State Department STEP: Travel warnings, alerts, and emergency assistance

The tragedy that befell Paris this past Friday was horrific. Apparently three teams of terrorists staged coordinated attacks at six locations in Paris. At this time 129 people have been reported killed in the attacks and more than 350 wounded. Almost one hundred continue in serious condition as of yesterday. More could die.
Considerable confusion followed the attacks. Paris is one of the world’s great cities, attracting more than 33 million tourists each year. During the confusion, tourists and Parisians alike sought information. Friends and family were desperate to communicate with loved ones visiting Paris. Some were able to contact them, while others weren’t.
While Paris this past Friday was an extreme example of what can happen while traveling internationally, there are regularly events and conditions world-wide which can greatly affect traveler safety, causing serious problems for travelers.
Many travelers got caught in Cairo during the Arab Spring protests in 2011 which turned very violent. I was in Cairo just before the protests in Tahrir Square began. In fact, I drove through it to Cairo International just hours before the first major protests started there. During my time in Cairo, the climate was very dicey. Fortunately, arrangements were made for armed protection of our group.
I was in Buenos Aires in December, 2012, when major protests against the national government occurred in that beautiful city. Fortunately, they remained peaceful, though forceful throughout.
I had friends trapped in Patagonia, in southern Chile, in 2011. Road blocks by locals protesting fuel price rises sometimes became violent. Fortunately, in behind the scenes efforts, the US State Department arranged for an evacuation of US citizens from the area.
In 2011, a particularly bad year for US travelers abroad, the US government evacuated 2,350 people from Egypt, and others from Tunisia and Libya. They helped US Nationals get out of Sendai, Japan after the earthquake and tsunami that year, too.
In Cairo, after leaving, friends who remained behind remarked to me later, communication home became difficult, except through the US State Department. The same was true about my friends in Patagonia. While I had no trouble calling home in 2012 from Buenos Aires, I was thankful the US State Department was keeping me informed of the situation there.
Communication, and the evacuations in Cairo and Patagonia, were facilitated by the US State Department’s STEP program, as well as the alerts I received about Buenos Aires, Argentina.
STEP stands for Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. As a frequent traveler I enrolled in STEP years ago. Prior to each international trip I enter my complete itinerary, including each hotel at which I’m staying. I enter information about how to contact me while traveling, who my emergency contacts are and how to contact them in case of trouble. I enter as much detailed information about each trip as possible, so in case of trouble the US State Department can locate and help me.
As part of the service, the State Department contacts me with Travel Alerts and Warnings as issued. I have gotten specific warnings about trouble spots while traveling. The State Department will even issue weather warnings to US Nationals, when needed.
The STEP program can also help US Nationals get home after losing their passports or having them stolen. It can help families contact citizens who are traveling if the families have suffered an emergency.
I use the free Smart Traveler app on my iPhone, which enables me to access my STEP information, country specific information, plus travel warnings and alerts. It also gives travelers instant access to the State Department’s Twitter feed and Facebook page.
In addition to the STEP program, which is free for all US Nationals, the State Department has general information about each country in the world which, in my opinion, every US National should review before leaving the country for their destinations.
Included in the country information is data about safety and security. Political situations and crime is discussed, along with general safety and security. Information about how to contact the State Department is listed, as well as that country’s US Embassy website, which contains up-to-date information about the country.
As events unfold, specific information is updated regularly on embassy websites. Since the attacks in Paris on Friday, several notices have been posted on the US Embassy in Paris’ website for US Nationals.
With the seriousness of the France terror attacks on Friday, the US State Department’s Consular Affairs website added a Paris contact form to the site to help travelers and families of travelers to communicate with the US State Department and with each other and get information in case of trouble. They regularly do this for special trouble spots in the world.
Some travelers have privacy concerns about giving so much information to the US State Department. While privacy is always a concern when you have private individual and family information online, the US State Department does work to keep your information private.
I made the decision that, for me, it’s more important for my safety and security, and the well being of my family, to use the STEP program to permit the US State Department to keep me safe in troubled times and chance unlikely privacy problems than not avail myself of their assistance.
My condolences to the families of those who died in the attack on Paris, and my best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for those still hospitalized due to injuries from the attack.
(Image: Protest march in the Monserrat Neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Copyright © 2015 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.)