Alexandros Yiannapoulos in Haiti describes the daily dilemmas faced by aid workers delivering effective aid to large numbers of people in a way that is safe and respects their dignity.
It is a strange life being a humanitarian worker. The funeral of two of Oxfam’s workers who died in the earthquake got me to look back over this last month in Haiti. I started to think about the different perspectives people may have of humanitarian workers and what we are doing.
Friends, family and many people I meet believe you are doing something worthwhile – helping save lives and improve the way Haitians live.
“They seem to do a good job”
On the other hand, I remember an interview that was reported on the UN news service IRIN: where an old lady was asked her perspective of aid workers, she said (as far as I can remember) “yes they seem to do a good job, they claim to help people but all they do is drive around in their 4×4 and don’t even give me a lift when I am carrying a heavy load!”
As you see from this statement, we might be seen by the people we have come to help as: wealthy and possibly arrogant driving around in white 4×4s, always in a hurry, never time to stop and listen to each person’s issues. Unfortunately sometimes that is the case: often security rules prohibit us from carrying non-staff members; the time pressures of our work in an emergency; and also the fact that we have to been seen as fair to everyone, not showing any sign of favoritism – which is difficult with so many people in need around you.
The conundrum we face
This is part of the conundrum we are here to “help people” whilst at the same time we are limited by our resources, our rules and the fact we are also human. So we have to make choices between who will receive something and who will not. Even our actions have to be calculated carefully, for example I remember in Sri Lanka we helped a number of shopkeepers with a grant to build a small shop and to buy some goods. This was a great idea. However in one area we funded too many shops for the amount of demand, resulting in two out of three going bankrupt. Even with the best intentions we can still occasionally do harm.
Moral and social pressures
There are a number of social and moral pressures that are put on us both by the outside world and by ourselves, to the extent that, here in Haiti, you would feel guilty in going to a restaurant or to the beach on Sunday to relax. Which is very much a normal thing done by Haitians and people back home. It is a fine line that we tread when living in an urban area where you are living in the “affected zone”, where all groups of people from the poorest to the wealthiest have been affected, and we have come as strangers to help. How do we keep our morale up, in a responsible manner, whilst at the same time surrounded by the consequences of the earthquake?
Taking a step back
Why the funeral got me to think about these issues was because I felt empathy for the loss of two colleagues but at the same time I was alien and a stranger to the two people who died and to the society in Haiti. I am a visitor, and to many, a stranger.
Sometimes when you are in an emergency, trying to get your work done as quickly as possible, you have to take a step back, realize that you are working with fellow human beings and treat them with the level of respect and dignity they deserve. This can be as simple as a greeting, asking how they are or having a chat. At the same time we are not different to anyone else.
This post originally appeared on Channel 4 News Online.