Unpredicted events

Once they have identified the ‘eliminate’ or ‘minimise’ elements of the risk management process, researchers will be aware of what to do, where and how to access help when adverse events occur. However, anticipating and planning for all possible scenarios is not humanly possible, due to the high volatility of post-war environments. As a result, occurrences of unexpected events are bound to happen and most decision-making in such events tends to happen under fear and duress. Decision-making in fearful and spontaneous circumstances usually demand quick responses that may not necessarily produce favourable outcomes (Evans & Curtis-Holmes, 2005). Therefore, researchers should be aware of the fact that quick responses may not be their own favour, where they may find it difficult to make rational decisions under pressure, irrespective of prior planning and experience. Although this is not specific to post-war zones, one of the experiences of this researcher provides an example of an unexpected event that placed the researcher in grave danger. While driving late one evening, this researcher came face to face with two adult wild elephants and a calf on the road. In a fearful state, where the researcher was alone and in darkness, the situation could have produced clouded judgment or no judgment at all (a frozen state). This would have placed the researcher in a confrontational position with the wild elephants in a matter of seconds. It is known that elephant parents protecting their offspring tend to be aggressive and become spontaneously violent. Although the researcher managed to escape from this occasion unharmed, the lesson here is to recognise that when unpredictable events occur, the tendency to make quick decisions may not produce the best outcomes. Therefore, it is recommended to postpone the decision-making when in a fearful state or under duress, where possible, in order to accommodate a thoughtful decision-making process, where time allows.