May be worth looking at a class like OnPoint's Urban Escape and Evasion.
A few other things I got from the class were (and some of these have been mentioned)
* Taking a baseline of locals and learning to fit in (clothes, gait, if she has light hair dying it black, etc)
* Having a map of the area with pre-plotted (multiple) routes out in case of an emergency
*Knowing where the closest (Western) medical facilities are located and how to get there
*Judiciously placed caches of important documents pre-placed along your escape routes (copies of important documents, i.e. passport, food, weapons, money, etc)
Obviously, the most important thing is mindset and not being in places she should not be
Last edited by zacbol; 07-14-12 at 10:43.
"Eyes have been referred to as the window to the soul, we prefer to think of them as the funnel to the brain." - Mike Shertz, MD
"Every trigger has a match trigger at the end of all the bullshit.” - Greg Hamilton
As I guy who has lived, and traveled extensively out CONUS I am going to call the above post VERY BAD ADVICE. The police, or worse yet, secret police or military in most countries would find the above concealment methods and items to be prima facie evidence of smuggling at the least and espionage at the worst. Making this guys daughter even appear to be some kind of operator in a country like the PRC just isn't a good plan.
Cheap no brand, or locally available items are a much better route to go. Cheap kitchen knives can be sheathed in cardboard, tossed and reacquired on the local economy. A camping folder, especially a Chinese made camping folder is pretty innocuous. A handmade, U.S. sourced fighting knife, however, sends a pretty strong signal and not the signal she wants to send, if caught. As for the hidden handcuff key, absolutely not. Better she look like what she is, a missionary rather than a commando or spy.
Also, depending on where she is, E&E'ing to a large U.S. based corporation's local plant, or the consulate or embassy of any western country would be better than trying to do a surreptitious border crossing, again, making her either a smuggler or a spy if caught on either side of the fence.
Last edited by kmrtnsn; 07-14-12 at 11:46.
I stand corrected. I'm not used to thinking of my Izula as a fighting knife. It's just a pocket knife to me but I can definitely see how it could be seen that way.
The handcuff key/buckles seem shady to have even here in the U.S. but I was just trying to put options out there. I'm not an expert for out of country so I will happily stand corected. I'm just a country boy who enjoys the challenge of spending a lot of time in the woods with the bare minimum of what I can fit in my pockets.
I was talking, today, to a buddy who has done something like this trip OP's daughter is talking about through an organization called World Race. I think it's a more short term program (only gone a yearish but spend a month or two at a time in places like PRC). You might check with them for any advice they give their people.
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In a bit of expansion on no-no items, many things we find innocuous and daily carry, are forbidden in other countries. The blade on a Gerber or Leatherman brand multi-tool may be too long, for instance. That and the number of tool items folded up may look very suspicious to an illiterate conscript, manning a checkpoint deep in the middle of BFE. In his mind, why would a missionary need these things. Maps, especially maps not locally sourced can easily be perceived the wrong way. Maps with notes on them in a "foreign" language that the above mentioned conscript can't read, even worse.
If I had kids and if I were looking for travel advice for my daughter's stay in the PRC, I would look to the DOS travel site for advice, the different Peace Corps sites and forums, and maybe some world traveler/backpacking sites and forums for region specific travel advice and recommendations but only after checking with her organization, which has sent people to this place, for the same purpose, repeatedly long before your daughter joined the mission. Their advice will be relevant and current, and most importantly, specific to her purpose and goals.
Last edited by kmrtnsn; 07-14-12 at 12:31.
An alternative is to plot her escape to the nearest US embassy.
When traveling, I'm always cognizant of where the US Consulate is.
Also, make sure she establish contact with other NGOs in her area. The more friends the better.
Last edited by cgjane; 07-14-12 at 12:50.
Not needed
Last edited by SSGGlock; 07-14-12 at 18:09. Reason: Not needed
The perfect items for a missionary to carry through customs.
Yes, we've all seen it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSH6J2KKRsA
Last edited by kmrtnsn; 07-14-12 at 14:02.
Gives up
Last edited by SSGGlock; 07-14-12 at 18:10.
SSG... a lot of conservative American Christians don't smoke or drink. But other than the Mormons just about every Christian I have encountered abroad either smokes or drinks. I stayed at a Christian retreat center in Austria (Schloss Mittersill) that sold beer in the Canteen.
Not to mention that unless things have relaxed VERY recently Christianity is still a no go (other than state sponsored churches) in PRC so you can't really cross in to PRC and openly claim to be a missionary.
And then if you Google "Machine Gun Preacher" you can find a movie, based on fact, about a missionary in South Sudan who lead armed raids on Sudanese rebels (lord's something army) to rescue kidnapped children and supposedly slept with a Bible in one hand and an AK in the other.
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Last edited by mallowpufft; 07-14-12 at 18:18.
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