Rethinking Survival for Modern Times

Much of the prepper and survivalist movement revolves around wilderness survival and bushcraft skills (what used to be known as camping). Virtually every episode of every survivalist-type TV show depicts these skills. These are useful skills to learn. However, most modern survival situations won't see us stuck on a deserted island or lost in a jungle. We are much more likely to face survival situations that require different skill sets.

Modern Survival Situations:

• Identity Theft
• Cyber Threats
• Violent Crime
• Active Shooter Situations
• Civil Unrest, including Riots & Looting
• Terrorism
• Epidemics & Pandemics
• Recession, Job Loss, High Inflation, and Economic Turmoil
• Loss of Freedoms & Privacy (via political correctness, "hate speech" laws, Big Tech censorship & data mining, etc.).
• Political Turmoil & Police State Actions 

Knowing how to build an emergency shelter or start a fire in the rain probably won't do you much good in most of those scenarios. Not that there is anything wrong with those skills. They can be useful and are worth learning. But there are many other skills that you should also learn, and that may prove even more valuable to you than your primitive fishing skills. 

Modern Survival Skills

Modern survival starts with awareness of potential problems and developing self-reliance (my recent article, The Two Keys to Preparedness, is on this subject). Awareness requires us to take an honest look at the dangers of the world around us, and not just adopt the idea that "nothing really bad will ever happen, and even if it does, that is why we have a government," an attitude so common among most Americans today.

Self-reliance is an attitude of responsibility and accountability. It is up to us to take care of ourselves and our families - not society, the government, public schools, or any other "authorities." It is our duty to watch out for life's potential pitfalls, and to take proactive steps ahead of time to prevent or survive those pitfalls. 

Speaking of awareness: although its been out for ten years now, Fernando Aguirre's book The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse is based on the realities that happened during Argentina's economic collapse in the early 2000s, and offers many clues as to what may happen in America at some point. In it you won't find tips on finding wild edibles, but will learn pointers such as why safe-deposit boxes may not be a good idea. After the banks reopened in Argentina, customers found that their safe deposit boxes had been cleared out of valuables by the government and/or corrupt bank management - and the contents of safe deposit boxes are NOT insured in Argentina, or in America for that matter. If you haven't read his book, I highly recommend you read it. If you have read it, it will be a good idea to go back and re-read it. 

Building on the foundation of awareness and self-reliance, there are many other useful skills for modern survival scenarios:

• Situational Awareness & OODA Loop
• Operational Security/Privacy Protection
• Dealing with busybody neighbors, landlords, etc. 
• Dealing with an Intrusive Government
• Local Knowledge (knowing your area)
• Being the Gray Man (fitting in and going unnoticed)
• Making yourself an unappealing target for bad guys (know how to not look like a victim)
• Money Management & Personal Finance Skills (article and article and article)
• Computer Skills (particularly knowing the online risks you face and how to protect against those risks) 
• Self-Defense Skills (more than just guns & ammo)
• Knowing what to do in an active shooter situation
• Knowing what to do if you get caught in a civil unrest or riot situation
• First Aid (particularly dealing with gunshot wounds and other severe trauma)
• Survival Medicine (dealing with disease outbreaks, etc.)
• Employability (Fifteen Commandments of Keeping Your Job and What To Do Before Losing Your Job)
• Health & Fitness (a must for any survival situation)
• How To Not Panic In An Emergency

These are just a few of the skills that may prove very useful in a variety of modern survival situations. Leave your suggest skills in the comments section below.
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Continuing Genocide of Christians in Nigeria Goes Unreported

Muslim Group Boko Haram Attacks Christian Village, Destroys Church in Latest Attack

03/14/2019  – International Christian Concern (ICC), a Christian human rights organization, is reporting that earlier today, around 6:00 a.m. local time, Boko Haram insurgents launched an attack on Ngurhlavu village of Lassa in Askira-Uba local council area of southern Borno State in Nigeria. Most of the villagers were able to flee into the bush, but the insurgents burned down six homes, destroyed the EYN Church (Church of the Brethren), killed one person, and abducted two sisters, Stella Ibrahim and Plungwa Ibrahim.

The attack by Boko Harem, a Muslim militant group, comes on the heels of an attack by Fulani militants in northern Nigeria in which at least 20 people were killed with machetes and guns. According to WorldWatch Monitor, "The Fulani were early adopters of Islam, participating in holy wars, or jihads, in the 16th Century that established them as a dominant social and economic force in Western Africa." Today, the Fulani continue to wage "holy wars" against Christians and other non-believers in Western Africa. 

Is it really genocide?

Since the Muslim genocide against Christians in Nigeria is ignored by the mainstream media in America and Europe, some may doubt that a real genocide is occurring. However, consider this fact reported by ICC on their website: "Radical Islamic militant groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani militants have decimated Christian communities throughout northern Nigeria. In the last 18 years, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians have been murdered by these groups, while another 2 million people have been displaced." Countless others have been injured. And the genocide is only increasing

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), compiled data for 2018 on the ongoing genocide of Christians in Nigeria. ACLED reported that approximately 1,930 brutal deaths were attributed to Fulani militants in 2018. In addition, Boko Haram was responsible for at least another 550 deaths according to records mainstained by TheReligionofPeace.com (TROP), bringing the total number murdered in the name of Islam in Nigeria in 2018 to at least 2,480. This was a sharp increase (over 25%) from the 1,900 total people killed in 2017 by both Boko Haram and Fulani militants (both groups are Muslim).

Additional Details of This Morning's Attack

Recalling this morning's attack, a senior executive of the EYN Church, who wished to remain anonymous, said that their local pastor called around 6:00 a.m. to report the attack. He shared, “I could hear desperation in his voice, just coming out of the bush.  His voice sounded completely demoralized as he was saying only God… We don’t know what else to do! There’s no security presence here.” The insurgents dropped a concealed improvised explosive device which a church member named Avi Lassa stepped on. Avi was killed on the spot.

Lamenting the spate of repeated, violent attacks, the senior church leader said, “These frequent attacks on churches and [their] members are really weighing us down. These attacks seem to be escalating soon after the elections.” Nigeria’s presidential elections took place in late February, but has seen violence even in the build-up to Election Day.

The leader said that members of the EYN Church in the village of Gwandang were attacked on February 2, 2019. This was shortly followed by another set of attacks in the village of Paya-Bulguma on February 7 and 21, during which 26 houses were burned down, large quantities of food supplies were destroyed, and motorbikes and other valuables were stolen or destroyed.  A seven-year-old boy was also abducted and has not been heard from since.


Sources: 1) Press release dated 3-14-2019 by International Christian Concern. 2) Article Who are the Fulani? by WorldWatch Monitor. 3) Additional information from the Persecution.org website. 4) Statistics from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) and from 5) http://thereligionofpeace.com/ (TROP).
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Nigeria: Muslim Fulani Militants Kill Over 20 using Machetes and Guns

The following is an unedited press release from International Christian Concern (ICC). You can visit their website at https://www.persecution.org/ for more on Christian persecution around the world.

03/11/2019 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the morning of March 4, 2019, Fulani militants attacked Tse-Tema Dula, Tse-Ugor, and Tse-Jabu villages of Mbacohon area in Gwer West Local Council area of Benue State. According to ICC’s local sources, 23 people were killed. Confirming the attacks, Reuben, a member of the Gwer West legislative council, said, “It was bad. They killed over 20 people. Some were killed by gunshots and some by machete hacks!” While speaking of the aftermath for those who survived, Reuben lamented, “The displaced persons are scattered all over, some in Naka, the Local Government headquarters.”

Three days after the village attacks, the militants again launched another attack at Tse-Ikyo Mke, Mbapupur community in the same Local Council area. This time, three people were killed.  Commenting on this attack, a local pastor named Reverend Ajoh shared, “Even today, they attacked. One of my members came to report that his father was killed, and another member said his son-in-law was also killed.” All three of the victims, Stephen Uper, Kwaghkunda Ngyeegh, and Denis Iorundu, were married with children.

The communities in Benue State are predominantly agrarian. The farming communities have suffered several years of violent confrontation by nomadic herdsmen who prefer open-grazing cattle breeding, a practice that has resulted in instances of destruction of farmland. As an approach to a solution, the state government enacted legislation providing for ranching instead of open-grazing, which took effect on May 22, 2017. Shortly after this law was implemented, attacks worsened for several months, culminating in more than 70 people being killed in early January 2018.

The law has caused some of the herdsmen to claim that it was deliberately aimed at upturning their generational lifestyle and culture of nomadic cattle breeding, as well as a deliberate attempt to expel them from the state and deny them their constitutional right of freedom of movement. However, Taraba State, which shares a boundary with Benue, has also instituted a similar law, given the years of violence between the Christian farmers and Fulani militants.

Until this incident, the situation had been relatively calm in Benue State for almost a year, and the majority of citizens were hopeful that the peace could be sustained. But with the resurgence of attacks, some local community leaders now believe that the Fulani militants likely refrained from confrontation to allow for a peaceful presidential election, having shown support for their kinsman President Buhari. According to a local source, “Before the presidential election, they moved away, but they are now returning in their hundreds. They don’t like the current governor, and don’t want him to return, so they would want to disrupt the state elections. Buhari has not been happy with him because he refused to cede land for ‘cattle colonies.’”

A senior aide in the Palace of the Tor Tiv, the paramount ruler over the Tiv tribe, confirmed the attacks, saying, “Recently, they (herdsmen’s militia) resumed attacking simultaneously in three areas now that their man has won the presidential election.” He added, “Some are still missing in the bush and the search is ongoing.” He further disclosed that security reinforcements have been sent to the affected areas. Expressing faith for divine intervention, Pastor Ajoh said, “The Church in Benue is praying and we know that our God will never disappoint us!”
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The Two Keys to Preparedness

There are a lot of different aspects to preparedness - food, water, shelter, first aid & medical, sanitation & hygiene, and guns & ammo, just to name a few. But, in my opinion, there are two keys to preparedness, upon which everything else depends. The two keys to preparedness are 1) Awareness and 2) Self-Reliance.

1) Awareness - The first key is awareness, because without awareness, you will never even begin to prepare. Let's face it, most people just go about living their lives as if nothing bad will ever happen. They simply don't want to think about it (too depressing, too scary), or don't want to confront unpleasant possibilities (too hard). If they had a motto, it would be "Ignorance is Bliss." They just want to go through life playing Doodle Jump on their IPhone (until something bad happens that their not prepared for, and they are left wondering when the government help will get there.)

I'm going to assume, since you are reading this article, that you are at least somewhat aware, putting you ahead of 80% of your fellow citizens. But you may know others who aren't awake. You may have even tried to talk to them and wake them up. Most likely, you failed, They simply don't want to here it. But don't give up. There is still hope. Here are some tips for talking to them about preparedness without upsetting them or turning them off to the subject.

Here's what not to do:

   1- Avoid too much doom-and-gloom.
   2- Avoid jargon. acronyms and "military" talk.
   3- Avoid politics as much as possible.
   4- Put away the tin-foil hat.
   5- Don't nag. 

Here is what to do:

   1- Adopt a conversational tone.
   2- Emphasize building security and safety.
   3- Use personal experiences & real-life events.
   4- Remain calm.
   5- Use humor.

Still having trouble getting a spouse or friend to "wake up" to the potential dangers all around us and the need to prepare for those dangers? Survivor Jane has written a wonderful book that explains things in a non-threatening, non-agressive, non-paranoid, non-technical, and non-intimadating way: What Could Possibly Go Wrong??? How To Go From Completely Clueless To Totally Prepared.


2) Self-Reliance - One of my favorite subjects, and I've written a number of articles on it. My take on self-reliance boils down to these points:

1. Assume responsibility for your own life. 
2. Take the blame for your own life.
3. Be informed. 
4. Know where your going.
5. Make your own decisions.
6. Learn skills.
7. Gain experience.
   

See my article What Exactly is Self-Reliance? for a deeper look at these seven points.

Self-reliance doesn't come naturally, anymore. It isn't taught in our schools, nor is it encouraged in our pop culture. In fact, the opposite is true. Personal responsibility and accountability are not politically correct virtues, and if you bring it up, you will likely be accused of being unfair at best, or bigoted at worst. Self-reliance is thought of as selfish or anti-social by many folks today, and even is mistrusted by government authorities (they want you reliant on them, not yourself). 

But, self-reliance is not anti-social or selfish. It does not mean shutting yourself off from your friends or community. It certainly doesn't mean heading for the hills and hiding, heavily armed, in a secret compound until after some dread doomsday comes to pass.

If you have ever listened to a flight attendant give emergency instructions, you may have noticed that they tell parents traveling with a child to put the oxygen mask on themselves first, before putting one on their child. The airlines don't say that because they hate children. Instead, they say that because if a parent is to help their child, they must first be able to do so. A parent unconscious from the lack of oxygen will be of absolutely no help to their child.

Likewise, we will be of little help to our family, friends and neighbors, if we are the ones in need of help ourselves. In fact, our own helplessness may make matters much worse for our community. Far from being selfish, building self-reliance may be one of the most generous things you can do. 

The Bottom Line:  If you are aware, and if you have built self-reliance, then you'll most probably will be okay, come what may...
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