Abilene Reporter News -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 3/17/2003
Last Visited: 3/18/2003
International SOS, a company that provides emergency assistance worldwide, has seen a surge in inquiries in recent weeks, said Andrea Bestul, a spokeswoman at the company's U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia.
As they try to plan for war, employers want to know what countries other than Iraq will be most affected by war, Bestul said.They wonder whether workers in any country with a large Muslim population, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, are also at higher risk.And they want to know whether their contingency plan needs improvement.
Some companies aren't waiting for war to break out.SOS recently evacuated 90 people from Kuwait, and has urged foreign companies in Israel, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain to send home all but the most essential employees.Many businesses in the region operate with a skeleton crew on the ground, Bestul said.