"...becoming a better NGO security officer"
29/10/07 19:36 Filed in: NGO
Security |
Tools
I was feeling a little depressed over the weekend. I’d
reread Paul’s post on why he wasn’t
liveblogging the Global Symposium +5 in Geneva. It
bothered me. I could sense his frustration at what he
sees as the slow progress in the world of humanitarian
information exchange. Maybe I’m reading too much into
it but I thought I could detect a similar sentiment at
the NGO security blog in
recent weeks as well. Of course there is
a good chance it’s just me.
When I started this blog I had a vague idea that I could share some ideas and maybe pass on a little hard won wisdom. I suppose I also thought that I could, in a small way, influence the course of the NGO security world. Seeing people I respect have doubts made me question whether I could make a difference. In effect, “what the hell makes me think I can change anything when these guys, so much more articulate and educated than myself, are feeling stymied?”
Fortunately for me, and my mood, serendipity intervened. I received three packages. Two are ‘tech toys’ with a security bent (I’ll post about them over the next couple of days). I’m a geek at heart so shiny gadgets, software, and such always pick me up. It was the third package that really made the difference however.
OK, I confess that it wasn’t really a package per se but ‘three packages’ just sounds better. Actually it was a video I downloaded off the web and hadn’t watched until this morning. It’s a presentation by a guy named Stephen Downes at the National Research Council, Institute for Information Technology, in Canada. I won’t bore you with the details. You can watch it yourself below. Go ahead, don't let the lead frame fool you.
Stephen’s presentation made me realize that I had it wrong. This blog is not about me teaching. It’s about me learning. It’s about learning the way I always wanted to learn. It’s about me becoming a better NGO security officer... or maybe just better.
Through blogs, RSS feeds, email, YouTube, Skype and a myriad of other online tools I’m connected to, and learning from, people who aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and strive for something beyond the status quo. I have access to teachers who are also fellow students. I have access to fields of endeavour too niche for textbooks and lectures. When was the last time you saw a textbook about “Security Reporting, Accessible Maps and GeoRSS” or “YouTube for Security Training”?
All of this has been a round about way of getting to what I really want to say. To all my teacher-students out there, you are making a difference. Thank you.
Note: If you’re not sure if I mean you I probably do. You can also check out the sidebar on the resource page for some hints if you are still unsure.
When I started this blog I had a vague idea that I could share some ideas and maybe pass on a little hard won wisdom. I suppose I also thought that I could, in a small way, influence the course of the NGO security world. Seeing people I respect have doubts made me question whether I could make a difference. In effect, “what the hell makes me think I can change anything when these guys, so much more articulate and educated than myself, are feeling stymied?”
Fortunately for me, and my mood, serendipity intervened. I received three packages. Two are ‘tech toys’ with a security bent (I’ll post about them over the next couple of days). I’m a geek at heart so shiny gadgets, software, and such always pick me up. It was the third package that really made the difference however.
OK, I confess that it wasn’t really a package per se but ‘three packages’ just sounds better. Actually it was a video I downloaded off the web and hadn’t watched until this morning. It’s a presentation by a guy named Stephen Downes at the National Research Council, Institute for Information Technology, in Canada. I won’t bore you with the details. You can watch it yourself below. Go ahead, don't let the lead frame fool you.
Stephen’s presentation made me realize that I had it wrong. This blog is not about me teaching. It’s about me learning. It’s about learning the way I always wanted to learn. It’s about me becoming a better NGO security officer... or maybe just better.
Through blogs, RSS feeds, email, YouTube, Skype and a myriad of other online tools I’m connected to, and learning from, people who aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and strive for something beyond the status quo. I have access to teachers who are also fellow students. I have access to fields of endeavour too niche for textbooks and lectures. When was the last time you saw a textbook about “Security Reporting, Accessible Maps and GeoRSS” or “YouTube for Security Training”?
All of this has been a round about way of getting to what I really want to say. To all my teacher-students out there, you are making a difference. Thank you.
Note: If you’re not sure if I mean you I probably do. You can also check out the sidebar on the resource page for some hints if you are still unsure.
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Saturday Morning Security
27/10/07 11:01 Filed in: Humor
The Real Weapon of Mass Destruction
21/10/07 09:19 Filed in: Security
The Al Jazeera network has an
interesting story on the the real weapon of mass
destruction, the AK-47. If you've
worked in a conflict zone you've probably seen and
heard it. If you are an aid worker you've probably
seen the results of its use. It is the weapon of
choice for revolutionaries, dictators, drug lords,
and child soldiers.
Part two includes an interview with former child soldier Ishmael Beah, author of "A Long Way Gone".
Part two includes an interview with former child soldier Ishmael Beah, author of "A Long Way Gone".
Surviving an Air Crash
Popular Mechanics has an interesting article on how to
survive an airline accident in "Safest Seat on a
Plane". It seems there is some benefit to
being unable to afford first class.
Twitter in Emergencies
This morning I came across Luis Suarez’s very
informative post about micro-blogging in
emergencies at elsua.net. His post led me to a
great YouTube video
by W David Stephenson.
David’s video led me to the American Red Cross’s twitter feed and their Safe and Well feed. Ike Pigott at Occam’s RazR has a great post that explains how Twitter can be used to keep the Safe and Well database up to date.
I left a comment on Ike’s site wondering about how to get the word out to the general public. After all most people wont be reading blogs like this before an emergency. While I was writing this post it occurred to me that Red Cross t-shirts would be the ideal medium. Just include the instructions for how to SMS the Safe and Well feed on the back of the shirt.
David’s video led me to the American Red Cross’s twitter feed and their Safe and Well feed. Ike Pigott at Occam’s RazR has a great post that explains how Twitter can be used to keep the Safe and Well database up to date.
I left a comment on Ike’s site wondering about how to get the word out to the general public. After all most people wont be reading blogs like this before an emergency. While I was writing this post it occurred to me that Red Cross t-shirts would be the ideal medium. Just include the instructions for how to SMS the Safe and Well feed on the back of the shirt.
Twitter Tracking for Security and an Answer
Twitter has added the ability
to track keywords. Now
whenever someone sends a public update containing
your word or phrase of interest you’ll receive a
copy of the update. How is this useful for NGO
security officers? I’m currently tracking several
towns in trouble areas, Tsunami, and a variety of
other keywords. You’re only limited by your
creativity. One word or warning though: you’ll get
ALL public updates with the search term, even ones
in languages you don’t speak.
I've also finally added the solution to our geographic distribution analysis problem.
I've also finally added the solution to our geographic distribution analysis problem.
Vacancy - Security Coordinator - Relief International
02/10/07 19:38 Filed in: Security
Jobs
Relief International is looking for a Security
Co-ordinator for Iraq. Fluency in English and Arabic is
required. If you think you are up to the challenge
check out the TOR here.
Aid Worker Killed - Sri Lanka
02/10/07 18:12 Filed in: Security
Incident
I met the Rev Fr Nicholaspillai
Packiyaranjith of the Jesuit Refugee
Services while I was in Mannar district a few
weeks ago. He struck me as a quiet, principled
man, who was dedicated to his beliefs and service
to others. Despite the difficult security
situation in the area he continued to work hard to
bring relief to the poorest and most vulnerable.
In short he was the type of man I endeavour to be.
On the afternoon of 26 September 2007 while travelling towards Vellankulam in an LTTE controlled area of Mannar his vehicle was struck by a command detonated Claymore. Fr. Packiyaranjith was killed instantly. His driver was severely injured.
No one has accepted responsibility for this brutal and myopic act. Nor is anyone likely to. The government blames the LTTE. The LTTE blame the government.
Over the weekend the sheer senselessness of his death left me feeling frustrated and depressed. This morning however, I had a revelation. Fr. Packiyaranjith was the type who, if he had been given the choice, would have chosen to spend his last moments in his quest to help others.
Sri Lanka needs more like him.
On the afternoon of 26 September 2007 while travelling towards Vellankulam in an LTTE controlled area of Mannar his vehicle was struck by a command detonated Claymore. Fr. Packiyaranjith was killed instantly. His driver was severely injured.
No one has accepted responsibility for this brutal and myopic act. Nor is anyone likely to. The government blames the LTTE. The LTTE blame the government.
Over the weekend the sheer senselessness of his death left me feeling frustrated and depressed. This morning however, I had a revelation. Fr. Packiyaranjith was the type who, if he had been given the choice, would have chosen to spend his last moments in his quest to help others.
Sri Lanka needs more like him.
Social Networking Tools Part 2 - Twitter and Tsunamis
On 12 and 13 September there were a series of
earthquakes near Indonesia spawning fears of another
Asian Tsunami. It proved to be a good test of our
Twitter based NGO security tree.
I was in Mannar, Sri Lanka at the time and I didn’t have a useable Internet connection. My first warning of the situation came when a concerned staff member called wanting to know “when is the Tsunami going to hit!” As the fear of a Tsunami spread I started to receive more and more calls from staff. Soon the mobile system was completely overburdened in many parts of the country and creaking under the strain in others. The very slow, single line dial-up Internet connection continued to work but proved to be all but useless for gathering timely information.
Fortunately I quickly started to get SMS’s. Some came from feeds I was following on Twitter: BBC, Reuters, CNN, EQTW, etc. Others came directly or were forwarded from UNOCHA, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, the Met office, the police and assorted individuals. Twitter allowed me to quickly forward the useful ones to all my followers while limiting the strain on the overburdened mobile system.
There were some glitches however. I continued to receive forwarded text message warnings long after credible sources had given the all clear. In some instances it seems that text messages became trapped in the telephone companies’ SMS system and were released as the queue began to clear. In some cases staff, confused by contradictory information, continued to forward outdated information.
Unfortunately the biggest problem with the Twitter based NGO security tree was one of buy in. Only a fraction of the staff who were intended to be served by the tree had bothered to sign up. The manual SMS security tree, which had been left in place as a backup, failed for much the same reason.
Lesson Learned: While emergency communications tools continue to improve, and become easier to use, buy in remains the number one problem. NGO staff members, especially office staff, often prove reluctant to dedicate even minimal effort to their own personal security until it proves too late.
For some background, check out “Social Networking tools for NGO Security – Part 1”.
To see a live feed of the NGO Security stream check out the demo page here. There is a Jaiku based stream as well.
I was in Mannar, Sri Lanka at the time and I didn’t have a useable Internet connection. My first warning of the situation came when a concerned staff member called wanting to know “when is the Tsunami going to hit!” As the fear of a Tsunami spread I started to receive more and more calls from staff. Soon the mobile system was completely overburdened in many parts of the country and creaking under the strain in others. The very slow, single line dial-up Internet connection continued to work but proved to be all but useless for gathering timely information.
Fortunately I quickly started to get SMS’s. Some came from feeds I was following on Twitter: BBC, Reuters, CNN, EQTW, etc. Others came directly or were forwarded from UNOCHA, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, the Met office, the police and assorted individuals. Twitter allowed me to quickly forward the useful ones to all my followers while limiting the strain on the overburdened mobile system.
There were some glitches however. I continued to receive forwarded text message warnings long after credible sources had given the all clear. In some instances it seems that text messages became trapped in the telephone companies’ SMS system and were released as the queue began to clear. In some cases staff, confused by contradictory information, continued to forward outdated information.
Unfortunately the biggest problem with the Twitter based NGO security tree was one of buy in. Only a fraction of the staff who were intended to be served by the tree had bothered to sign up. The manual SMS security tree, which had been left in place as a backup, failed for much the same reason.
Lesson Learned: While emergency communications tools continue to improve, and become easier to use, buy in remains the number one problem. NGO staff members, especially office staff, often prove reluctant to dedicate even minimal effort to their own personal security until it proves too late.
For some background, check out “Social Networking tools for NGO Security – Part 1”.
To see a live feed of the NGO Security stream check out the demo page here. There is a Jaiku based stream as well.