Six of us sat in the much-seen Land Rover. We are all representatives of international human rights organizations. We are in the sparsely populated interior of a country that has seen better days. Our destination is an abandoned agricultural complex, where we meet local partners who have been tortured in the regime's prisons and are willing to speak about it.
After a sharp bend, branches lay across the road. We stopped to clear the obstruction when masked men emerged from the woods. They held a machine gun at us and ordered us to stay in the vehicle. Then they ordered everyone out one by one and made us kneel on the side of the road.
Roadside checkpoints are common where there is armed conflict or where central authority is weak. Their goal is to gather information: who moves in the area and why? In the meantime, they obtain money or other valuables from passers-by. It is unpleasant to run into one of these, but in most cases it is possible to move on, since the goal is not to stop traffic, but to control it.
We also trusted that after a bit of shouting and pushing, maybe a few dollars poorer, we would continue our journey. We didn't want to spend too much time here, because our cover story - that we are journalists - collapses the sooner the longer we are questioned. And human rights defenders are not welcome guests in that region. It didn't happen that way. Suddenly, one of the team members questioned one of the masked men in a raised voice, who not-so-gently led him back to the car. Don't push me around! I didn't give you permission to touch me! I'm a journalist, I'm just doing my job, who do you think you are to treat us this way?!
The result: the masked man with a machine gun felt ashamed, apologized, and took a step back from our colleague who was standing up for her own integrity. No, not really. Just the opposite: they put a sack over her head, tied her hands behind her back and separated her from the group. As a result of the incident, the armed men saw fit to search our rented Land Rover and, according to their claim, found live ammunition under one of the seats. We will never know if they put it there or if a previous renter left it there. Anyway, after that we were also tied up and taken into the forest.
The reason I have a way to tell the story is because luckily it was just a HEAT (Hostile Environment Awareness Training) role play, similar to what we do in Pivot Brigade trainings. The lessons learned were summarized by the leader of the exercise, an ex-special forces operator who served in the elite British SAS commando: in risky situations where you are at the mercy of others, remain gray, uninteresting, and boring. Don't attract your opponent's attention. If the other person has the weapon or other physical advantage, do not be aggressive. Our colleague, who spoke out against the treatment, not only put herself in danger, but also the entire team. Don't fight when your opponent wants you to, but when it's best for you.
Although our daily lives are not commando training, the principles of maintaining personal safety are the same. Simply put, if you don't have anything in your hand, you don't want to be a hero. Be the gray person who has nothing to notice. Don't be conspicuously obedient, but don't look for a conflict from which you can only come out as a loser. Avoid dangerous situations as long as possible. You don't have to win every battle that life throws at you. It's better to have your pride hurt than to be beaten in the head. The former can be cured, the latter may not.