Month: May 2020

Categories
Humanitarianism Papers, Docs, and Essays

Evaluation of the Red Cross’ adherence to Core Humanitarian Standard and Humanitarian Accountability Principles

The Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations work to provide services in a variety of humanitarian situations. One area that they provide assistance is to refugees and migrants (Red Cross, 2020). They state that they provide assistance in multiple capacities, across all stages of a migrant’s journey (pre-migration, transitory, and post-migration). They provide services worldwide, including first aid, medical services, shelter, food, water, hygiene supplies, baby supplies, clothing, and “comfort” (Red Cross, 2020). It is not elaborated on what is meant by comfort. From my volunteer work with the Red Cross, I know that they provide disaster mental health services, and spiritual health services. Another important task is that of working to reconnect families who have been separated as a result of a crisis. $2.6 million has been committed to providing support in Syria and surrounding countries, and an additional $1.2 million towards refugee aid in Europe as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis. They maintain a network of information and resources across all branches to maintain coordinated efforts and consistency in their work, while utilizing local branches firsthand knowledge of situations in their areas.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent state that they apply 7 core principles to their work. These are: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality (Red Cross, 2020). They take care to meet many of the standards through these values of the Core Humanitarian Standard (2017). For example, the branch network can use local Red Cross chapters in providing “assistance appropriate and relevant to their needs” (Core Humanitarian Standard, 2017, p. 10), and in a timely fashion.

One area that the Red Cross and Red Crescent seems to be lacking in is the feedback from the community. I do not see any details about how “communities and people affected by crisis have access to safe and responsive mechanisms to handle complaints” (Core Humanitarian Standard, 2017, p. 14) nor that they “can expect delivery of improved assistance as organisations learn from experience and reflection” (p.16). Additionally, they do not provide any clear information on most of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership principles (2016). Many of these principles have to do with having feedback from beneficiaries and having a “framework of accountability to their stakeholders” (HAP-I, 2016), and “meaningfully involve beneficiaries in project planning, implementation, evaluation and reporting.” There may be processes that the Red Cross and Red Crescent use to do this, but they do not make it clear on their website, and in working with them, I have never actually seen such feedback being implemented.

My recommendations for an action plan for the Red Cross and Red Crescent would be to make it a high priority to include feedback loops with the people and communities they serve. Katharina Samara Wickrama discusses this problem at large in her TED talk (2012). She notes that there is a systemic failure to be accountable to the people that humanitarian organizations claim to serve. It is important to implement consultation and informed consent, give an opportunity to provide ongoing feedback from clients, and an opportunity to be part of process that decides if that project was a success. These strategies can save money, but also equitably distributes resources based on true needs, and improves sense of ownership by beneficiaries over the services, giving them back power, control, and dignity in their lives. It also makes sure the organization is always improving and tailoring its services for the best interests of the people they are serving, and not assuming that they should impose their own values and services of what they think is needed. The Red Cross should outline a commitment to this on their website and in their trainings with volunteers and staff, and have a clear process for beneficiaries to file complaints and feedback, with a commitment to taking action on these.

References

Core Humanitarian Standard. (2017). CHS Alliance, Groupe URD and the Sphere Project.

HAP-I. (2016). Humanitarian Accountability Partnership – International.

Red Cross. (2020). “Mission and Values” and “Migration and Refugee Crisis”. Retrieved from https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/international-services/migration-and-refugee-crisis.html

TEDx Talks [username]. (2012). TEDxGenevaChange – Katharina Samara Wichrama – Accountable aid. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ep7RWMI0YbE

Categories
Humanitarianism Presentations and Videos

Culturally Sensitive Mental Health in International Humanitarian Crises

A presentation designed to be a potential workshop for mental health professionals who already have significant training in their field, and some awareness of working in humanitarian contexts. Maybe they have worked as a volunteer in the U.S. and are looking at volunteering abroad. This is an outline to considerations of working with both clients and staff in diverse communities in culturally sensitive ways.

Categories
Humanitarianism

Aspects of international humanitarian law, refugee law, & human rights law relevant to mental health delivery in diverse settings

The Sphere project is a manual assembled and updated by multiple international groups and humanitarian aid organizations, with “concrete measurable benchmarks” (The Sphere Project, 2011) to outline quality, accountability, and values for humanitarian agencies, developed after mistakes from humanitarian groups during the Rwandan genocide. The Sphere has been updated to include four primary essential rights for all, and to guide the actions of humanitarians.  These are:

  1. Enhance the safety, dignity and rights of people, and avoid exposing them to harm.
  2. Ensure people’s access to assistance according to need and without discrimination.
  3. Assist people to recover from the physical and psychological effects of threatened or actual violence, coercion or deliberate deprivation.
  4. Help people claim their rights (Sphere Handbook, 2018, p.33)

In a TEDGlobal talk with António Guterres (2015), the impacts on Syrian refugees and on the communities they are fleeing to are discussed through the lens of how global policies affect human rights and suffering. The needs of Syrian refugees are exacerbated when surrounding countries taking them in, like Lebanon and Jordan, do not have the resources and also do not qualify for additional funding from sources such as the World Bank, as they are middle-income countries. These countries are then unable to provide enough support for the refugees.

As a global community, we should be supporting these countries as the front lines of defense and in supporting our collective international humanitarian commitment to refugees. Additionally, we should not be limiting how many refugees we can take in each country, as it is our duty to adjust our own society to meet the need.  Fear over security causes leaders to make harmful statements, such as Trump stating he would not allow any Muslim refugees in the US. However, statements like these actually provide fodder and support for terrorists, particularly Muslims who already reside in the US who are then ostracized and see themselves as needing to assert themselves and fight back against such statements, and so join terrorist groups. Refugees endure severe suffering, or else they would not be refugees in the first place – but then continue to be exposed to the worst conditions, unable to work, dependent on social support but often ineligible for it, health conditions and lack of medical care, and tensions with locals. 

              In the Nobel Prize acceptance speech by Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF), also known as Doctors without Borders (Orbinski, 2000), they state “[h]umanitarian action is more than simple generosity, simple charity. It aims to build spaces of normalcy in the midst of what is profoundly abnormal. More than offering material assistance, we aim to enable individuals to regain their rights and dignity as human beings…Our action and our voice is an act of indignation, a refusal to accept an active or passive assault on the other.”

They also state “[h]umanitarianism occurs where the political has failed or is in crisis. We act not to assume political responsibility, but firstly to relieve the inhuman suffering of that failure. The act must be free of political influence, and the political must recognize its responsibility to ensure that the humanitarian can exist” (Orbinski, 2000). The responsibility for addressing the suffering of humans lies, ultimately, with political systems and countries. The needs for humanitarian organizations exist because these systems either fail to provide adequate interventions and support or are the instigators of human suffering in the first place. “Humanitarianism is not a tool to end war or to create peace. It is a citizens’ response to political failure. It is an immediate, short term act that cannot erase the long-term necessity of political responsibility” (Orbinski, 2000)

Additionally, ”[h]umanitarian action requires a framework in which to act. In conflict, this framework is international humanitarian law. It establishes rights for victims and humanitarian organizations. It fixes the responsibility of states to ensure respect of these rights, and to sanction their violations as war crimes. Today this framework is clearly dysfunctional. Access to victims of conflict is often refused. Humanitarian assistance is even used as a tool of war by belligerents. And more seriously, we are seeing the militarization of humanitarian action by the international community” (Orbinski, 2000).

The speech (Orbinski, 2000) also addresses how language shapes our view. Aside from natural disasters, humanitarian aid is not existing without the responsibility of another for a crime – and usually a crime on a massive scale, which causes significant human suffering. We tend to downplay the roles and responsibilities that actors have when we discuss the situation as a humanitarian emergency, removing it from it’s context.  At the same time, those providing humanitarian aid should refrain from politicizing or allow their preference of who to help rely on which side of a conflict one is on. The speech by MSF acknowledges that their humanitarian work exists within societal, cultural and political contexts, while at the same time working to clarify its purpose and goals outside of such, in terms of human rights and other essential rights, such as environmental ones, and to resist the urge to polarize peoples, systems, and governments as good or bad. As part of maintaining this, MSF remains an independent organization, and resists funding or oversight by any militarized group, which it views as being impossible to remain impartial.

I personally see the standards of MSF (Orbinski, 2000) as being important and applicable to using mental health care in humanitarian aid across diverse settings and peoples. Acknowledging that biases exist, and to choose to work on them in our own personal spaces with peers, mentors, and our own therapists, while aiming to approach each individual that we work with as a human being with an inherent right to dignity, worth, value, and deserving of empathy and care, regardless of their behaviors or actions. This aligns with the principles of Sphere (2018), and can be guides for how to approach care with refugees.

References

Orbinski, J. (2000). There is no such thing as military humanitarianism. Peace Magazine; Winter 2000. Retrieved from http://www.peacemagazine.org/archive/v16n1p08.htm

TEDGlobal (2015). António Guterres: Refugees have the right to be protected. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/antonio_guterres_refugees_have_the_right_to_be_protected

The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.developmentbookshelf.com/doi/book/10.3362/9781908176707. DOI: 10.3362/9781908176707

The Sphere Project (2011). Introducing the Sphere Handbook 2011 . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpXxVg-Cv8A&feature=related.

Categories
Humanitarianism

STRENGTHS PM+ for Syrian Refugees

A FAQ and introduction to a culturally-sensitive mental health program to address problems of daily living, stress, anxiety, depression and PTSD by trained peer mentors.

Categories
Humanitarianism

The Syrian White Helmets

The Syrian Civil Defense, more widely known as the Syrian White Helmets, are an organization of volunteers within Syria and in parts of Turkey. The group is made of up of “[f]ormer bakers, tailors, engineers, pharmacists, painters, carpenters, students and many more professions besides” (White Helmets, n.d., par.5). They primarily operate in opposition-held areas of Syria It was formed in 2014, but began with grassroots movements of volunteer rescue teams in 2012 (Aikins, 2014) with the escalation of the Syrian Civil War after a failed ceasefire which had been implemented by the UN (BBC, 2012). It was the beginnings of The White Helmets which drew the world’s hearts towards the conflict in Syria – the image of Omran, the five year old covered in blood and dust sitting alone in the ambulance; the video of an infant being desperately pulled from the rubble of a bombed building (Malsin, n.d.).

The group’s humanitarian framework comes from international humanitarian law from the Geneva Convention, and guided by philosophy from the Quran (The White Helmets, n.d.). Their motto, from the Quran, is “to save a life is to save all of humanity” (The White Helmets, n.d., par. 7), and they ascribe to the international humanitarian laws principles of Humanity, Solidarity, and Impartiality. They have been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize and have had a Netflix documentary made about them. Their organizational structure is run by a democratically elected council and led by Raed al Saleh.

They have nearly 3000 volunteers and have rescued more than 115,000 individuals from the rubble after air raid attacks (Syria Civil Defense, n.d.). They have 221 female volunteers and openly state that they seek to include women in their work alongside male volunteers, and also in services specific to women such as maternal health clinics (The White Helmets, n.d.), as is culturally acceptable. 252 volunteers have been killed, and more than 500 injured (The White Helmets, n.d.). More than half of those killed have been in “double tap” attacks, where there is an initial attack, then a second attack after rescuers arrive to help, to specifically target them. Additionally, in 2018, about 100 White Helmet volunteers along with their families were emergency evacuated by a rescue group from Israel after becoming trapped by the Syrian military (BBC, 2018).  800 volunteers and their families had been planned for, but nearly half did not make it for the one-time rescue operation.

One of the founders of the organization, from Britain, James Le Mesurier, had created another nonprofit, called Mayday Rescue, in order to fundraise, provide equipment, and train the White Helmets in urban search and rescue (Yee, 2019).  He was found dead in Turkey in 2019 under suspicious circumstances following multiple disinformation campaigns against him by the Russian Foreign Ministry, claiming that both he and the White Helmets were actually a terrorist organization linked with al-Qaeda (Yee, 2019). Others, likely fueled by this propaganda, speculate that the White Helmets are propaganda themselves for the interests of the US and NATO (Kakade, 2016). However, the claims that the White Helmets are linked with terrorist organizations and have staged mass casualty events have been thoroughly discredited as a clear ploy by the Russian and Syrian governments (Palma, 2016, Solon, 2017).

The primary goals of the group exist within the physical and cultural space of Syria, comprised of Syrians. Their ultimate aim is to provide emergency humanitarian relief in the Syrian Civil War to anyone who is suffering, and they are known for their dangerous attempts at saving lives at any cost (James, 2014). Their actions are to act as first responders following airstrikes in Syria, providing “emergency evacuation, urban search and rescue, firefighting, community engagement, and medical response” (Asif & Asif, 2018, p. 27). Additionally, they have developed an emergency plan to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 in Syria and go door-to-door to raise awareness, while also disinfecting public areas including camps and buildings, coordinating with medical professionals in setting up quarantine facilities, and training specialized teams on how to safely evacuate COVID-infected individuals to hospitals (The White Helmets, n.d.).

An important cultural consideration of humanitarian work is the effect that outside international aid has towards the local community. The White Helmets have been much more successful than Doctors Without Borders AKA MSF, most likely due to this discrepancy of trust (Asif & Asif, 2018). An outsider can create a feeling of shame, as if one is being pitied by the international community and is hopeless to help themselves, while a culturally native individual represents strength, solidarity, trust, and resiliency. “Thus, the clinical encounter between the native population and the foreign doctor becomes a microcosm of colonial rule, one that is characterized by confrontation and distrust” (Asif & Asif, 2018, p.27). The White Helmets are also committed to the long-term rebuilding of Syria as they are Syrians themselves, and want to ensure the peace, safety, and welfare of Syrian communities in infrastructure, and social, physical, and emotional health. It is because of these culturally-relevant investments and actions that it has been recommended to increase trauma-informed psychological care training for the volunteers, as they are in a unique position to deliver such services in the immediate and long term within Syria (Lester, 2018).

While the group was founded by international backers, its approximately 3000 volunteer members are Syrians themselves (Daley, 2016). As such, they have not ever been involved in another conflict, so can only be judged on their capacity within the one context they are serving. Additionally, they appear to be culturally sensitive in that they operate within the Syrian context.  However, this does not always mean that all Syrian cultures are equally respected, although the group strives for impartiality. There have been some criticisms of their ability to do so, stating that they are opposed to the government regime, and actually are encouraging the Syrian Civil War to continue through taking sides in the conflict and continuing to accept funding from Western backers (Moore, 2019). However, evidence and support of this opinion is scarce. That being said, it is understandable that the group would be largely opposed to the governmental regime, who has been criticized heavily for their attacks on their own civilians and human rights abuses (Amnesty International, n.d.). Despite this, The White Helmets claim that they have saved lives on all sides of the conflict, including government soldiers (The White Helmets, n.d.).

Below is the information directly from the Syria Civil Defense web page on “What We Do” (n.d.)

We are a humanitarian organisation dedicated to helping communities to prepare for, respond to and rebuild after attacks in our beloved Syria.

We are best known for our search and rescue services following bombings but we provide a range of services inline with the internationally recognised activities of civil defense.

We work according to the guidelines for civil defence organisations across the world, as well as in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. As defined in Protocol I (Article 61) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, we pledge to provide the services listed at paragraph 5:

  1. Warning the civilian population of attacks and dangers
  2. Urban Search and Rescue
  3. Evacuation of the civilian population from areas into which fighting is encroaching
  4. The provision of medical services – including first aid – at the point of injury
  5. Fire-fighting
  6. Management of emergency shelters
  7. Detection and marking of danger areas (such as areas with unexploded ordnance)
  8. Provision of emergency accommodation and supplies
  9. Emergency repair of indispensable public utilities
  10. Decontamination and similar protective measures
  11. Assistance in the preservation of objects essential for survival
  12. Emergency assistance in the restoration and maintenance of order in distressed areas
  13. Emergency disposal of the dead
  14. Management of blackout measures
  15. Complementary activities needed to carry out any of the tasks mentioned above.

As outlined in the Protocol I (Article 61) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 we provide these services for the following purposes:

  • To protect the civilian population against the dangers arising from hostilities or other disasters
  • To speed recovery from the immediate effects of such events To provide the conditions necessary for survival of the civilian population.

While civil defence organizations are protected under the international humanitarian law applicable to all civilians and civilian objects in general, the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, adopted in 1977, makes protection specific for civil defence.

Additionally, the White Helmets web page (n.d.) makes it clear that the organization is committed to helping rebuild physically and mentally in rebuilding communities following the end of the Civil War. One point that I found somewhat confusing is the utilization of two different web pages for the organization. It appears the White Helmets web page (n.d.) is aimed more towards generating support and fundraising, while the Syria Civil Defense website (n.d.) has more information about the organization itself and press releases.

Remember Omran, that bloodied and dusty five-year-old in the ambulance whose image wrecked our hearts all over the world? In 2017, the Syrian government media released new photos and videos of him, along with statements by the boy’s father that the family was pro-regime and that the child had been used by the rebel forces as fake propaganda (Specia & Samaan, 2017). This is just another example of how the truth around the White Helmets, and the war in Syria as a whole, is constantly being twisted and changed, making it difficult to know the truth (Haddad, 2016). Social media exacerbates this, with clearly differing messages posted to different sites, aimed at different followers, and between Arabic and English (Lynch, Freelon, & Aday, 2014). This is a common modern tactic in civil wars and human-causes acts of humanitarian crises, the post-truth age (Harsin, 2018).

Overall, it appears the White Helmets are a legitimate organization working diligently within a high-risk area to serve the Syrian community.  They provide an invaluable service that international organizations have struggled to do. Despite the conflict being ongoing, the organization has been successful in its mission, and seems to have the ability to continue doing so, despite the direct attacks on their lives and through the media to discredit them and attempt to eliminate their funding. That being said, Asif and Asif (2018) recommend that the White Helmets increase their indigenous independence by eliminating Western funding. While I understand this position, I think that there is always a struggle for organizations to have enough funding, so to get it from any source possible may be necessary in order to complete their mission.

I find the Syrian White Helmets to be incredibly inspiring personally and would like to see other models for indigenous humanitarian organizations given research and support around the world. I would like to see the larger international aid organizations focus their resources and funding towards supporting local, grassroots movements such as the White Helmets.  I think this is done in some capacity already, but I think there is much room for improvement.

References

Aikins, M. (2014). Whoever saves a life. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/matter/whoever-saves-a-life-1aaea20b782#.kelvvhn3f

Al Asaad, S. (2018). The White Helmet myth: A soft war propaganda. Op-Ed. MEHR News Agency. Retrieved from https://en.mehrnews.com/news/132739/The-White-Helmet-myth-A-soft-war-propaganda

Amnesty International. (n.d.). Syria. Retrieved from https://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/syria/

Asif, S.M. & Asif, S. (2018). Doctors with borders: The White Helmets and radical political medicine. In: Weber AS, Verjee MA, editors. Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Medical Humanities in the Middle East [Internet]; 2018 Nov 17-18: Doha, Qatar: Innovations in Global Health Professions Education; 2019 March. p. 27-29. https://dx.doi.org/10.20421/ighpe2019.01.09

Atlantic Council. (2017). Breaking Aleppo. Retrieved from http://www.publications.atlanticcouncil.org/breakingaleppo/

BBC. (June 12, 2012). Syria in civil war, says UN official Herve Ladsous. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18417952

BBC. (July 22, 2018). Syria conflict: White Helmets evacuated by Israel. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44915099

Daley, B. (October 7, 2016). Who are Syria’s White Helmets, and why are they so controversial?. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/who-are-syrias-white-helmets-and-why-are-they-so-controversial-66580

Haddad, B. (2016). The debate over Syria has reached a dead end. The Nation. Retrieved from https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-debate-over-syria-has-reached-a-dead-end/

Harsin, J.  (2018). Post-Truth and Critical Communication Studies. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford University Press.

James, L. (2014). The most dangerous job in the world. New Internationalist. Retrieved from https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/10/10/syria-civil-defense-volunteers/

Kakade, S. (2016). White Helmets: Heroes or propaganda?. Ruggles Media. Retrieved from https://camd.northeastern.edu/rugglesmedia/2016/09/26/white-helmets-heroes-or-propaganda/

Lester, N. (2018) Introducing a Trauma-Informed Practice Framework to Provide Support in Conflict-Affected Countries. The RUSI Journal, 163(6), 28-41. DOI:10.1080/03071847.2018.1562016

Lynch, M., Freelon, D., and Aday, S. (2014). Syria’s socially mediated civil war. United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/publications/2014/01/syrias-socially-mediated-civil-war

Malsin, J. (n.d.). The White Helmets of Syria. Time. Retrieved from https://time.com/syria-white-helmets/

Moore, T. (2019). The White Helmets: Unneutral in the Syrian conflict. Kent State University Undergraduate Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. Retrieved from https://oaks.kent.edu/ugresearch/2019/white-helmets-unneutral-syrian-conflict

Palma, B. (December 15, 2016). Are the Syrian ‘White Helmets’ Rescue Organization Terrorists?. Snopes Fact Check. Retrieved from https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/syrian-rescue-organization-the-white-helmets-are-terrorists/

Solon, O. (December 18, 2017). How Syria’s White Helmets became victims of an online propaganda machine. The Guardian.  Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/syria-white-helmets-conspiracy-theories

South China Morning Post [username]. Syrian conflict: who are the White Helmets? . YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnhkH6lYJxM&t=13s

Specia, M. and Samaan, M. (June 6, 2017). Syrian boy who became image of civil war reappears. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/world/middleeast/omran-daqneesh-syria-aleppo.html

Syria Civil Defense. (n.d.). ”Who we are” and “What we do.” Retrieved from https://www.syriacivildefence.org/en/

The Syria Campaign. (2017). Killing the truth: How Russia is fuelling a disinformation campaign to cover up war crimes in Syria. Retrieved from https://thesyriacampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/KillingtheTruth.pdf

The White Helmets. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/

Wright, R. (July 23, 2018). The White Helmets – Syria’s noble rescuers – have to be rescued by Israel. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-white-helmets-syrias-noble-rescuers-have-to-be-rescued-by-israel

Yee, V. (November 11, 2019). James Le Mesurier, backer of Syrian White Helmets, is found dead in Turkey. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/world/middleeast/james-le-mesurier-white-helmets-dead.html