Doing research in conflict zones: Weighing the pros and cons

The offer came out of the blue. Would I like to go to Kabul to cooperate with one of our research partners in writing new texts for their website? How often do you get to go to Afghanistan? It is, in many ways, an offer you cannot refuse. But could I, a mother of three young children, go to a country the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells you to stay away from unless it is absolutely necessary? Will it ever be safe for a first-timer to go to Afghanistan? And exactly how Afghanistan savvy do you have to be to be safe in Kabul?

I was tempted, and consulted our research director and Afghanistan expert Arne Strand who has decades of experience working in Afghanistan, both as a researcher and for NGOs.

-No way, he said. Your work does not require that you go there. This is not the time to go to Afghanistan for the first time, not with the current security situation.

Arne Strand has decades of experience working in the country, both as an NGO representative and as a researcher. Throughout the years, he has formed an extensive network of local partners, many of whom are now his close friends. When you go to a country like Afghanistan, you have to expect unforeseen events. Experience can be vital. Local networks are essential, and a prerequisite for being as safe as possible in conflict zones.

In January, events showed, in the most brutal and dramatic way, that no amount of Afghanistan savviness guarantees safety. Arne Strand was badly injured in the Intercontinental terrorist attack in Kabul.

Should I stay or should I go?
-We cannot do research on development issues, rights and conflict without going to the countries in question. We have to meet and talk to the people who live there, the workers, the policymakers to get an understanding of what is going on, he says.

The risks are always there, but there are risks everywhere

- Unfortunately you cannot avoid risks anywhere, continues Arne. Actually, the risk of being injured in a traffic accident, being robbed or caught in a protest that turns violent are higher than being targeted by terrorists, continues Strand.

The one thing you are in control of though, is preparing and planning the practicalities. You have to use your networks, check, double-check and triple-check information. And when necessary, postpone.

Before checking in to Intercontinental Hotel in January, Strand made enquiries from many sources. He talked to the Norwegian Embassy in Kabul, to local research partners and to Afghan friends. His decision to stay at Intercontinental Hotel was based on weighing the pros and cons. The city centre is the most dangerous part of Kabul. The majority of attacks have been there, including on hotels. The guesthouses that used to be a safer spot for foreigners, have also become targets. Intercontinental Hotel is located outside the city centre, and staying there would spare him from any unnecessary travels through the centre. The majority of the offices he needed to visit during his stay, were either close to Intercontinental or could be reached without passing  the city centre. For the first time since the 1990s, he decided to stay at the Intercontinental.    

- It was a decision based on a very careful assessment of security and risks. Intercontinental is newly renovated, and has police, two sets of armed guards with dogs trained to detect explosives and a final check with metal detectors, says Strand.

As soon as he got there, news was circulated on the possibility of an imminent attack, but no one had any concrete information as to where or when it would happen. So, in retrospect, did he make the wrong choice? Could he have avoided being caught in the middle of a terrorist attack?

- That was the first thing I thought of when I woke up after the incident. I noticed that one of the metal detectors did not work that Saturday, and soon thought of the possibility of that being connected to how the attackers probably got into the hotel. Everything else appeared to be normal that day. I had no other indications of a possible threat. Otherwise I would have left the hotel, he says.

The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. The security company’s connections to the Taliban shows how volatile the situation is in Afghanistan right now, and how politics and business is creating an explosive blend. Because we do not really know why they had this link. Was it ideological support or just a matter of receiving money? This blend makes it even harder to assess security issues, says Strand.

Security issues have been an issue in Afghanistan for as long as he has been working there, but never as unpredictable as now. His research demands regular fieldtrips, but he has decided and promised his family that he will not go back for now. As long as it is difficult to make sense of the relations between what should be opposing political and military actors, it is better to wait until more clarity is established.

Working in conflict zones will always ultimately be a question of assessing the situation in collaboration with your local partners, weighing the risks and finally decide if it is worth taking your chances.

By Åse Johanne Roti Dahl