Terrorism - Information, Everyday Tips

Terrorism

It is, regrettably a sign of the times in which we live that it is found necessary to include advice on this subject to visitors. Whilst there is nothing particularly new about terrorism (people have been shooting and blowing each other up for centuries, without the formality of declaring war), it is the sheer scale and ruthlessness, which is now so alarming.

Therefore it seems prudent to take whatever precautions we can and the purpose of this brief is to offer advice as to how best one can limit the risk.

General

There are two important things to remember above all else.

The first is to be observant. Should you see anything suspicious notify the appropriate authorities immediately. Nobody will object to over-caution - the history of terrorism is studded with examples of where in retrospect somebody saw something beforehand, which, if reported, might have prevented a disaster.

The second, as ever, is to exercise common sense and think before acting.

Now to deal with some specific scenarios.

Suspicious packages or envelopes

Keep a look out for crude handwriting or printing, addresses incomplete or miss-spelt, no return address, letters marked 'personal' or 'confidential' or 'for the personal attention of'. A package showing stains or an unfamiliar smell should be regarded with suspicion.

If you do open a package and have reason to suppose there is something amiss, minimise all movement and move slowly when you have to. Put distance between yourself and the package, hold a handkerchief or tissue over your nose and mouth, shut windows, and move out, shutting the door behind you ensuring that nobody else can get into the room until the professional help that you will have summoned, arrives.

Wash those parts of you that were exposed to the article and place yourself under the control of the emergency services when they arrive.

Poison gas

Do not rely upon smell to warn you of a gas assault. If you see people around you down and in distress for no obvious reason, the chances are that it's poisonous gas of some kind.

Move away, either upwind or in the case of a visible gas into a free area. Call the emergency services. If you are in a building head for the exit, strip off at least your outer clothing and get into or under water - don't be too fussy. Water, however dirty is a great decontaminant.

If you are outdoors during an attack look around for the obvious signs of nature. You need to get under cover and seal yourself off to the outside. The better the seal the better the protection. There is a good chance that air movement will carry the toxics away fairly soon. When you emerge follow the advice above for washing and isolate your clothing.

Biological attack

There are a variety of ways in which this could be launched. Crop-sprayers are one way. Aerosol sprays are another, as was demonstrated in Japan recently.

It is likely that if this form of attack was used the results would not be apparent immediately. In general the symptoms appear to resemble the onset of flu or a heavy cold. If you suffer from these in an unusual way seek medical advice at once.

Water Supplies

There is a sure-fire way to protect yourself here - boil the water. Although filter systems are fitted they are not total protection against everything, though it is likely that you would receive notice of any serious contamination long before the water reached you.

Gas masks

As one who recalls only too vividly the issue of gas masks during WW2, it is possible to speak with feeling about having to lug around a piece of kit which was bulky, square, under-proven and difficult to put on. It is rumoured that more Israeli citizens died from trying to put on their gas masks during the Gulf War, than died from Scud missile attacks.

Nonetheless they undoubtedly offer a degree of protection, dependent to a large degree upon how well they fit and how sophisticated the filters are.

What we can all do

We are back here to observation. To launch one of these attacks, whilst it may appear deceptively simple in principle, in fact is generally not so. In hindsight most terrorist attacks in the past have had occasions when they were visible to the public prior to the event. The Sept. 11 assassins did dummy runs as near to the point of commitment as possible, in full public view we are now told.

We can all brush up our powers of observation and deduction. Co-incidences, unusual circumstances, odd repetitions, supported by the courage to pass these on to the right quarters could quite easily be the means of preventing a major disaster. There is a war on against terrorism in which we all have a part to play. For the extremists it is a case of 'them or us'. We may not get a second chance to make sure we emerge on the right side.