Research Trips to Dangerous Locations

[StrangeLight]

hi all,

in history programs, you spend most summers and the research year of your dissertation traveling abroad to wherever your sources may be located. you can find a lot of stuff from around the world in the library of congress in DC, but not everything is there.

i'm going to be spending a few months in nicaragua and honduras. i'm not too concerned about staying in major cities, since i know which neighbourhoods are safe and where to avoid (and when). however, i'm also going to be visiting smaller cities that have high crime rates and not a lot of security any time of day. one town i'll be doing archival work in just had two taxi cab drivers assassinated in their cabs last week. another town i'm going to is an increasingly popular spot for drug runners to stop over on their way from colombia to the US. bags of cocaine routinely be on the beach and when they do, violence breaks out because people want to steal the bags and sell the coke themselves.

while some of the violence is politically motivated, a lot is also from poverty. i'm going to very poor regions of very poor countries. my spanish isn't perfect, the accent is thick and i'll stick out like a sore thumb. i'm also a young female traveling solo.

anyway... my questions... has anyone here had to do research in dodgy areas? what precautions did you take? i already know the typical stuff: dressing down, making sure my backpack looks crappy, not flashing any electronics around, hiding money and ID in my sock or under my shirt with just a few dollars in my pockets, etc. what i'm wondering is, should i bring mace/pepper spray? should i carry a knife? i've had years of training with knife fighting and defense, so i'd know how to handle myself in a given situation, i'm just wondering if it's a good idea to bring the knife in the first place. any experience with bringing these types of weapons into other countries?

should i leave my laptop and cell phone at home? i need to bring a digital camera to photograph my sources. should i invest in a cheap laptop for the trip so i can back up the pictures? should i just buy a bunch of memory cards for the camera instead? buy a cheap no-contract cell phone in each country or go without?

should i skip the low budget hotels and try to stay in a room in someone's home? connect with NGOs in the region for housing? in one location in particular, most of the hotels in the town are used by local prostitutes and travel guides recommend single women skipping the area all together. that's not exactly an option for me since it's where my sources are.

any other experiences you may have had while doing research in potentially dangerous environments would be much appreciated. especially if you feel like i'm overreacting. i've been to poor places before to do my research and nothing terrible went down. a colleague of mine (male) went to haiti on several research trips and thought it was odd that i had mentioned bringing a weapon, but a friend of mine did NGO work in southern uganda, brought a knife and had to use it. i guess i'm just looking for some perspective.

[fuzzylogician]

Maybe this isn't helpful, but an obvious place to ask these questions is your department. Surely you're not the first grad student there who is traveling to a dangerous location - what were other students' experiences like? your advisor?

The only semi-practical advice I can give you is that whenever I travel solo, I always wear a "wedding ring". I like to think it keep some of the creeps away.

Pay-as-you-go phones sound like a good idea, and maybe mace. Knives sound like asking for trouble to me, BUT I have absolutely no experience with these kinds of situations so feel to ignore me.

[mitzydoodle]

Maybe this isn't helpful, but an obvious place to ask these questions is your department. Surely you're not the first grad student there who is traveling to a dangerous location - what were other students' experiences like? your advisor?

The only semi-practical advice I can give you is that whenever I travel solo, I always wear a "wedding ring". I like to think it keep some of the creeps away.

Pay-as-you-go phones sound like a good idea, and maybe mace. Knives sound like asking for trouble to me, BUT I have absolutely no experience with these kinds of situations so feel to ignore me.

Strangelight- I don't have much help to add (I think fugglogician is right on in suggesting you ask your department for info and getting a fake-and cheap/not flashing- wedding ring for yourself. I do want to add that if you decide to take weapons, be sure that whatever you carry is legal in the country you take it to. I doubt you'd be taking a taser or anything like that, but just be sure so that you don't cause yourself undue problems.

Props to you for having the courage to follow your research in less than ideal conditions.

[Lantern]

I haven't done much research in sketchy areas, but I do have a few years of experience living/working and traveling in Central America. I think the best thing you can do is use good judgement. I know this might sound trite, but good judgement has enabled me to safely do lots of solo traveling. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't, and sometimes you just have to trust your intuition.

I don't know what to tell you about the knife - I personally wouldn't carry one, but then again I don't have any training. I know that in my case, as a relatively small female, it would most likely be taken from me and used against me. I can see that if you're trained in self-defense, it may be a different story. I guess my strongest thought is that a knife isn't going to offer much protection against a gun. In some Central American countries it's not at all unusual to see guys get on public buses with guns on their belt, so they're not hard to get for the locals.

I would definitely limit the number of expensive electronics you bring. Theft is very common.

You could try out a local hostel, but check out the security of it, and have a good look around. Befriend the locals, and you'll always have someone to look out for you.

I don't think you're overreacting. You're just trying to be prepared. That's good.

Good luck!

[StrangeLight]

i've asked around within my department. none of the professors go anywhere terribly dangerous, my own advisor included. her work takes her to costa rica, which is considerably safer. other students visit haiti (as mentioned) and colombia and jamaica, but that's pretty much the extent of people going to potentially dangerous places. my colleague who spends time in colombia has offered some advice and mentioned pepper spray. she's a native spanish speaker, though, and she doesn't scream "foreigner" the way i do.

i will just say that parts of both of these countries can be very safely traveled if you have your wits about you and don't do anything stupid like wave money or electronics around. it's just some particular towns that worry me.

and i'd be sure to check any laws concerning bringing any weapon into another country before doing so. it could all be much more trouble than its worth.

and thanks for the tips, lantern! you're right, if guns are so easily available then knives won't do me any good. i had only thought of it because a former PA told me one of her students switched his research from el salvador to honduras after he had been mugged at knife-point on a bus in el salvador. even with training, if there's a gun i would just comply and hope for the best.

Edited February 19, 2010 by StrangeLight

[rising_star]

I would have extra memory cards, in case your camera gets stolen, and a cheap netbook to back things up. I definitely think you should try to get into contact with people at either a local university or NGO, as they will be able to provide you with information on where to stay, what to avoid, etc. Oh, and insurance. Make sure you have insurance that covers flights out of the country if necessary, and renter's insurance should cover your property if it's stolen while you're in Central America. That way, while you may lose things, you may also be able to replace them.

The "wedding ring" thing is a good idea. My sister used to do that when she did research in sub-Saharan Africa and said it worked well. Sadly, at my research site, that would make things more complicated so I don't do it.

[jacib]

I would have extra memory cards, in case your camera gets stolen, and a cheap netbook to back things up. I definitely think you should try to get into contact with people at either a local university or NGO, as they will be able to provide you with information on where to stay, what to avoid, etc. Oh, and insurance. Make sure you have insurance that covers flights out of the country if necessary, and renter's insurance should cover your property if it's stolen while you're in Central America. That way, while you may lose things, you may also be able to replace them.

The "wedding ring" thing is a good idea. My sister used to do that when she did research in sub-Saharan Africa and said it worked well. Sadly, at my research site, that would make things more complicated so I don't do it.

Rising star's advice is excellent.

A wedding ring is a good idea (be warned: it will not deter everyone) and so is the idea of having multiple back ups for your data (if possible, you should try to load all your pictures and data onto the internet every day, so if something does get stolen, your trip won't be wasted). Have a cheapo cell phone, but you probably won't need to use it that much. Try to look as local as possible until you open your mouth (easier in some places than others). Dress frumpy. Avoid name brands.

I think your idea to contact NGO's etc is a good one. At least they can recommend people to meet in the area. Also check with whatever archives you're searching, ask the librarians (or whoever it is that you're seing). The local people working will have the best ideas of places to stay, places to avoid. If you can make contact with professors at local universities interested in your topic, ask them for advice too. Many travelers hate Naples, Italy, but when we went someone drew us a map of exactly where to not go and it was our favorite city in Italy. See if you can contact a nice old woman or friendly restauranteur who can give you advice first thing when you get into town. Or a priest or something.

Sticking out is sadly unavoidable some places, but it isn't always a bad thing. When I was traveling in the Southeast of Turkey, when a friend and I walked into a bath, they immediately started saying "foreigners, foreigners". We thought we were about to get scammed. Afterwards, we realized it was more like "Yo, guys, we have guests, be on your best behavior."

Being a woman unfortunately will make things more difficult for you, but consider what accessories could make you less of a target. Might carrying a rosary, for example, help you? Who is going to rob a conservatively dressed woman on a bus piously fingering her rosary?

As far as a weapon, remember it would have to be something you could quickly get to. A knife at the bottom of your backpack won't help much.

Keep your cash in multiple places, obviously. Also definitely have a fake wallet which contains like one useless ID and always have like 5 dollars in there. Be ready to hand that over without a second thought (that way you'd only really need to use a weapon to protect your physical well being). Don't bring jewelery besides the fake wedding ring and maybe a cheaper watch, and in the worst case scenario be prepared to hand that over (though you might want to put up a fight about the wedding ring, just for show). Alert the embassy of where you're traveling.

[angesa01]

I did research in Uganda in a reasonably dangerous area, and I took many of these precautions. Mostly, I would say avoid going anywhere alone. No matter how safe it looks, day or night (but especially night!) try to always have a local, or at the very least another foreigner, with you. I carried Mace but never had to use it. Honestly, it might have been worse if I ever had to use it. The most useful tactics I had were speaking some of the local language so people recognized that you could understand them (especially if they were talking about you!), never carrying much money on me, leaving valuables in a safe place, and of course, using common sense!

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[peppermint.beatnik]

The "wedding ring" thing is a good idea. My sister used to do that when she did research in sub-Saharan Africa and said it worked well. Sadly, at my research site, that would make things more complicated so I don't do it.

I'm impressed this works in some parts of the world! I tried it in France-to no avail.

Remember to put it on the correct hand.

[Roll Right]

LOL, I traveled to a dangerous place to do research...the downtown area of my city. Hell its not a warzone, but the head start program I visited to administer an interview was the target of a drive by. Yeesh.

[DennisK]

Try and have someone accompany you. Perhaps your sources there, or anyone local that you can trust. They may be more than willing to take you around a little, in return for some money, or little gifts.

Even if it's only to bring you to the bus, or go to the next city/village to meet your next informant...

This depends very much on the context, so I don't know if it's possible at all and how, but it may help.

I worked and did research in Sri Lanka. Once during the civil war, and another time right after it officially 'stopped'.

I'd say as well that careful judgement helps, too. Be alert and careful of course. Other than that I can't give any advise, also I'm not familiar myself with Central America, except with the Dominican Republic which was a great and seemingly safe experience to me, even in the mountains/country side.

Cheers

Dennis

Edited March 11, 2010 by DennisK

[nescafe]

I agree with others here that laying down local roots as quickly as possible is important.... not only to avoid trouble, but because it is an important reason for doing site research in the first place!

NGOs will provide some cover, but your better bet is local scholars, perhaps at the school you are affiliated with.

Avoid walking about alone. Someone said this already but it is VERY important. Just having a friend nearby will stop everything from harrassment to worse.

Just to consider, also- if some of the places you wish toi go to are very dangerous, perhaps the thing to do is have your business arranged, every detail, before you go. I don't know what sort of research you will plan on doing once there, but I would strongly advise against going on site before you have all your interviews/letters of affiliation/etc set up. When you arrange your meetings at these sites, you can ask if someone might meet you outside the site to smooth things over. I spent some time at a refugee camp known for bouts of violence directed at foreign visitors- I simply had my plans laid out BEFORE I went (so I didn't appear rootless or aimless) and I had an acquaintance (who was raised in the camp) accompany me, thereby minimizing my risk.

As a rule- the more ties you have the the imm. area, the better. You want to make it locally risky for anyone to mess with you. The wedding ring works for this reason. I would, at all costs, avoid carrying weapons... many countries wouldn't allow it anyhow.