PraiseBacon
Sergeant
- 740
- 2
- 18
Gotta ask – anyone been to [FONT="]Johannesburg[/FONT] lately?, and how bad can it be?!
I’m having do to a short notice trip there next week (I was just born lucky) – and have just spent the last hour and a half with our corporate security team going through various arrangements.
I was expecting the usual don’t leave valuables on display – don’t stray into bad parts of town , keep a small amount of cash in a spare wallet to be able to hand over if robbed, etc (usual stuff). But some highlights of the brief included:
The little boy in me was thinking – Yay, armored vehicles, code words, armed bodyguard – very rock and roll lifestyle.
Then the balding, overweight, middle aged father, that is my reality, kicked in – and started to ask the question “WTF are you doing , going to a place where you need armored cars , armed bodyguards , and a security team monitoring you remotely!"
In my usual rational way though, looking for opinions from goaters on – is it really that bad in J’berg?, Or is a lot of common sense enough to get by ? (albeit one day is not in a good part of town!)
I’m having do to a short notice trip there next week (I was just born lucky) – and have just spent the last hour and a half with our corporate security team going through various arrangements.
I was expecting the usual don’t leave valuables on display – don’t stray into bad parts of town , keep a small amount of cash in a spare wallet to be able to hand over if robbed, etc (usual stuff). But some highlights of the brief included:
- · Your corporate cell phone must be on, and GPS enabled the entire time you are in country – we will be tracking your location.
- · You will be called 3 times a day, the response codes for all is normal, I am speaking under duress, I am in danger are: (X, Y, Z) – if you do not answer first time, you will be called again within an hour (but call back as soon as you see our missed call) – failure to answer twice and the emergency procedures kick in..
- · One of your days is in a ‘bad’ part of town - Your assigned bodyguard will meet you in your hotel lobby, he will be armed. The driver will take you to the office and pick you up, the car is bullet proofed, do not get in any other car without a call from us, do not walk off from your bodyguard.
- · If you are attacked and your bodyguard is killed or badly injured, keep calm! Run and hide, call us straight away and we will send a team to collect you based on your GPS location.
The little boy in me was thinking – Yay, armored vehicles, code words, armed bodyguard – very rock and roll lifestyle.
Then the balding, overweight, middle aged father, that is my reality, kicked in – and started to ask the question “WTF are you doing , going to a place where you need armored cars , armed bodyguards , and a security team monitoring you remotely!"
In my usual rational way though, looking for opinions from goaters on – is it really that bad in J’berg?, Or is a lot of common sense enough to get by ? (albeit one day is not in a good part of town!)