Last night’s awful tragic deaths from the attack on the Bassam resort in the Ivory Coast serve as a poignant reminder of the dangers facing international travelers going about their daily lives and business.
This most recent attack joins the lengthening list of similar assaults on hotels and popular venues in Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Mali and Egypt in recent months. The recurring theme in all these savage attacks is the direct targeting by Islamists of Western expatriate and local well-to-do residents for execution in such remote or out of the way locations once considered safe by the very nature of their remoteness. This coupled with the normal dangers expected from criminal and local politics adds another level to the thought and preparation required for doing business in these little visited areas.
At this sad time I would like to reaffirm my, and all OAM (Middle East)’s experienced personnel’s commitment to our clients in the field in minimising the risk and dangers we increasingly face.
Yours
John Gartner