I was so glad to have completed the Hostile Environment & First Aid Training course, HEFAT. After some experiences that I had gone through, before I had any training such as the HEFAT, I had learned to take some precautions. But now that I have taken this course, I feel more comfortable working in those environments. I hope that the day never comes when I’ll need to put into practice what I learned, but if it does, I feel more capable.
Some days were stressful for me since I do not like touching people, and much less hitting them as part of the training course. But the most stressful day was when we were kidnapped as part of the course. Unfortunately you won’t see any of those pictures because my hands were tied-up the whole time, so I couldn’t take any. I also enjoyed the yoga class by Claudia González, very needed after that day! And again, you won’t see any photos of those because I was so relaxed and into the moment that I did not take any photos.
Stressful or not, I enjoyed the HEFAT training because I know that what I learned could really make a difference whether I make it out alive from a situation or not, whether I can escape or help others.
Alicia Fernández, shows how to apply a first aid kit to a punctured lung.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Tyche Hendricks practices self-defense moves that she learned during the HEFAT training.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Maria Alejandra Silva is tied-up with duct tape as part of the training.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
We learned how the mechanism of handcuffs work in order to have a better understanding of how to break free from them.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Alex Hall reads her group’s notes during the HEFAT training.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Smoke bombs simulating tear gas in protests.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Photo taken just before we dodged the bullets, the paintball bullets.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Patricia Clarembaux lays down on a stretcher made up of a bedsheet and two rods. During the course we learned how to use anything that we can find to aid the casualties.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Una Hajdari carries casualty Elaine Cromie during the training.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
My reporting partner Maya Averbuch, right, and I after dodging bullets. No casualties.
Photo: Alicia Fernández
After a long and sometimes stressful day, we would go back to our cabins where we could put on a bathrobe, drink wine and sit by the fire, not pictured.
Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas
Verónica G. Cárdenas, 2019 U.S.-Mexico Border Fellow