What not to do during an international crisis
These are uneasy times. Talk of war, terrorism and gratuitous violence is wearing us down. Comforting, then that, here in Germany at least, the fear and hysteria currently sweeping the United States and Britain has not yet taken hold. Indeed, if media reports are to be believed, in the US and the UK even otherwise sane members of society have succumbed to the paranoia and begun equipping themselves for worst-case terror scenarios. After putting the nation on a state of high alert for terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security in the US suggested people use duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal off their homes against possible chemical and biological attacks. So thousands of people across America rushed out and bought acres of sheeting and miles of tape with which to protect themselves. As it turns out, such measures would be completely useless in the event of a real attack: plastic sheeting and tape would never seal a room completely and anyhow the build up of carbon dioxide in a hermetically sealed environment could itself be a health hazard. Now the only crisis facing Americans is what to do with all the tape cluttering their basements (see News & Views for ideas). In the UK, where people have traditionally prided themselves on being less dramatic than their friends in the US, gas masks are the new must-have. Unbelievably, the fans of this new headwear fashion are Mr. Joe Average (that is, not just those who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic). The stocks of gas masks in army surplus stores are being depleted while parents kit out children, grandparents, neighbors and pets with dusty World War II masks. Unfortunately, as with the duct tape, wearing a gas mask night and day will probably do more harm than good. Not only do most masks have sell-by dates, which have long passed, but older models come with a warning that the filter may contain asbestos. Perhaps owning one, effective or not, is reassurance enough. Since none of us, however, is completely immune to this kind of panic, it is good to know what you can do to prepare for an emergency if the current political situation is robbing you of your sleep. Make sure that you are registered. Here in Munich you do this at the Kreisverwaltungsreferat, Ruppertstrasse 19. To save time, you can download the appropriate form from the website www.muenchen.de/referat/kvr/. Remember to take your passport and relevant documents along. Websites such as www.redcross.org are useful, and have information listed under the heading “Terrorism—Preparing for the Unexpected.” It may seem a little melodramatic to be looking at sites like this when we are living in a comparatively low-risk country, but the advice is practical and rational and as the Red Cross points out, there is no harm in being prepared. Some people in the US are volunteering to have the controversial smallpox vaccine to protect themselves against a possible biological terror attack. Before rushing out to get this much-debated vaccine, you might want to weigh up the pros and cons. You can find further information at www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/index.asp. If something were to happen here in Munich, friends and family back home should contact the foreign commonwealth office, or equivalent, in their own country, where they would be given advice and support. Alternatively they can contact the consulates directly.