<p>When in doubt, I always rely on the sage thoughts and wisdom of the parents on CC, so thought I would take my sleep-deprived worries to the Parent Cafe. Our DS is spending this semester on a study abroad program in the UK-his group of 21 students and 2 faculty arrived in London on Thursday after spending 40 days in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. By way of information, their group is in a large hotel generally known for travelers and students, near the University of London.</p>
<p>Last night we read two articles that discussed that the State Department had debated whether to issue an advisory or warning, based in part, upon the thousands of US students studying in Europe. The liability insurance carried by their schools will apparently not allow travel to countries where travel warnings are in place. So in addition to being worried about son’s safety, we are not happy to know that alert level is being parsed where student safety is concerned for risk management and economic reasons. I would think any school with students abroad right now would be in touch with parents via email about plans, etc. What are others thoughts on this board? Son called from London and relates that media is downplaying situation-but this may be S’s attempt to be calm and not panic.</p>
<p>I have the same concerns, D is presently in London attending UCL for this semester.
She hasn’t as yet had any communications from her school in the US, or from UCL, and neither have I.
My particular worry is the tubes, which they must necessarily take to get to places.</p>
<p>I have lived in London off and on since 1987. I was working in London right after the transit bombings in 2005. We were told by US embassy just to be “alert and vigilant” in public places. I visited again in 2008 and am heading back in November and I have noticied that everyone is much more vigilant since 2005, especially in the Tube. Much more police presence everywhere - and of course every inch of London streets are on closed circuit camera. Remind son to be aware of surroundings, look for packages/backpacks left on benches, etc, avoid huge crowds (as much for pickpockets). The people of London are generally pretty stoic and still go about their daily business. I know it’s hard not to worry, but honestly, I’ve felt safer in London than in NY.</p>
<p>Sequoia, when our son called within the past 2 hours, he said the workers in the tubes were on a 24 hour strike. Our son will be at UCL as well. I am at a lost as to why the schools are not being pro-active in communicating with families. Our particular university has 7 additional groups in Europe for the fall semester. If this were my department, we would be working overtime to have a plan in place and communicate it to everyone.</p>
<p>FWIW, a friend of ours is a retired Delta employee and offered to find son a seat ( pass) if situation warranted him leaving London Earlier in the week the flights were wide open out of London and other cities in England. As of yesterday, flights are oversold, at least on Delta.</p>
<p>DD was talking to me on Skype in Turkey just today when a minor earthquake tremor hit, and is traveling to Beirut soon. I would take the danger situation in England anytime over that… Earthquakes in Turkey can be disastrous. I would not be worried about the arbitrary alert systems in England- the alerts are just words issued by government officials and determining the level of alert involves a lot of guesswork. IOW the designation of alert level does not equal the reality of the actual danger. Now if your son was in Mexico, I would be recommending you get him out of there immediately! It’s so dangerous there and criminals/druglords are running rampant…</p>
<p>Thanks for that megpmom. I was in London a couple of weeks ago myself and noticed the cameras all over the place, but did not see a lot of police presence (unless they’re undercover). I also noticed signs in the Tube that indicated that cameras would be installed in each car, but were not already there. The tube stations and tubes were extremely crowded…and with the colder weather now with people wearing coats etc, it would be impossible to tell whether someone had a nefarious agenda. So many in those tubes were carrying backpacks, even hauling suitcases.</p>
<p>Georgiatwins, I would hope that schools are formulating plans presently, I don’t know…D’s school also has students in other European cities. But I agree, I wish UCL and the other schools there would at least advise their students to be vigilant.</p>
<p>Have you personally contacted the school/study abroad program at your son’s school? I would not hesitate given this situation; however, info may be changing rather quickly and decisions about students abroad are perhaps being monitored closely by your son’s school. I would not wait for the school to contact you in this situation–give them a call. Even if decisions have not been made, they may be able to offer you some insight as to plans in the event something does happen which may offer you some reassurance.</p>
<p>anxiousmom…Turkey’s earthquakes, Beirut…no wonder you have the SN you have.
I expect your daughter is very resourceful and someone to be very proud of.
Thanks also for putting things in perspective regarding the alerts, …still…it’s worrisome…</p>
<p>Our family was in London recently. And no, we never went on the tube, we took taxis, so I can’t address that part of the safety issue. What I can say is that safety is taken VERY seriously in London. We do not fit any profile yet my purse was searched constantly upon entering every museum/place of tourist interest. My husband and girls were searched throughly. (There was no alert at the time that we were aware of). </p>
<p>In fact, at one venue the guard engaged us in conversation that was friendly but not benign. Guard asked us how we were enjoying our visit etc., and about what we did etc. I know why he did it…the people in front of us spoke Farsi which is a common second language here. I laughed as I heard the Mom say to the teenager, “shut up!”,in Farsi, and both families were searched. </p>
<p>If the searches were so thorough then, I imagine that they are FAR more careful now.</p>
<p>My D is in Europe this semester, and I asked her today if anything had been said to her about the new alerts. She had received an e-mail from her college’s study abroad office about it. I do not expect her school to contact me. She told me that as she is not in a touristy area she is not too concerned, but she will be traveling to several cities (including London) over fall break in a few weeks. I tell myself something bad could happen anywhere and say a few extra prayers for her safety.</p>
<p>One of my kids is in Europe for the year. She is in France, but not through a school. I certainly saw the travel alerts for Europe, though they are not at the level where the State Dept. warns US citizens to not go to those countries. While it is a bit disconcerting, I don’t think I would change anything as the odds of it affecting my kid are not great and I can’t see changing what one does over such a generalized warning of this nature. I also have a kid who lives in NYC too (though she is in Abu Dhabi for the weekend). </p>
<p>My daughter lives in a town that likely is not to be targeted as it is not a big city and perhaps that also allays concern. However, I know, for example, she will be flying to London and also going to Cambridge, England later this month. And she’ll be using European airports in Dec. to fly home for a visit. I’m not that concerned given the level of this and the generalized nature of it. </p>
<p>She so happened to call home from France today and I mentioned it to her (she was not aware of it but also has not been on the internet). When I told her, she was not worried particularly due to thinking that where she spends most of her time as not a likely target.</p>
<p>anxiousmom…you are brave (and I thought I was brave given the extensive travels of my kids to all sorts of places)…because D1 a while back wanted to go to Beirut and that was the only limitation we had (though she is an adult and doesn’t have to listen to us but she does respect us) because I believe Beirut has a warning at the State Dept. level for US Citizens to not go there. That level of warning gives me more pause than this European alert that is not very specific and is not a warning to not go there.</p>
<p>I just returned from western Europe on Friday evening. While I was in Paris, there were two instances that subway trains my friend or I were on were halted because of suspicious (but ultimately innocuous) pkgs and everyone had to get off. Be vigilant is the operative word. Don’t look like a tourist. Avoid places where large groups of foreigners gather. </p>
<p>Bad things can happen at home just as much as abroad. The only realistic thing to do is to be careful and aware of one’s surroundings. </p>
<p>I did have an interesting experience in a shopping center. H called while I was waiting to meet my friend, and the only place I could find where I could both here him over the surrounding noise and get a connection was just inside the entrance. We were speaking in English and suddenly I noticed 2 security guards had come over near enough to overhear the conversation. After about 3-4 mn I guess they figured I wasn’t a terrorist and left.</p>
<p>Boston has been having an upswing in violent crimes, including one very close to my son’s dorm.</p>
<p>I tell myself, “There are parents with children my sons age whose children are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.” It resets my perspective and focus. It helps.</p>
<p>DS did a study abroad in London fall of 2005. He departed about three weeks after the bombings in the underground in London…thought to be terrorist attacks. </p>
<p>We’re we a little concerned? I’d be lying if I said NO. BUT we didn’t even consider the thought of not letting him go. When we went, we travelled all around London on the Tube.</p>
<p>I have to say…I won’t let my life be governed by fear. The reality is that some tragic thing could happen almost anywhere. I have to hope that my kids will be safe.</p>
<p>And FYI…I have a kiddo departing for overseas in two weeks (Africa)…travelling via London, I believe.</p>
<p>As always, the terrific parents and others that are on this board provide great insight, comfort and excellent suggestions. Anxiousmom, I am so impressed by your calmness in handling what I know must have been a very nerve-wracking situation. I admire your fortitude, but guess I am not quite there, yet.</p>
<p>I think as I said in the original post, I am concerned that the level of “alert” was downplayed in major part, because of the number of US students studying abroad and what their withdrawal would mean from European economies. It was a difficult situation trying to explain to our son why we wanted him to “avoid large crowds, typical tourist destinations, and as much public transportation as possible”, when what he understands is that if things were that serious the State Department would have issued a warning. </p>
<p>Notre Dame Al, I have thought of calling/emailing the study abroad program at son’s school and will do that this evening. After spending over 20 years as a health care administrator of large hospitals, people have to develop, refine, practice and “work” every potential situation in a potential disaster or incident. I am concerned that the staff here in the US have not developed a plan based upon a number of scenarios-all of which would involve communicating rapidly with students and getting into a safe environment as quickly as possible For example, last night students were at a play at the Globe Theater-during the day they had been on their own ( as I would expect). However, not all of the kids keep a cell phone on and if there is a problem in one part of the city or elsewhere-I believe a designated person needs to be in charge of informing the faculty in London and then implementing a call system to every student about the situation and what to do/where to go. </p>
<p>I realize the odds truly work in the favor of all of our kids/families, but my background and instinct tells me that some more formalized planning would be beneficial. In my perusal of the web this evening, I came across a reminder to register your foreign travel with the State Department. What have students been advised about this from other schools, if anything? I agree with one poster about what military families are going through and have endured for generations when their sons, daughter, spouse, or friend was away for weeks with no communication in a far more violent situation.</p>
<p>Again, thanks to everyone for their ideas and thoughtful responses.</p>
<p>Remember that it isn’t telling people not to travel, rather to be aware of your surroundings and circumstances when you do travel.
My H will be in England in a couple of weeks & we looked at each other and laughed about whether LHR would be a target or not. There really isn’t anything he can do about it - he has to be there for business, and in this global economy, it is almost impossible to say no to travel. </p>
<p>We were in London when the underground was bombed in 2005 with our then 14 & 12 yo girls. It was scary, but it didn’t stop our trip. Londoners pretty much keep on doing what they’re doing. </p>
<p>As another poster said, your S should keep his eyes and ears open and be sensible about where he goes and what he does. He’s more likely to be in a car accident at home than a terrorist attack anywhere in the world. By the way, remind him to look right-left-right before crossing the street.</p>
<p>London has been vigilant about terrorism for decades, dating back to IRA bombings in the 70s. This is nothing new for them. They were searching purses at the British Museum in 1979/80, and reacting with hypervigilance to unaccompanied packages on the underground, stopped cars on Regents Street, and so forth.</p>
<p>My D2 is in Europe this semester. She just spent the last week in Paris, but supposedly left today. </p>
<p>I am concerned and just sent her an email about the alert. I have not been able to be in contact w/ her because I was traveling all day today and now it is the wee hours of the morning for her. I have not heard that she is back in Switzerland. She usually texts us, but not always. We didn’t get a text. I sometimes see facebook activity from her. But there hasn’t been any.</p>
<p>If I do not get a response from my email tomorrow, I will be in touch w/ her international program for sure!!</p>
<p>I hope and pray that she is back in Switzerland, her base country that is not as much as a target. But you never know. I will be happy when she is back and sitting in my home!</p>
<p>Yes zeebamom, the traffic thing. With those taxis tearing around the corner on the “wrong” side of the street, my D and I both had to be super alert about that. I like how the Brits have a notice on the pavement at the edge of the street, “look right, or look left”. I’ve ordered my D to look at that every time before she steps off the curb.</p>
Earthquakes in Turkey can be disastrous. I would not be worried about the arbitrary alert systems in England- the alerts are just words issued by government officials and determining the level of alert involves a lot of guesswork. IOW the designation of alert level does not equal the reality of the actual danger. Now if your son was in Mexico, I would be recommending you get him out of there immediately! It’s so dangerous there and criminals/druglords are running rampant…</p>