How not to get kidnapped, and other safety essentials: the expat workers' guide

I am keen on working in hot zones and have been in a couple, and many of my friends are already working there (I actually saw a friend yesterday, on her way to her new job in Kabul, so this post is for her!).

And as we, people with big shiny white cars with UN plates, or in fancy suites with laptop bags, or just plain white people (well, not me! Brown power!!:) are in unstable places, there's a real danger - and it seems that kidnappings are becoming increasingly popular among armed groups. And if not kidnappings, you don't want to be robbed, and believe me, it happens more often than we want to admit. You can get robbed with a knife in the middle of the street at noon, and people might not even raise a finger for you.

Sooooo my biggest pieces of advice are:

a) don't splurge. Don't look rich! Pretty simple, no? Kidnappings are, for the vast majority, about money. And foreigners = $$$, anyone who's been haggled by poor kids in developing countries know how widespread the idea is. Avoid walking around with your laptop bag at 3 am (I know, i used to do that in Aceh, that's a mighty bad idea). Don't take the biggest chauffeured car your office has to go to the supermarket.

Also: when you're buying a coke or something, don't get your big bills out of your wallet. Even better, don't even get your wallet out of your pocket: keep some cash/change in your pocket so that you don't have to expose people around you to the glare of your Amex Gold card and the smell of the greens.

b) avoid patterns. (click here for an article that's essentially on that.) Change the times you leave home/the office, change the routes you take to work, etc.

c) Don't be seen too much hanging around the 'expat places'. Think the Italian restaurant in Banda Aceh or the UN bar in N'djamena.
Yes, expats live nearby (compounds in Kabul, etc) and socialise between themselves, that's fine. Just don't walk around in packs of foreigners, you look silly and especially if you're tipsy, you're screwed.

d) leave the family at home. No, it's not a good idea to fly your wife and kid for the summer just because the weather is good where you are. Duh.

e) learn a couple of words of the local language. That will get you out of a lot of shit.

f) be friendly to people: if not for the virtue of being a nice people, at least make it a habit to say hello to nod and smile at the people around you (at work, at home, your doorman, the dude sitting across from your guesthouse, whatever). More often then ever, even if you're a mere acquaintance to them, they'll come to your help whenever they can. People in developing countries are generally much nicer than people in rich countries.

That's all I have in mind for now. If anyone has tips, do write them!!