Feb 06, 2007

Local Aid Workers in Danger

by Laura Starita

This past December a Pakistani mullah named Mufti Khalid Shah issued a fatwa saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill aid workers employed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This comes at a time when violence against aid workers is already on the rise, according to a recent report issued by the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, as reported in the Economist. From 1997 to 2005, violent attacks doubled every year, resulting in 737 fatalities. Newsweek recently reported another assault on four aid workers in Darfur. One group is particularly vulnerable to violent attacks: local employees or affiliates of international aid agencies.

Any success in humanitarian relief would be impossible without alliances with local employees and organizations. Locals understand the language and the culture, the challenges to success and usually arouse less suspicion. In cases where political insecurity prevents an international organization from maintaining a local presence, locals can provide service where otherwise there would be none. Historically, aid agencies believed that locals would be safer from attack, but the CIC report shows this is false. As the Shah fatwa typifies, the recent attacks against aid workers are not usually incidental. Aid workers today are targeted specifically, and violence against them is politically motivated. This makes working in conflict and post-conflict situations all the more difficult.

The CIC report questions the morality of relying so heavily on local aid workers in situations of severe insecurity, yet recognizes that ending the practice would be counterproductive. Not using local workers would mean less help getting to fewer people in need. All aid organizations, though, can be helpfully reminded that there are often negative consequences tied to even the most positive actions. We all bear responsibility to do everything possible to minimize those negative consequences.

Economist: Risks in the Aid Industry

NYU Center on International Cooperation: Providing Aid in Insecure Environments

Newsweek: Africa: War on the Rescuers