Communication

Your ability to communicate with editors, clients, friends and family depends greatly on where you’re actually going. Many places in the world have good cell reception. Some places even have Internet access.

For my trip to Sierra Leone, I rented a cell phone from Cellular Abroad. The phone worked OK most times, but it was expensive, and didn’t work when I really needed it. Luckily, my driver’s local phone worked just fine.

Since then, I’ve purchased a $50 unlocked GSM phone on eBay, and international prepaid SIM card from OneSimCard. Now, when I travel, I’ve got communication the minute I land, which is very important when your fixer is nowhere to be found at the airport. When I get situated, I’ll buy a local SIM card, and use that to make all my calls. Local cell service is almost always cheaper and more reliable, and GSM is the de facto world standard.

Depending on where you are, you may be able to purchase a cellular USB device to connect to the Web, but don’t count on it. If you’re using a Windows machine, keep it isolated from local computers. Never use a USB drive to transfer files back and forth. While there are plenty of computers in the developing world, many of them are packed to the brim with malicious software. The last thing you need is for your computer to go down in the field.

Before you leave, it’s a good idea to put together a list of emergency contacts to leave with friends, family, or whoever else you may rely on back home. You should have one person designated as your main contact in case of trouble, someone who can coordinate anything you may need. A spouse or immediate relative is the best choice: it’ll be easier for them to get information from governmental and medical organizations. You may also want to consider giving your main contact power of attorney, so they can access your bank accounts in an emergency.

The emergency contact list should be comprehensive, include numbers for your client or employer, other family members, embassies or consulates both the country you’re in, the State Department and the local American presence. You’ll also want to include more mundane things, like the maintenance number for your apartment, your veterinarian or church.

This last part didn’t really occur to me until I watched Jon Stewart’s interview Roxana Saberi last week.

Prearrange “help” signals. If something happens, you need a way to say “I’m in trouble” without saying “I’m in trouble.”

Improvising and hoping the person on the other end can read between the lines is unreliable at best.

It has to be something simple and innocuous, like asking how your non-existent dog or uncle is doing.  Discuss the signal, and what to do when it happens, ahead of time. Hopefully it’s something you’ll never use.