
golden rule is be polite but firm, very firm.
• Remember
everything is negotiable. Always establish exact destinations and prices before
hiring a guide and if shopping is not included make this absolutely clear.
Don’t fall for “come-ons” such as “don’t you remember
me from the hotel?” or sales pitches like “special for today (or for
you) only”, or any of the thousand and one other persuasive tricks. If you
don’t want what is offered be polite. Ignore abuse (racial or otherwise)
and if they persist a polite mention of the police can often have a loosening
effect.
• Don’t get tricked. Confidence tricks abound in
every country — and are played with consummate skill and highly plausible
stories. Be particularly wary of street children (especially in gangs), anyone
begging, soliciting sponsorship or spinning a hard luck story — assume
it’s a con. Steer very clear of black-market currency or gemstone traders;
if they’re not “pulling a scam” they’re probably in cahoots
with the police and you’ll be tapped for a hefty bribe. And look out for
all the normal pickpocket tricks — being bumped into, distracted, crowded
or handled in any way.
• Don’t get snapped up. Certain
countries and officials are markedly suspicious of foreigners, particularly
from nations with whom their country has strained relations. As a rule
don’t take photos of any structure, person, occasion or situation that may
be of strategic, military or political importance, at least not without asking
beforehand. Spying, a stock accusation beloved by perverted authorities, covers
a multitude of “sins” and is conveniently vague. African detention
facilities are usually primitive, unhygienic, overcrowded and thoroughly
unpleasant.
Put it in Perspective
In Africa, tourists are always going to be targets due
to their relative and conspicuous wealth. By contrast many Africans live below
the poverty line, are unemployed and are simply trying to scrape together a
living. Most of those you meet are not going to be a major problem. In fact
you’ll probably find them as honest, friendly and helpful, if not more so,
than people elsewhere. However, prepare for the worst and enjoy the best.
