Paid survey work - Algeria

[steve t]

I am writing to see if there's anyone out there who would be interested coordinating a small survey of between 4 to 6 respondents residing in Algeria. The survey will be roughly 6 or 7 questions relating to recent events on Tunisia and Egypt. The person who coordinates the survey will be expected to distribute the survey to between 4 and 6 people, get them back, translate the answers into English and email them back to me. The translation of the answers should not take more than a day. I can pay 100 GBP for the work. It is also likely that there will be more of this sort of work going in the future. For anyone interested, please contact me as soon as possible.

[Al-khiyal]

Salam,

Could you tell us a little more ? Specifically, what the 'survey' is for, and how you propose making payment? Do you expect people to give their names and banking details to an anonymous person on the Internet ? And why is your 'offer' in GBP and not in baht ? You will understand, I am sure, why the appearance of someone on an Internet site making vague offers of payment without clearly explaining the context of the proposed 'work' or the payment mechanism involved is somewhat problematic. You do not wish to introduce yourself ? e.g. Who you are, what you are, who you are working for (no problem about where you are, I can tell anyone that), and what you intend doing with any material that you hope to collect ?

[steve t]

Hi, my apologies. My name is Stephen Tracy and I'm conducting the work on behalf of a UK-Based risk advisory group that has clients with economic interests in MENA. The information will be used as a small part of a greater assessment of the current situation in Algeria. As I'd only looking to get responses from 6 people, it's not so much a survey, it's more an attmept to get feedback from people living in Algeria on the situation there vis-a-vis recent events in Tunisia and Egypt. So far, I have established point sof contact to carry out the work in a number of countries in MENA but I still don't have anyone for Algeria. That's why I am trying to find someone on this site. I pay the people who coordinate the work in other countries directly into their bank accounts at the end of every month. So yes, it would require forwarding bank details. I can imagine people being nervous about this, but paying via Western Union is just too expensive and beyond budgetry constraints. I am also happy to give me contact phome number, or call anyone who is interested so they can speak to me directly and ask any questions they like. I am very keen to get started on this ASAP, as I have deadlines to meet. Hope this sheds some light on things.... Best regards, Steve

[Al-khiyal]

aloo encore,

If you want to sell your chicken at the souk it is always best to take it out of the sack so that people can see what you've got, eh ?

Now, I am just a humble Arab peasant, so perhaps my eyes should widen and all thoughts of personal safety or risk to myself and my family should fly out of the window when a Westerner appears waving a handful of banknotes (you didn't try beads and trinkets, or baubles and a mirror!), but it seems to me that your chicken is not exactly as described.

You describe your business as being connected to a UK-based risk advisory group. Notwithstanding the fact that you are a long, long, long way from the UK, it seems to me, as a humble Arab peasant, that the activities of your group extend some way beyond simple risk assessment for clients with economic interests. Your enterprise clearly does have an interest in 'the Arab mind' - but it describes itself first and foremost as an Arabic web and print media monitoring operation. It boasts that already, in Algeria, it 'monitors' Ech Chaab, Echorouk el youmi, El Fadjr, El Hiwar, El Khabar, El Massa, Ennahar and Ennasr, but it isn't that aspect of the enterprise's activities that concerns me the most. Most Arabs are familiar with another 'Arabic web and media monitoring group' - MEMRI - an outfit with connections to Israeli intelligence services and which has been known, by its selective cherry-picking of a tiny sample of articles, to attempt to denigrate the wider Arab and Muslim communities, even to the extent of providing mistranslations in order to do so, while actively trying to exert political influence on a global range of policy makers. MEMRI takes a particular interest in monitoring 'jihadist forums' - and so it will not be any surprise when I say that the presence of 'The Jihadist Forum Monitor' as a part of your own enterprise makes a turkey out of your chicken. You may wish to argue that "providing up-to-date coverage of Sunni jihadist web forum content" has a bearing on nothing more than economic risk assessment, but when your enterprise goes on to claim that "Reports focus on general and specific indications of threat to security and commercial interests, civil unrest, and on discourse of jihadi tactics and ideological themes. They furthermore provide insights into how the salafi-jihadi community views topical incidents and political developments in those regions. These may either take the form of postings issued by the media wings of jihadi groups, or by individual participants....." we are beyond the realm of economics and into the world of harvesting economic and political intelligence.

Your approach here is not entirely transparent. You would, if you were totally overt about the nature of your operation say "I work for an outfit that spies on Arab media and certain individuals for the benefit of Western interests, and we are looking to recruit, for a derisory sum, local people from our target countries who can become enmeshed in our operations - which mirror those of a notorious Israeli intelligence-linked operation - and perhaps involve those same people in attempts to penetrate jihadist sites."

There is a risk to anyone becoming involved in the 'trade' of economic and political intelligence, and it is shameful to, by subterfuge, attempt to take advantage of people whose personal financial positions may be parlous and involve them in activities that may veer into the unethical and highly dangerous. You may argue that it is is 'natural' to seek 'assets on the ground'. Perhaps so, from your perspective. But if you are genuinely interested in obtaining an Arab perspective on things, understand that it is considered odious to involve people by stealth in any kind of intelligence gathering exercise the ramifications of which have not been fully outlined or explained.

Let me pose a hypothetical question - suppose, in your 'jihadist monitoring' activities, you receive reports of some impending violent activity: what do you do with that information ? Do you go to bed thinking "Gosh, I'm the only person in the world who knows that X is going to happen!" or do you pass that information on somewhere ? Who to ? Your 'economic interests clients' ? The media ? Or, as is more likely, to some Western diplomatic and intelligence services ? Do you expect us to believe that 'jihadist monitoring' is for no other purpose than to provide information to 'clients with economic interests' ?

This sinister - and it IS sinister to attempt to recruit innocent Algerian civilians for an enterprise that is clearly associated in some way with the world of political espionage and links to Western intelligence services - kind of online recruitment / entrapment activity is not what this website is for. We are not sheep here. We are not 'useful fools' to be bought for a pittance to be of benefit to Western interests. We are not idiots to be fobbed off with a breezy tale of 'risk assessment for clients with economic interests' when we know all about sordid recruitment, infiltration and entrapment stories that in some instances have involved 'dupes' being used deliberately as agents-provocateurs. While you might consider it ethical to involve Algerians as pawns in a wider game that you're playing, I don't see it that way.

This is a travel site. There are some very nice people who are members here. We feel protective about them. We do not want anyone abusing them or exploiting them or attempting to recruit them for enterprises linked with 'jihadist monitoring' associated activities. We don't want anyone exposing them to risks of being 'monitored at home or abroad', their IP addresses being sent to dangerous places, their personal integrity and safety being compromised.

In brief, now that your chicken is out of the sack I am saying clearly to Algerians and to you that it is not halal - it stinks. I strongly recommend to all site members and readers to have nothing to do with your enterprise.

You may wish to argue, you may wish to claim that your enterprise is 'innocent and entirely transparent'. Argue all that you like. We know what MEMRI is and we know why similar enterprises wish to purchase at low cost 'indigenous informers'. Algerians are not pawns to be used by Western interests. Your enterprise is not 'as described', it is something else, something with negative safety implications for Algerians. Anyone offering any 'services' becomes enmeshed, by association, with the other activities of your business. It would be an act of extreme folly to supply personal and banking details to such an enterprise - one could easily imagine 'approaches' being made at some time in the future with offers of more and different 'work'.

A final thought: I could have created a dozen fake email addresses, played you like an oud, and milked you of a small sum and you would have been no wiser, happily selling on fake information to trusting 'clients'. Instead I am recommending that you take your lousy chicken out of here and forget all about trying to sell it.

[Wakanga]

Hi!

I am interested in the task, let me know how I get in touch with you?

[Al-khiyal]

You don't read too well. You won't be getting in touch with him via this website, not ever. And he won't be getting in touch with you.