Civilian contractors are sending foreign workers into Iraq with none of the combat-zone awareness training that's become the norm for war correspondents and aid workers, says a British firm that specialises in "hostile environment" courses.
Some 40 foreigners from at least 12 countries were missing or abducted in Iraq as of Wednesday, and while the identities of most of them are unknown, at least 11 of them - seven Americans and four Italians - worked for private firms.
This month's rash of hostage-takings in Iraq ought to be setting off alarm bells among the big oil companies, construction firms, telecoms suppliers and others eager to cash in on Iraq's post-war reconstruction.
But Paul Rees of Centurion Risk Assessment Services said Wednesday he's appalled at how many civilian contractors are dispatching workers to Iraq with no training, no body armour and no specialised first-aid gear.
Most of the companies that are sending people out do not even consider doing any safety training," Rees said. "That's going to be their downfall, once they're out there."
Centurion maintains 38 "safety advisers" in Iraq, where they provide refresher training and on-the-spot advice to news media and non-governmental organisations.
They also provide material for a fortnightly newsletter, freely available on a specialised Centurion website (www.themediasafety.net), that frankly sets out the perils lurking in Iraq.
The most recent issue warns of highway robbers armed with rocket-propelled grenades, ambushes taking place "anywhere where there is an opportunity," "dummy" road blocks and "improvised explosive devices".
Centurion was set up in 1995 as news organisations - shaken by the deaths of several journalists in the wars in the former Yugoslavia - sought specialised training for their staff.
Rees said it has since trained some 14,000 reporters, photographers and TV cameramen at its centres in Britain and the United States.
Non-governmental organisations have followed suit, and several rival companies - often, like Centurion, staffed with former military instructors - have set up shop.
"Hostile environment" training does not come cheap, however.
Rees said Centurion's five-day residential course at its headquarters in Andover, southern England costs 1,625 pounds (2,435 euros, 2,900 dollars) - all inclusive "apart from the bar bill".
Shorter, tailor-made courses are also available.
British employers in particular need to consider the fact that they might be liable under British health and safety laws if any of their workers is killed, injured or kidnapped in Iraq, he said.
For anyone who has not undergone training, and gets kidnapped in Iraq, Rees offered this core advice: "Try and remain calm."
"Your adrenaline is going to be pumping big-style... Control your breathing. React when you need to. What the hostage-takers tell you to do, do it. Do not talk to them unless they talk to you. Be polite to them; don't antagonise them. And always think that you're going to get out of it alive."
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