Guest Voices: The “Front Lines” Can be “Behind The Scenes”: World Humanitarian Day 2010

For the last installment of World Humanitarian Day themed guest posts from Concern Worldwide. Anne O’Mahony, the country director of Kenya, remarks on the humanitarian work that was behind the recent constitution referendum. Concern Worldwide works with poor people in the under-developed world to help them survive poverty and hunger.

This morning in Nairobi, Kenya, Concern Worldwide marked the second commemoration of World Humanitarian Day with colleagues from NGOs, Red Cross Societies, the UN, government representatives from both Kenya and Somalia, and other humanitarian actors. It was uplifting—and hugely important to recognize the contribution and sacrifices that humanitarian workers make in this troubled world of ours. Here in Kenya, this day could have gone very differently.

On August 4th, Kenya held a constitutional referendum.

For about two months leading up to this event, the humanitarian community was immersed in planning for the potential humanitarian consequences that could have arisen if the referendum had triggered outbreaks of rioting and violence—as was the case following the last general election here. Building on the knowledge and experience we gained during that crisis in 2008, meetings were held, scenarios developed and outlined, conflict hot-spots identified, humanitarian relief supplies prepositioned, communication networks and plans set up, transport and logistic hubs identified, staff vacations cancelled, tasks and response sectors allocated, and potential relief centers earmarked. We engaged community leaders in raising awareness and in conflict management—sharing tools and information on how to defuse potentially charged situations. The Government engaged with these efforts, and security was beefed up.

It was a huge exercise, and the humanitarian community was were ready.

Referendum day dawned, the polls opened. People went to vote. Polling was orderly and efficient. The count was transparent and accurate. The result was announced in a timely way. It was a fantastic outcome. Not a bad word was spoken nor a shot fired. It was a smooth referendum. We could all relax and get back to business.

Humanitarian work is not just about the front line stuff in Haiti, Pakistan, Somalia or Afghanistan. It is as much about preparedness and prevention as it is about response. It is about the quiet, unsung work carried out by humanitarian workers with varying expertise behind the scenes that enables us to be ready to respond adequately to humanitarian situations and limit the suffering of the most vulnerable in our society and our world.

If the Kenyan referendum had not gone smoothly, we could have been marking a very different World Humanitarian Day here in Nairobi. But I am happy to say that instead, we were able to see the results of our hard work and honor our colleagues as well as the populations with whom we work.

Guest Voices: We Must All be Humanitarian Workers

For World Humanitarian Day, we have this important reminder that we all must do our part. For the next post in our series from Concern Worldwide, Ros O’Sullivan reflects on his 20 years of work as a humanitarian. Concern Worldwide works with poor people in the under-developed world to help them survive poverty and hunger.

For the past 20 years, I have been a humanitarian aid worker on the frontlines of some of the world’s worst crises. Today, in solidarity with the United Nations, I join humanitarian workers around the world in celebrating World Humanitarian Day and honoring personnel who have lost their lives to assist people in crisis.

Humanitarian work is not for the faint-hearted or the timid. To be successful in this work, you need to be able to function in chaos and live with uncertainty. Even so, there are some things about aid work of which you can be certain:

* the work load will be immense, the work environment intense, and you will be tested to the full – working 16 hour days, seven days a week in the first stages of a response
* you will meet amazing people working closely together to save lives and reduce suffering
* you will experience the whole range of emotions known to mankind in the course of the emergency
* you will be profoundly touched by the resilience of those affected as they come to terms with the disaster
* you will leave the area exhausted, but knowing that others, equally committed, will still be there to ensure that the needs of the people are met

World Humanitarian Day highlights all of this. It recognizes the sacrifice it takes to do this work, and commemorates the individuals who have paid the ultimate price in places like Chad, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. For me, World Humanitarian Day is also about more than that. It is about shining a spotlight on the underreported issues that my colleagues and I face in the field every day. Issues that everyone needs to make their business, not just humanitarian workers.

The frequency and type of humanitarian emergencies in the past decade have increased at an alarming rate. They range from wars and conflict to natural disasters such as flooding, drought, cyclones, volcanoes, and earthquakes. I can tell you from personal experience that the poorest communities are always the hardest hit in crises: to truly understand extreme poverty and the human toll of disasters and emergencies, you have to experience it at ground level and walk among those affected.

In the past four years, I have witnessed a lot of suffering—as well as resilience and dignity—among families in Darfur, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Democratic Republic of Congo, to name a few. In other countries, I have seen evidence of a decade’s hard-won development being eroded by climate change, the global financial crisis, poor governance, urbanization, population pressure, and the scramble for natural resources.

I have also experienced the rise in insecurity, violence and criminality that make humanitarian work increasingly dangerous. We must be present in some of the world’s most difficult environments to reach those in need. This can become complicated when we work in places where international military forces also have operations involving relief efforts. Our security is dependent on how we are perceived locally and on ensuring that there is a clear distinction between humanitarian work—which by nature adheres to the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence—and efforts by the military to deliver aid.

What defines us—and ensures “humanitarian space” and access to populations in crises—is that we have no agenda above and beyond the mandate to help those in need. A key part of this is ensuring that local people understand that we deliver aid with no strings attached, regardless of race, religion or politics. Another vital aspect of humanitarian work is that we make ourselves accountable to the people we assist and work with—and involve them in the assessments and the design of our programs. The people affected by crises are integral participants in the “aid” process.

I am proud to be a humanitarian worker and to be able to get involved when disaster strikes. And I am fortunate to work for an aid agency that is responding to the world’s major emergencies.

But it’s getting harder to do this work effectively, safely, and at the scale needed. The needs are often greater than our ability to respond to them.

In a year that has brought us the mega-disasters of the earthquake in Haiti and now the epic floods in Pakistan, World Humanitarian Day has even greater significance. It is clearer than ever that humanitarian work belongs to all of us: we all have a role to play to do whatever possible to ensure that those in crisis have access to help.

World Humanitarian Day: a study on the danger

One of the goals of World Humanitarian Day is to shed light on the danger that aid workers are in. Those who provide food and comfort to the poor are at high risk of being kidnapped for ransoms, or being killed by anti-government extremists.

A study from the the British Overseas Development Institute gives us some stats at the increased threat that aid workers face. We learned of the study from this Reuters article written by Patrick Worsnip

Last year, 260 aid workers were victims of violent attacks, according to the British-based Overseas Development Institute. Some 122 of them lost their lives against 36 deaths in 1998.

"The 2008 fatality rate for international aid workers exceeds that of U.N. peacekeeping troops," the group said in a recent report.

It said there had been a particular upswing in kidnapping of humanitarians, which jumped 350 percent in the past three years, with expatriates preferred to nationals as they brought higher ransoms and a "more visible political statement."

The three most violent countries for aid workers are Sudan, especially the Darfur region, Afghanistan and Somalia, it said. This year has already seen killings and other violent acts in Pakistan, Somalia, the Philippines and Sudan.

Somalia, scene of a two-year insurgency led by Islamist militants against the government, has one of the highest per capita incidents of aid worker attacks in the world, U.N. officials say. So far in 2009, eight aid workers have been killed and 13 remain in captivity since 2008.

World Humanitarian Day: threat of being kidnapped in Afghanistan

Aid workers in Afghanistan have to keep their employment secret. Many tell friends or relatives that they work for private business instead of working to provide food. They do this because kidnapping is a constant threat, they fear putting themselves or their loved ones in danger if their true occupation is known.

For World Humanitarian Day, this commentary from the Times Online explains some of the threat in Afghanistan, the writer did not reveal their identity.

I’ve never programmed the numbers of my international colleagues into my mobile phone because I don’t want someone to find them there if I’m searched at a roadblock. I leave my work phone behind when I travel to the south to visit relatives and friends.

None of this is unusual. Many of my Afghan colleagues at WFP do the same things, and some take even more precautions against the risks we face just coming to work every day.

There are people here who believe that working with non-Muslims is forbidden. Some are willing to use violence to enforce this belief, and may not differentiate between someone working for a foreign military force and someone working for a humanitarian agency.

The gap between rich and poor is also an issue. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries on Earth, and some people assume that those of us working for international agencies are wealthy — which could make us and our relatives targets for kidnappers seeking ransom.

There was a time, not so long ago, when a UN job was something people would be eager to show off. A position like mine would bring prestige and social status.

But for me and for so many of my colleagues, our motivation is something much deeper, and it inspires us to face the risks that now accompany the work we do.

World Humanitarian Day

Today is World Humanitarian Day, August 19th. It's a day to salute the aid workers throughout the world and to remember those who have died while trying to help.

From the Huffington Post, this commentary from Navi Pilay explains why we have such a day.

August 19 is a date that is etched deep in the consciousness of the United Nations and the memories of those involved in humanitarian and human rights work around the world: the day in 2003 when 22 people, mostly UN staff, were killed in cold blood by a single bomb at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad.

It was by no means the first time that humanitarian aid workers, human rights defenders, peacekeepers and others working to improve the lot of the disadvantaged had been deliberately targeted by ruthless forces determined to create instability or subvert the basic laws and norms on which civilized society depends. My own organization, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, experienced its first loss of staff on 4 February 1997, when five members of the Human Rights Field Operations were killed in Rwanda.

And sadly, since 19 August 2003, there have been numerous other assassinations of individuals and further bombs -- most notably the one in Algiers on 11 December 2007 which took the lives of a further 17 UN staff members -- targeting UN and NGO staff. And I have just learned that two more UN staff are among those killed on Tuesday by a suicide bomber in Kabul. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to their families and colleagues.

In the case of the Baghdad and Algiers bombs, the perpetrators of these crimes were terrorist organizations. However, in other cases, the killers have sometimes acted on behalf of a government, or for organs meant to be under the control of governments.

Killing those who are trying to help others is a particularly despicable crime, and one which all governments should join forces to prevent, and -- when prevention fails -- to punish. It is therefore appropriate -- as a first step -- that last December the global forum for all the world's governments, the UN General Assembly, agreed to designate 19 August as World Humanitarian Day.

Humanitarian aid workers are on the frontline, trying to provide at least a minimum of material support and protection for the displaced, and for populations affected by conflict, chronic poverty, food shortages, natural disasters and other crises.