While this BBC article focuses on the threats to expatriates in Nigeria (WAR Report and WAR Report), the risk of abduction and worse is not exclusively the purview of western Africa. Nay, kidnap and ransom, beheadings, and other terrorist acts are naturally witnessed daily in war-zones like Iraq and Afghanistan and in traditionally lawless regions of nations like Colombia , Mexico , Yemen , and Indonesia , but no country is immune from such dastardly deeds against foreign workers. For example, in a simple review of TRC’s Terrorist Attack Database in the last week, two Germans were kidnapped and a Malawian was killed in Iraq, eight Guatemalans were killed in Congo , and two Jordanians were killed in Haiti , not to mention journalists who have been killed while on assignment around the world and the likes of Jill Carroll, who has not been heard from since her abduction in Baghdad . Expatriates from Coalition nations have been the primary target of Islamist terrorism, but for those seeking financial compensation, Coalition citizens are not the only target. Rather, it is those who are perceived to be wealthy, relatively speaking. This perception may be brought on by employees wearing jewelry (regardless of quality), exhibiting cash (regardless of quantity), or attracting public attention, or frequenting high cost destinations. And, it is their families who also find themselves a target due, simply, to association.

While it is the responsibility of each employee to monitor his own safety and security, it is also the employing company’s duty to ensure a safe working environment, regardless of locale. By taking the proper precautionary measures, companies can?and should?promote proudly as a recruiting benefit corporate Best Practices they undergo to ensure employee safety.