USDANEWS VOLUME 57 NO.5 - JUNE/JULY 1998

How Our Colleagues Coped With Evacuation From A Foreign Hotspot

     One Luggage Item, No Pets, Uncertainty

by Ron Hall, Office of Communications

If you're a news junkie, then no doubt you've been devouring recent stories that have carried a "Jakarta, Indonesia" dateline. That capital city has been the scene of much excitement, angst, turmoil, and change of late.

If you're a USDA employee working there, you may share those emotions, even as you do your part to carry out the Department's mission in that geographical area.

But when words like "peril," "threat," and "risk" are used to describe a crisis there, then--notwithstanding the importance of the USDA mission--it may be "time to leave." That's what happened recently to three employees of the Foreign Agricultural Service in Jakarta, when they were ordered by the U.S. State Department to evacuate that city and return to the U.S.

Robin Tilsworth, the USDA agricultural counselor with FAS in Indonesia, is based at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. She explained that all U.S. embassies must have an emergency plan in place which determines when a situation--whether political, economic, or natural disaster--reaches a point when Americans are no longer considered safe there.

Things look pretty serene for FAS's Margie Bauer (back row, far right, holding soda can), as she poses for the camera in front of her apartment complex in Jakarta, Indonesia with fellow employees of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, as well as with three local Indonesians. But five minutes later, she was hurrying to the Jakarta airport to fly out of the country, as part of the mandatory evacuation of American employees of the Embassy.
--Photo by Rich Tarelton

"When that 'trigger point' is reached," she advised, "it applies to all Americans in the area--whether embassy employees, business persons, military personnel, dependents, tourists, students, or missionaries--because the embassy must notify all Americans in the area consistently, regarding evacuation."

"The decision to order an evacuation will be disruptive--so it's not taken lightly."

Dennis Voboril, FAS's agricultural attache in Jakarta, said that several levels of evacuation had been established by Embassy personnel. In the first level, any American employee of the Embassy who felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave was granted "Authorized Departure." "Only one employee took it," he recounted.

That was May 14; that level lasted one day.

Margie Bauer, FAS's agricultural trade officer in Jakarta, noted that by May 15 events had changed so much that "Authorized Departure" was replaced by "Ordered Departure." "This meant that all American employees of the Embassy not on the 'essential' list were ordered to leave immediately."

"Because this particular situation was viewed as a 'political crisis'," she added, "all us Embassy employees who focus on agricultural and/or commercial matters were judged to be 'non-essential'--so we were ordered to leave." All other Americans were advised to leave.

At the "crisis center" set up at the U.S. Embassy, employees used a "phone tree" to notify Americans of developments. They also used e-mail and the Internet to communicate.

By that evening, Embassy personnel had set up three staging areas around Jakarta to handle the departure, by air, of 2,400 Americans. "The services were made available to all Americans," she noted. "But non-government employees and their dependents had to pay for their seats on the flight."

Voboril and his family were aboard one of the two charter 747 aircraft which left Jakarta that evening. "I guess I had the biggest elbows," he quipped.

Voboril explained that in an evacuation situation such as this, FAS employees are automatically reassigned to the agency's headquarters in Washington, DC, and receive a subsistence allowance while there.

At the same time, dependents are ordered to a "Safehaven." "Sometimes that's nearby," he said. "In this case, the State Department established the 'Safehaven' in 'CONUS,' or 'continental United States'--so our families could come to Washington or locate somewhere else in the U.S., for the time being."

Tilsworth and Bauer evacuated the next day--May 16.

With cardboard boxes being packed and clutter the order of the hour, it looks like moving day in the Jakarta, Indonesia apartment of FAS's Margie Bauer. Well, that's partly true--but, actually, it's evacuation day. She and two FAS colleagues were among the many Americans ordered to evacuate that country because of the recent political and economic upheaval.
--Photo by Margie Bauer

Tilsworth noted that each evacuee was allowed to bring one piece of luggage plus one carry-on bag. "But there were no size limits on the luggage," she laughed, "so everyone's carry-on bags were absolutely huge."

And what does one pack when one's return date is uncertain?

"It was a big decision," Bauer observed. "I needed to decide what papers to bring with me, and I figured I could always buy more clothes some other time."

"But I had to ask myself 'What is really important--and, especially if I never come back, what do I really need'?"

Personnel were not allowed to evacuate their pets--and Tilsworth and Voboril both have pet dogs. "I don't believe that dogs are all that highly regarded in that geographic area," observed Tilsworth. "But I'm sure they're at least receiving minimal care with the local personnel who are assigned to watch over our residences in our absence."

"Cats," quipped Bauer, "thrive on minimal care--so my two should be okay."

Voboril said that, back in April, U.S. embassy personnel held seminars for American employees and their dependents which provided tips on evacuation, such as "Have lots of carry-on cash with you prior to departure."

So how does one cope with the uncertainty that is no doubt a part of all decisions related to an evacuation?

"It comes in waves," Tilsworth said. "There's only so much you can bear."

Back in Washington, DC, the three foreign service officers continued to work with the 9 Indonesians who constituted the remaining FAS staffers in Jakarta. "The nature of our jobs has changed," Bauer advised. "Our normal 'reporting schedules' have been suspended, and it's obviously harder to get data we rely on."

Voboril said they continue to monitor prices and food supplies in that area. "Food issues have remained key during the political and economic upheaval," he noted. "Depreciation and inflation have affected prices."

Tilsworth added that they continue to communicate daily with their 'onsite colleagues.' "I think we've created the ultimate in 'telecommuting'," she quipped.

And when might they return--if at all?

Bauer explained that the initial evacuation was for a mandatory period of 30 days. Following a review of the situation, employees then have 10 days to return to their assignments--if and when they get the word to go.

"The Embassy wants to be very sure about the stability of the situation before we get the high-sign to return," she said.

"The situation is all highly fluid right now."

Editor's Note: On June 22 Tilsworth and Bauer returned to onsite duty in Jakarta. Voboril had reported back several days earlier. ¤

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