Where should I start?
Emergency Checklist
For leaving with little or no warning — and little or no prior preparation.
This document assumes the worst case: you need to leave now, and none of the usual preparation has happened yet. That’s a different situation from having a plan already in place.
If you have even a few days: use the Exile Preparedness Checklist instead. It builds a real plan rather than a bare-minimum one. Come back to this document only if that’s genuinely not possible.
Right now — the next few minutes
- Grab whatever ID you have — passport, national ID, even something expired is better than nothing.
- Grab your phone and its charger.
- Grab whatever cash is in reach, credit or debit cards you have on hand.
- Grab any medication you take regularly.
If you don’t have all of these, don’t stay to search. Move to somewhere safer first — you can address gaps from there.
The next few hours, if you have them
- Ask someone you trust to photograph and send you scans of anything important left behind, over a secure channel if possible.
- If your passport is missing or invalid, contact your embassy or a local rights organization about an emergency travel document — some can be issued quickly in genuine emergencies.
- Ask family, friends, or a press freedom organization about emergency funds — several of the organizations below specifically fund emergency relocation.
- If large or unusual withdrawals could draw attention in your situation, take smaller amounts instead.
- Get some cash in a stable foreign currency if you can — it’s more useful across borders than local currency.
- From a device you trust, change passwords on your most sensitive accounts — email first.
- Delete anything on your phone that could endanger you, sources, or anyone else if it were seen.
- Tell one person you trust what’s happening and how they can reach you. Just one — not a group chat.
- Pick the safest route you can identify right now. Don’t wait for a perfect route.
- Have a simple, consistent reason ready for why you’re traveling, in case you’re asked.
- Don’t announce your departure publicly. Keep a low profile and blend in. Don’t draw attention.
- If you don’t know a viable route at all, contact one of the organizations below now — some coordinate emergency relocation directly.
The first 24–48 hours after you’re safer
- Get to a stable place to sleep, even if it’s temporary.
- Contact one of the organizations below for guidance — many can tell you what to expect next.
- Start any asylum or protection paperwork as soon as you reasonably can.
- Reach out for basic medical or psychological support if you need it.
Organizations to contact
Save this somewhere you can reach without your usual devices.
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — emergency assistance including relocation costs. rsf.org
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — Emergencies Response Team for journalists in immediate danger. cpj.org
- Free Press Unlimited — “Reporters Respond” emergency fund. freepressunlimited.org
- Media in Cooperation and Transition (MICT) — emergency support & relocation. mict-international.org
- Media Defence — legal support for journalists facing legal threats. mediadefence.org
- Article 19 — advocacy and legal expertise on free expression. article19.org
- Access Now Digital Security Helpline — 24/7 real-time support, including device scrubbing and account recovery. accessnow.org/help
- The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma — resources for journalists who’ve experienced trauma or sudden displacement.
This document was only ever meant to get you through the next 48 hours. Once you’re safer and have some room to think, the full Exile Preparedness Checklist and worksheet can help you build a durable plan going forward — including for people who depend on you, and for the possibility of one day returning.
What Would You Do
A rehearsal card deck for exile preparedness. These scenarios are drawn from interviews with journalists who’ve actually been through this. There are no right answers here — the point is rehearsal, not scoring.
Pull one at a time.
Say your answer out loud. If a card exposes a gap, that’s the point. Go fix it in the checklist, then come back to the card later and try again.
Skip anything that feels like too much right now. This is meant to build readiness, not distress.
What Would You Do
Swipe for the next card