Hints of Sabotage in Contemporary Literature

An Englishman is held captive by Somali Jihadists in Africa. They are on the outskirts, all trying to survive, not wanting to kill him just yet. 

Later, they gave him a plate of camel meat and rice and tea. The water was from a hole they had dug in the riverbed. It was not syrupy like the tea the others drank. He was beaten for refusing to collect firewood. It was part of his plan. By being selectively uncooperative, he could win favor by being unexpectedly cooperative. 

from Submergence by J.M. Ledgard (2011). Page 122. 

- F