Back to reality

Front from left to right: Geert, Johara and Olga. Back from left to right: Maha, Paul and Salwa.

4 December 2015

Just hours after the UK Government authorised air strikes, British Tornado jets yesterday carried out their first air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Although the UK is not deploying British troops on the ground at this time, the heightened fear of the Syrian aid workers from World Vision is felt by all of us.  They are mostly occupied with the safety of their family, friends and colleagues back in Syria.

The staff in Syria has now been advised to cease programs and lie low for their own safety. Some of them have chosen to leave the area and move their families to safety. The bombings hamper aid delivery to desperately needy war victims.

A limited number of Syrian World Vision staff have permits to cross the border between Turkey and Syria. They use their multiple entry permits to bring basic food and non-food items to colleagues in Syria who do not have such a permit.  The Turkish-Syrian border crossing has 6 check points, and passing those, is in itself an incredible challenge. In crossing the border staff sometimes fear for their own lives. Still they proceed as their humanitarian colleagues left behind, are depending on them and the supplies they bring. I feel nothing but admiration for those brave men who risk their lives for the sake of others.

Yesterday the intervention team and I briefed management on the first results of our work here. Additionally management was trained in two crisis intervention planning tools, which hopefully do not need to be put in practice. In the afternoon I did three individual interventions.

This morning we took time to reflect on the last two weeks. Our time is up. We all agreed that leaving tomorrow to travel back home, is going to be difficult. For me it has been a very special experience. It feels good to have been able to help others in addressing their hurts. As this mission has come to an end, I feel satisfied about the results of the work we have done here. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to reflect on my own blessings and I deeply appreciate all I have in my life.

After individual sessions with two Syrian aid workers this afternoon, I can’t help wondering what it would be like crossing the Turkish-Syrian border without knowing whether I would return or not. And as winter is coming, my thoughts will be with the millions of Syrians who live in the tented camps. With little or no humanitarian aid, how will they keep warm during the upcoming winter?

Tomorrow Johara (our team leader) and I will start our return journey to the Netherlands. We will stay over  for a day in Istanbul to allow ourselves some decompression time before returning to our daily lives back home.

Our journey tomorrow begins on International Volunteer Day. Many of the aid workers in the Syrian crisis are volunteers and their true humility mostly goes unnoticed. Therefore tonight I salute all those whose actions count for the people affected by the Syrian War.

With combined effort we can make a difference in the world.

A desire to cross the border into Syria

2 December 2015

We frequently read in the news about violence against humanitarian aid workers.  Thousands of Syrian humanitarian workers are providing aid in the most hostile and dangerous areas in Syria. This at a very high cost to their own physical and psychological well-being. They are often subjected to personal assault, injury, threats, kidnapping and even death. 

Unfortunately little psychological support for aid workers exists, so I am honoured to be part of an intervention team that does just that. The people helping victims of violence and suppression should not become victims themselves.

I am on a mission for the humanitarian aid organization World Vision International, and they fortunately do recognize the impact of aid work on staff. They recognize the importance of stress management training and psychosocial services led by peer supporters and mental health professionals. The peer support intervention team is therefore made up of aid workers too. They provide psychosocial care for fellow colleague aid workers. 

As an intervention team we are encouraged to share our thoughts, feelings, and reflections about our experiences on a daily basis with each other.  This is a critical activity to protect ourselves against the impact of secondary trauma. 

Blogging also has its advantages as for me it has become a great form of personal, self-guided debriefing.

Yesterday all World Vision staff in Gaziantep, including some of the local staff from Syria, received stress management training facilitated by Johara. In this training staff learn about different types of stress, the effect of stress on their physical and emotional well-being, including the signs and symptoms to watch out for. Lastly we were taught basic coping mechanisms. That is what pretty much kept me busy the whole day. It was good to see the active participation of staff, and the presence of senior leadership was encouraging. 

Today I met an amazing, inspirational man. He is employed by World Vision International as the Relief Director for the Syria Response, which covers Syria, Turkey, the Kurdish Republic of Iraq and Jordan. He has worked all over the world to lead World Vision programmes in man-made and natural disasters. 

He has a lot of experience in humanitarian aid and left the USA with his wife to settle where his help is mostly needed.  He speaks passionately about his experiences in the field. In answer to the question how he copes with all the misery he has seen and dealt with in his work, he told us that his wife is his best support. He added that he always tries to find a good work/life balance and get enough sleep. On top of that he regularly goes on vacation to destress. Good advice from a truly inspirational aid worker. 

Although it is far too dangerous and impossible for me to cross the border into Syria, I felt a strong desire to join the Syrian staff when they returned to Syria after the training. 

Tonight I have an overwhelming feeling that there is not enough care for aid workers. We must not only care for the Syrian war victims, but also for aid workers who are assisting them. 

World Vision is a global relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice, e.g. in disaster situations such as the Syrian crisis. www.wvi.org