If you're a journalist working in a conflict zone and you find yourself snatched, here's some advice: Find ways to discreetly exercise some control and always think about escaping.
Recent hostage-taking incidents in Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip have attracted global attention. Last summer, two TV journalists with Fox News were held hostage for two weeks in Gaza. More recently, BBC correspondent Alan Johnston spent four months in Gazan captivity before finally being set free this past July.
As a result, (Canadian-born psychologist Rocky) Abramson has recently begun offering one-day seminars for journalists in the region, to help them prepare for a prospect that most intelligent people would prefer not to think about.
"We're going to talk a lot about control today," declares the slim, soft-spoken psychologist at the beginning of his presentation, delivered at an airy, modern hotel in the hilly northwestern outskirts of Jerusalem. "You always have the option of controlling things to a certain extent."
If the worst happens and you are taken against your will, your overriding goal, apart from escaping at the first good opportunity, must be to maintain as much control over your circumstances as you possibly can. ...
During four hours of skits, card tricks, monologue and discussion, Abramson offers a wealth of tips for coping with captivity. For example:
- If you must venture into dangerous situations where kidnapping is a possibility, do so in a group, rather than on your own, because there really is strength in numbers.
- If faced with capture, try to resist passively, a tactic that will at least buy extra time and may confuse your captors.
- During interrogation, insert a lengthy pause before answering any question, even the most straightforward – a tactic aimed at preventing your interrogators from determining which subjects you are most reluctant to address.
- Do not initiate casual conversation with your captors.
- If your captors try to chat with you, do not reciprocate until you obtain some benefit, no matter how small – a loosening of your bonds, some food or drink, anything that increases your sense of control.