"Welcome aboard," the sounds of passports being stamped and "please enjoy your stay" are some associations synonymous with travelling. With another busy travel period of the year is upon us the odds can be in favour of safe and incident-free travels, however the possibility can still arise where a traveller can be subjected to safety violations. Travel safety and its importance can never be over-emphasised as it usually involves a sense of comfort while being in unfamiliar environments. Safety is next in line and becomes the dominant behaviour once our physical needs have been relatively satisfied, according to the late American psychologist Abraham Maslow.
One of the most powerful yet ancient techniques a traveller can utilise is the foundation known as awareness and observation. Awareness simply means being observant of the present environment and its situations from time to time. It does not imply suspicion or paranoia to the point of cowering. This element basically entails that safety issues, threats and conditions do exist.Ignorance or denial of safety issues can make a person's chances of quickly recognising and avoiding it highly unlikely. Bad things do happen. Denial, complacency and apathy can be very regrettable. Always remember awareness is an art which can be mastered over a period of time with a little practice and patience. Simply try this technique by filtering and zoning-in on one particular signal from a lot of noise on a busy tourist street, to increase observational skills.
Another element of awareness is in understanding the need to take responsibility for one's own personal safety. This is most needed in tourist areas as these are the places where most of us want to be. These specially-designed areas allow us to feel welcome, relaxed and comfortable by offering popular sites, landmarks, restaurants and a cornucopia of fancy shops lining the sides of the streets. Feeling all relaxed can lead one almost to a point of complacency, and that is when the petty thieves like pickpockets will strike. Thieves do their research and are well aware that areas with high volume of travellers are associated with large sums of cash, mobile devices, cameras and other valuables. Of course, by no means should these areas be completely avoided. Simply heightening our vigilance metre up a couple of notches will assist in avoiding personal loss and pain.
Another important facet is learning to trust your gut or intuition. Many times a person's subconscious can notice subtle signs of danger that the conscious mind has difficulty in quantifying or articulating. With every step you make you feel that you are being followed by someone who wants to deprive you of all your stuff. What is your plan of action if you think that you are being scoped-out or cased? Let your acting skills come into the spotlight, by immediately choosing a safe spot–move to the side as if you are checking the time on your wristwatch and not on your smart phone. In the absence of a wristwatch then contrive the motion of something else that you need to do–that familiar expression of "OMG, how could I forget to..."
In this way, you can easily note the behaviour of the person out of the corner of your eyes. If the person changes his behavioural pattern and hangs around then immediately get yourself to safety–a shop, cafe, hotel or even a secured taxi to take you the rest of the way. Your gut instinct was likely spot on. Cheap as chips, one would say, is the cost of being certain in either situation. If travelling with a companion or group, agree beforehand on certain key phrases to be used which will be indicative of the course of actions to follow in such instances.Always remember on your next travel adventure to ask the question "What sort of dangers are likely present, and the harm which can be encountered?" With the information gained, conscientious decisions can then be made on the level of danger one is willing to face and how to prepare for it.
The very last thing one will expect while travelling is that of any undesirable outcomes which can have severe impact on your emotional, psychological, financial, physical and social well-being. The key is to keep safety in perspective and realise that through balance, it can be used as a lever for new engagements with stories to be told.
?Richard Smith,
Lecturer, CISPS