But Libya is not the Isle of Wight, and oil engineers sent to work there knew that when they took the job. I assume they are paid handsomely for working in the middle of the desert in a country run by a mercurial and ruthless dictator. Big oil companies pay huge insurance premiums for just this kind of crisis. They are used to working in tough places. Yet to hear all the hyperventilation back in Britain, it is shameful that a BP plane should be used to evacuate British citizens from Libya. Why? Why should it not be the responsibility of their wealthy, resourceful and experienced employers to get them out? Or does holding a British passport entitle you to be plucked from any spot on earth by an aircraft of the Queen’s Flight, loaded with fresh cucumber sandwiches?
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Boadicea's Chariot 
Hi, Ara.
The way that you pose the question, you appear to me to be asking for the answer No.
Can’t answer it that way, myself. In the past, I never expected anything less than a severe inability to cope with any crisis in the Labour years.
I am disappointed that the Coalition appear to be struggling to respond properly. I am, of course, a right little Pollyana and still hope that it might all turn out for the best.
Nobody should expect cucumber sandwiches and/or the Queen’s Flight, in my opinion. They should surely, however, be entitled to basic information and proactive support from their country? Not entirely convinced that my boy Dave and his government have covered themselves with glory in that respect in the case of Libya.
I could, of course, be wrong.
Ah, Mr Mackie.
Actually, I was quite outraged when I listened to the excuses of Mr Hague this morning on the Today Programme, and it appears to me that our present government did not do a good job.
No, I don’t think Cucumber Sandwiches are required, but I entirely agree with you, we seemed to be rather disorganised.
That said, BP does have some responsibly to their employees, and I understand from Mr Hague that this was a “joint venture”.
I really don’t know, but it seems a bit of a SNAFU to me.
Hi Ara.
I find the whole arab world crisis so terrifying that I don’t even want to think about where it might end up. Someone has to contemplate it though, not least of all the people caught up in it, and at the risk of sounding a bit lame, I can only say that my gut feeling is that there is no ‘correct response’ to the wider situation, other than putting as much diplomatic and political pressure on as possible, and trying to save lives where we can.
I don’t really know enough about this, but I’m not too sympathetic with the idea that Governments can produce aircraft (with or without the cucumber sandwiches) at the drop of a hat – and I am somewhat sympathetic with the idea that it is the duty of every company to utilise its resources to safeguard its employees to the best of their ability in a crisis.
It may be that Dave and Co have not responded well – they wouldn’t be the first British Government to do so. Many years ago, a friend of mine was in the Philippines when there was a military coup. She headed for the British Embassy to find that it was shut and all personnel were long gone – two days after the problem began. Being a “Good Scot” she had been loathe to take out Australian citizenship because it meant swearing allegiance to the Queen … but she headed for the Ozzie Embassy, which was open for business. They laughed at her plight, but gave her passage back to Oz because her “puir wee bairns” were Ozzie citizens. The “puir wee bairns” were, I might add, adults! (Her first port of call after landing in Oz was to start the process of Australian citizenship.)
It’s very easy to criticise Governments but it does seem to me that people tend to expect a great deal from them.
Hello, Claire.
Good to see you.
Yes, we haven’t discussed the whole situation in the Arab World here. It is exceedingly frightening, and I think the West have to think about it quite carefully.
Realpolitik with regard to supporting these dictators to safeguard our oil supplies has all been shown to be somewhat precarious now.
The situation is Libya is worrying, and with so many dead so far, I hope Gadaffi will go, and prevent any further bloodshed.
Boadicea.
Yes, tricky one. I’m a bit betwixt and between too. I was irritated that our government seemed to be so behind the curve, but also agree that it is logistically quite a complex operation, and yes, the employers should play their part.
It is a tricky one, Araminta.
Taxpayers would, rightly, be peeved if the resources needed to deal with these sorts of crises were just sitting around doing nothing – but they also want them to be available the instant they are needed – it just isn’t possible or practical.
I’m at a loss to understand why there is criticism of using ‘company’ resources. For heavens sake! It’s a crisis! I’d be thumping on the desks of all such businesses if they were not making their resources available – and I suspect that those who are complaining about their use would be doing exactly the same.
As to Gadaffi standing down – I don’t think for one minute he will. He has no compunction about killing a few thousand Libyans.
Yes, Boadicea.
I agree.
I really hope you are wrong about Gadaffi, but he is being backed into a corner. This could, of course, have extremely tragic consequences, unfortunately.
I really don’t know enough about it all – only odd bits I’ve picked up here and there – like Gadaffi’s son appealing to Blair for help!
I think he is using mercenaries, and for those he needs access to his funds. I believe that Switzerland is proposing to freeze his funds and that the UK is trying to do the same. But, that’s a very dangerous step for financial institutions to take …
The news here last night said that that Libya is still tribal and there does not seem to be an ‘overall’ leader of the ‘opposition’. That can only work to Gadaffi’s benefit – since it will be easy to pick off the opposition one at a time – my thoughts not the ‘news’ item.
From what was said last night, the Libyan military is fragmented – deliberately so that no one person would be able to challenge Gadaffi. That’s a mixed blessing (again my thoughts) in that Gadaffi will probably have to rely on mercenaries, but it also would seem to negate the chance of the military taking over to throw him out.
No dictator goes quietly – they are all prepared to burn the world around them in their dying throws. I do not see Gadaffi being any different.
Yes Ara, good to see you too.
I may be simplistic about things like this, but I think it is heartening to see HMS Cumberland or whatever steaming towards Tripoli. Tea and cucumber sandwiches aside, it sends a message that we are not going to sit back and do nothing.
On a general note, I have often been amazed at the naivity of people who go and work in some of these places. Some good friends of mine worked in Saudi for a few years, but are thankfully, now back on British soil. They earned a fortune by living and working on a British army base there and were once given a lecture by some British Embassy bigwig which basically boiled down to this: sleep with your passport under your pillow and if anyone ever dresses you in an orange jump suit, you’re dead meat. Which makes me think that raking in the cash in these places is all very well, but at what cost?
You have a good point Claire. Some people are prepared to take the risks for the money – but I do think they have to realise that if the situation gets ‘sticky’ they cannot rely on their governments getting them out instantly – or even at all.
Hi Boa. Yes; I know quite a few teachers who have accepted what basically amounts to danger money. Situations like this always remind me of Fay Weldon’s warning, in Letters to Alice, that since the world is not made up of some incorrigible web of rights and wrongs, people should not be surprised if they get into trouble in dangerous places.
Boadicea: it seems that Qaddafi is hell-bent on dying a martyr. When he does become a “martyr” I’m sure that he will stand, or fall, down.
Christopher
A martyr to what? His own ego? 🙂
Boadicea: tent makers? Camels? The robe factory?
Well I’m sure there are some who will find him a martyr – it’s a shame that he will make so many real martyrs in his eventual downfall.
Hello everybody, I’m back. You’re playing in my garden here 🙂 it is indeed the responsibility of the Company to take care of its employees – I have been involved in writing – and verifying and testing, of course – evacuation plans for both this kind of situation and for natural disasters. If you’re interested I could pop up a short note on how it should be done?
Cheers Bravo. Please do. 🙂
There may be a gap between a government’s intention and its ability to deliver, but it does have a duty to its citizens. Consider those chaps who have been earning a fortune off shore, under dangerous condition. When they want to return to the UK and bring their money with them, they are taxed to high heaven. Governments all over the world try and control the lives of their citizens, just so long as it suits them. If you commit a crime while living abroad, you will be prosecuted on your return to Britain. Either Britain says, once you are out of the country, you are on your own and anything you do is up to you and the country in which you live, or it says, wherever you go, you have the rights and obligations of a British citizen and as such we will protect you, or prosecute you, to the best of our ability. Of course, the government’s ability to protect those living in danger spots is limited, but it should strive to do so.
The British government’s interference in the activities of companies operating abroad is demonstrated by the case of Hong Kong based cabin crew who have been granted the right to sue BA for unfair dismissal under British law.
Many citizens who sit safely at home minding their own businesses are quick to point fingers at greedy ex-pats who earn a fortune off shore. In crises such as this they will say that they are in trouble of their own making. But when their pension comes to get paid, they forget that companies such as BP, Shell, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, etc pay large chunks of it, not to mention the tax revenues. Without British expats working in harsh environments, Britain’s economy would be in much worse shape.
Don’t get me wrong, Sipu. I do believe that Governments have a duty to its citizens, which all too often they don’t fulfil. I’m thinking in particular of the way our Government abandoned David Hicks, and I could name one or two other cases.
On the other hand, one has to be realistic and accept that it isn’t always possible to get a rescue helicopter hovering overhead to lift one to safety at the precise moment one might like.
When the first group of British oil workers are butchered by a roaming band of African mercenaries the same media that is saying leave them to it, taxpayers money, let their employers sort it, they knew the risks etc, will fire up the outrage bus and squeal like stuck pigs that the government let them down.
OMG: Right on target as usual. Sitting in Bahrain in the lead to, and during the First Gulf War, I watched as a succession of foreign embassies ordered the evacuation of all non-essential dependents,and gradually, all their citizenry. What did the Brits do to those of us it was deemed essential remained in position? Hand out NATO issue gas masks with a splash of blue paint on them to indicate you were a civilian and therefore not a priority, in the event you were found lying horizontal! However I learnt a valuable lesson: I now know how to drink champagne wearing a NATO gas mask and squatting under our dining room table listening to the earth-shaking rumble of hundreds of fully laden bombers passing overhead on their way to bomb Iraq to total hell. For anyone wondering what the trick is, there is a small rubber tube on the inside which can be swivelled round to meet your mouth – the other end you stick straight in the glass, and suck!
The face of the sergeant handing them out to an orderly queue at the British Embassy, was a picture, when some woman in the queue, who should have left weeks previously, pitched up with her small lapdog, and asked if he had any which would fit “Fluffy”!
I suppose these things are called crises because they are exceptional and problematic. Problems are bound to occur and mistakes are inevitable. One just has to hope that people act with the best intentions.
That is one fabulous cartoon!
Yes, isn’t it? 🙂
Thank you all for your contributions.
CWJ. 🙂
Bravo. Yes, please do!
Sipu: your #17; see the cartoon!
My apologies, I was a bit busy yesterday what with grandchildren and being forced to sit in the pub for hours with my daughters watching Italy come so-o-o- close against Wales and England finally getting their act together in the second half to give France a good pasting…
Reputable international companies with professional security managers all have crisis management and business continuity plans and organisations. I have worked, and been responsible for, such plans in a number of locations. The plans have to cover a number of potential crises, with emphasis on the most likely scenarios in a particular location – the last one I worked on, this year, for example concerned earthquakes in Romania.
The detail of the plans, or sections of a plan, will vary slightly, according to the scenario, but all have some obvious common features:
You must know where people are at all times, and be able to communicate with all of them under sometimes difficult conditions.
There must be a crisis action team who are trained and exercised in what to do if it all goes pear-shaped.
People must know whom to conatact, and how, in the event of a crisis.
Arrangements must be made to get expatriates out – including getting them together in a safe (-ish) place in preparation for evacuation. Expats must also be briefed on what they should do in preparation for a crisis; in some more difficult location this includes having a crash-out kit ready at all times containing suitable clothing, copies of important documents, medications where appropriate, etc, etc.
Arrangements must be in place to ensure, as far as is practicable, the safety of local employees.
The plan must be pro-active with measures that can be taken to meet the changing conditions as a crisis develops, and the security manager and the crisis management team must be prepared and able to activate the stages of the plan in good time so that the organisation is, wherever possible, ahead of the game rather than reacting to events. (I know this was the case in Libya for the company I am working for as I have colleagues who were evacuated early.)
The list goes on. It is generally the case that the security manager is the key player in all crisis preparations. He is, or should be, the person who has the network of contacts who can assist in any emergency. A small example; when I was head o security in China, we had some technical people in an out of the way spot in Xinjiang province. The emergency evacuation measures for these people included a charter of a Chinese Air Force transport. This needed the local Commander to be kept sweet, which was accomplished by paying a ‘contingency fee,’ to ensure that an aircraft would be available when needed. (Whether this would be permitted when the new Bribery Act comes in to force is something that companies will need to grapple with.)
The security manager is also usually the key advisor to the crisis management team. Though all decisions are business-based, it is his – or her – job to suggest when the plan should be activated. It should be noted that Embassies are generally not the best sources of warnings and indicators because they are constrained in what they can say by diplomatic considerations. The security manager’s network should include sources of information where the true picture can be obtained.
Sometimes it is the case that government assistance might be required. The rescue of British Nationals in Libya yesterday is a case in point; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8349896/Special-forces-swoop-on-Libya-to-pull-Britons-to-safety.html though complaining about FO tardiness is a bit OTT, I would suggest, company plans should have foreseen the possible conditions the people experienced, and, when you get right down to it, is is an individual responsibility to ensure your own safety, as far as is possible, and if you think arrangements are not suitable, then you should get something done about it. If in doubt, get out – no reputable company would fault an employee for such an action.
Thanks for this Bravo.
It is good to know that companies have contingency plans for problems. I would not have thought otherwise – after all no one (sensible) would work for a company in a ‘dangerous’ place if they thought their company would not see to their safety.
But, I think you have highlighted the most important thing – which is that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure their own safety. As I said earlier, I do find it a bit ‘off’ that people, especially those sitting in their comfortable armchairs in front of the TV, seem to think that it is both reasonable and simple to organise a rescue operation in five seconds flat.
I’ve got a mate with an old Dakota on his farm and I’m also a member of our local Landrover club, as you know, life in Africa is so unpredictable, I’m sure that we could reserve them for your use Bravo, for a small ‘donation’ of course, should the need arise, if you know what I mean 😉
… and I’ve got a ute and a trailer, and I know the secret ways out of Brisbane, and I’m very cheap …
Soutie, I’ll tell the local Security Manager 🙂
Bearsy – Brisbane is safe – except for floods, cyclones and bad-ass old boys who get upset if their chop-chop isn’t delivered on time 🙂
Thank you, Bravo.
Glad to hear that responsible companies do plan ahead for these events, and it is up to the individual on the ground, as is were, to assume some sort of responsibility for his or her own safety should there be any doubt.
Quote of mine removed. A
This is bread and butter stuff for Bravo. He has, probably, spent his entire adult life, reading, writing and implementing SOP’s aka Standing Operating Procedures. In the Forces, there is a SOP for every eventuality.
Yes, indeed, Toc, I am well aware of that; it’s just a pity when the SOP’s occasionally go pear-shaped. It does happen.
The best laid plans and etc.
There is unfortunately no SOP for life.
To revert to Libya for a moment, Mrs Thatcher recollected the then President Numeiri of Sudan’s comment to her on Col Qaddafi, which seems to have summed him up rather neatly – “The problem with Col Qaddafi is that he has a split personality, and both of them are evil!”
Very accurate assessment, CWJ.