All my life, the Sunday before Memorial Day has been marked in church by current and former members of the armed forces standing to be acknowledged, many times in uniform. Heads bowed, we remember those who gave their lives for the country. We thank those who served and take the next day off.
And while the last Monday in May is dedicated to American heroes, the concept of honoring fallen, wounded, and active soldiers is replicated around the world on various days throughout the year.
And yet I’ve never heard of a church (or any community group for that matter) doing the same on World Humanitarian Day.
The peace-makers, unarmed and vulnerable, go unrecognized year after year.
Because of this, they remain at risk without sufficient protections from the agencies that send them. Despite growing pressure to address systemic failures, little has been done to ensure accountability or reform.
Just four days ago an article was published that rocked the humanitarian community, my community, worldwide. It revealed a horrific, targeted assault on aid workers which occurred last month in the capital of South Sudan.
The story had mostly been kept quiet, even from those of us who still have friends there.
Now that I know, I stand in solidarity with those still too wounded to speak for themselves.
And while I can’t tell someone else’s story, I’ll tell my own.
On July 8, 2016, the eve of South Sudan’s 5th birthday, I heard through posts on Facebook that violence had erupted in Juba.
The posts sounded eerily familiar to the one my friend had written only two and a half years before, in the same city, on 17 December 2013: “Is this what a quashed coup sounds like?” It was not yet understood that a civil war had started. Evacuations began the next day. By Christmas, nearly all foreign aid workers had been whisked to Nairobi or some other safe haven. Headlines read, “South Sudan clashes kill 400-500”.
Back then, my friend described watching soldiers chasing and shooting at civilians as they ran through the neighboring compound. She was locked in her room. From the relative calm in Maban, I couldn’t imagine what she witnessed.
With this in mind, on 10th July I sent a message to the only friend I could recall who was still working in the capital. She happened to be out of the country on holiday. I was relieved.
What I didn’t realize was that the next day, when aid workers had been assured things had calmed, a heinous crime was brewing.
Around 3pm, the Terrain Hotel was overrun by 80-100 wild soldiers. According to the news reports, the troops spent an hour breaking past the barriers to reach the foreigners. They were beaten, gang raped, faced mock executions, and forced to watch the murder of a local journalist. Their phone calls for help went ignored.
When I finally heard the news this week, I was shaken.
The aid workers were in a safe room.
They had time to call for help.
Peacekeepers were less than a mile away.
SO WHY IS IT BUSINESS AS USUAL?
This World Humanitarian Day, my community is hurting. We are mourning the rape and torture of our colleagues.
We are angry. Angry at the unwillingness of mandated agencies to intervene. Angry at the misinformation that was provided to the aid workers that could have kept them safe.
And we remember the times it almost happened to us.
And we think, if we are not protected, we cannot protect others.
As aid workers, we demand change. Please join your voice with ours and sign the petition: United Nations, International Organisations, World Governments – Protect Aid Workers Now!
Here’s what we’re asking to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, donors governments, and aid agencies:
- Grant protected legal status to humanitarian aid workers under International Humanitarian Law, and appoint a Special Rapporteur on aid worker protection and well being;
- Adopt a common international Code of Duty of Care for NGOs, UN agencies and Red Cross movement to be signed and adopted internationally; and
- Dedicate more resources and create mandatory safety conditions for aid agencies to operate under an international code of conduct.
#ProtectAidWorkers #NotATarget #WorldHumanitarianDay