Frustration and anger

Thank you Channel 4 news for your daring news ‘expose’ on the ‘situation in the camps’.  It is a pity that you were not able to get more feedback from other humanitarian agencies working on the ground or that some of the footage was in fact rather questionable, but nevertheless, sneaking a ‘hidden’ camera into a camp trying to get some dirt on the authorities.  Master stroke!! Of course, they possibly didn’t realise that by doing such an ‘intelligent’ thing, they would just be making things difficult for those of us who have to remain and work in this setting.  As news broke out of the deportation of these journalists at the beginning of the week, the clampdown as expected took place.  Cameras are now prohibited in the camps and security has been tightened. So our circle of influence which we were initially enjoying has now shrunk and we now have to regain that trust and acceptance.

I really don’t understand how this current scenario is being played out internationally.  On the one hand, you have stories on the media about the plight of IDPs in camps in Pakistan and the concern for access for agencies, yet no one is pin pointing the government of Pakistan.  Yet in the same breath, the same scenario is happening here in Sri Lanka, but it is the fault of the government.  Not that I am excusing the Sri Lankan government by all means.  Everyone will have to answer for whatever action they have taken.

The world is so concerned about what is happening in the No Fire Zone.  I am not here to explain or criticise what is happening in the No Fire Zone or who is shelling who.  This is out of my circle of influence and the majority of the other humanitarian agencies.  What we can do is to actually respond to the growing emergency needs of those that have been displaced.  This is our mandate.

This is why I can’t understand why some of the agencies are not responding to the crisis and how some of my colleagues are willing to hold the lives of many of the displaced people at bay, for political gain.  A lot of them seem to take the line of Non Governmental as being anti government.  So whatever the government says, we have to object.  Not in the line of  ‘let us see where the gaps are and fill them in because this is our mandate’. 

 Sure there are difficulties in access and clearance, but this is the system.  Like in most countries around the world, you get into the system and effect change. You can’t be on the outside and effect change.

 This is what many of my colleagues are unfortunately doing and I am getting annoyed because it is at the expense of the lives of these IDPs.  More than once I have heard the comment ‘we will have to do an assessment and see the requirements’.  I don’t understand that!!! What is there to check?  You have 170,000 people who have been displaced and who need the basic: water, shelter, food, sanitation.  It’s common sense.  The government has the responsibility to do something and should be accountable, but then again so do we because that is what we are there for.   We are not there to drive around in our 4x4s with our flags flying and just doing assessments.  The sad thing is that we should not be doing assessments because we were expecting this. 

 How many times, have we assured the government that we are ready for this situation?  We have prepared stockpiles and set aside funds.  Yet nothing seems to have happened.  These are the serious questions that we need to ask ourselves before we are asked.  We were supposed to be prepared for this.  This is not unexpected like Pakistan.  What happened?

The coordination meetings are happening though!! I remember getting the minutes of one meeting, where it was stated that no more doctors were needed since the needs had been met.  Hence anyone applying for support from donors in bringing in doctors would be rejected.  I then looked at the daily update that had come from my team on the field. ‘We have a shortage of doctors’.  Somewhere there is a disconnect!

‘We want to pressurise the government to return these people back as soon as possible ,’ one head of mission told me as he politely refused my request to support some of my operational costs. ‘So do we’, I replied, ‘but this doesn’t mean I should not do anything now.’  Unfortunately, there are many who are taking the line that the government created this mess and they should clean up but this argument falls apart when it is a group of civilians who have no means of support and help.

Standards need to be met and procedures need to be followed is always the cry of the agencies.  We need to ensure that the need is met.  I remember a couple of years ago, a government agent saying ‘What standards?  I just need one toilet to be built for this camp.  Just one out of a need of at least twenty and you bring standards and quality into this!’

I think there is something fundamentally wrong in the way that we as a humanitarian community are approaching this crisis (and the same goes for others around the world).  We seem to have forgotten that this is not a job but a calling.  A calling to serve those most in need! No time does this calling become more apparent than during an emergency, when we have to do the most efficient and effective response possible to meet those in need.  Lives can not be compromised.

I am in no doubt now that we will not receive the support from the bigger humanitarian organisations and donors because of what I have written.  You see much of the donor support is like being in an old boys club.  You rub my back and I rub yours.  I don’t think I fit in or want to fit into such a club.  Yet the sad thing is that there are a few agencies like ours that are genuinely trying to work and we are now looking at pulling out after three months, because we do not have the funds to carry out the operations.  This is the saddest irony of this whole situation.