Responding in Egypt Inspired by events in Tunisia, anti- government protests spread across Egypt. With security specialists supporting clients on the ground in Tunisia, International SOS and Control Risks were already active in the region.
Domino effect
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ery few countries in the Arab world remained unaffected by social unrest in the first quarter
of 2011. The crises, together with the natural disasters in New Zealand and Japan, created unprecedented, sustained demand for assistance from International SOS and Control Risks. Both organizations flexed resources to provide end-to-end support to members affected.
Unprecedented demand b International SOS’ and Control Risks’ clients operating in the region come from a wide range of sectors – from oil and gas, engineering and manufacturing to finance and technology companies, management consultancies, and colleges and universities with students studying abroad.
Between January and March, around 3,000 evacuations were carried out to help over 450 global clients get
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travelers and expatriates home safely and securely from Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. More widely, International SOS and Control Risks stayed in regular communication with clients, their employees and their families through their global network of medical, security and logistics experts. In many cases teams provided remote advice and support to members staying in offices, hotels and corporate compounds until they could leave safely.
Downfall in Tunisia Arguably, events in Tunisia and Egypt were not anticipated by some organizations because of the relatively low levels of perceived risk.
The downfall of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January followed weeks of violent protests. Already in contact with clients through regular Travel Advisories, International SOS and Control Risks identified 373 members in Tunisia through TravelTracker and on January 14 established a lead crisis team in Paris. An incident management team of travel security experts was immediately deployed to Tunis to help clients on the ground, with the subsequent evacuation of over 180 members.
Stressful environment The lead crisis management team in London, supported by teams in Dubai, Philadelphia, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Paris, facilitated over 1,200 evacuations out of Egypt on charter and commercial flights. International SOS reception teams in Paris and Dubai helped evacuees through immigration, carried out medical screening to ensure their health, and arranged hotel bookings and onward travel.
With violence and looting on the streets, and with one hotel accommodating clients under attack, the crisis proved stressful for some members. International SOS gave medical assistance to patients in Cairo for which established networks and providers proved critical.
Continuing crisis The ousting of long-established leaders in Tunisia and Egypt had a domino effect. With tensions escalating to Bahrain, protestors occupying the centre
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