A couple of things to note with this article. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. If companies want to do business in Afghanistan, then they are going to have to invest in security. Obviously this ‘guard’ was not thoroughly vetted or that the security company tasked with watching their employees did not keep up with a ‘constant’ vetting process.
But vetting costs money, and if business does not want to pay for that expenditure in a contract, then they will get substandard guard service.
The other thing I wanted to mention, is that the salaries need to go up in Afghanistan. If we are to follow the Iraq model, then we can deduct that the Taliban are going to continue their attacks in the cities. That they will continue to attack businesses, create chaos, and try to scare any foreign interests away. This tactic will hurt the government and hurt the war effort, and hurt the local populations. And if the people lose faith in the Government’s ability to protect them, then that only helps the Taliban cause.
Yet again, the market dictates. If big business is scared off because of this stuff, then they are scared off. But if the upcoming US administration and the current Afghani administration wants to keep business there, then they are going to have to get busy in either protecting them or giving some kind of incentive to keep them there.
And if you are a company representative that is doing research about security in Afghanistan, all I will have to say is pay up if you want to play. Just like the shipping industry is starting to see the light about security in the Gulf of Aden, you too will have to make security adjustments to be able to operate in Afghanistan. That’s if you think that buck is worth the effort there.
But if you do want to stay, one adjustment that you can do is guard your high level company leaders with substantial security. That is a no brainer to me. Pay the money, and get yourself a protective detail that knows their stuff. Or continue to think that no one wants to kill you?
Now I will not suggest low profile or high profile security, because that is up to the guy on the ground that is assigned to protect you. All I will suggest is to pay the money to get a professional group that has your best interest and life in mind when they make decisions, and they have the experience to back up those decisions.
The other adjustment is that if you are going to hire local nationals to do your security, then you should have a security expert review that contract. Pay the money for a guy that comes highly recommended and is trustworthy, to act as quality control for the security services provided and to help write up a good contract in the first place. Pay a good salary, and keep him around for awhile. You cannot just hire a local company, and expect quality service–you need a third party to watch them. You actually have to pay attention and watch that service like a hawk, and ensure that you are getting a quality product. But yet again, that costs money.
Hopefully we will see the adjustments needed, to give those that are over there doing business, the best chance of survival. You see this played out time and time again. Security is something you should not be going cheap on, if you care about your employees and want to do business in a war zone. –Head Jundi
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Killings increase Westerners’ fears in Afghan capital
October 26, 2008
KABUL (AFP) — The gunning down of three Westerners in the Afghan capital in less than a week is a sharp reminder that Kabul is no longer a safe haven in a country gripped by violence, expatriates say.
Saturday’s shooting of a Briton and a South African, along with an Afghan, outside the offices of the international shipping company DHL appears to have been the result of a dispute unrelated to a growing Taliban insurgency.
Nevertheless, it feeds a sense of insecurity with international residents already concerned by Monday’s killing of a British-South African aid worker and a series of attacks against expatriates this year.
“It is the unpredictability of security incidents which is making it difficult,” said Anu John, who has been in Kabul for 15 months employed by an international non-government organisation.
“The security seems to have deteriorated significantly in the last three to four months… the changes are pretty visible,” she said.
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