WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU KNOW:

After watching the video”what it takes” it’s time to demystify another myth.  Snapshot of the video is that it shows a UN female employee who is a go getter, fights her way sacrifices her time and at the same time is gives little to her family. Though a bit overrated as per my personal opinion but that’s a n argument for another day.

Many times often you meet friends in social places and then come that part of introducing yourself and where you work. More often than not as soon as I say I am Gilbert and I work with the UN, eyes roll and questions comes flying from people probing to know more about the UN.

Before the questions, the comments are mostly skewed. The most obvious and notorious one is, “you guys earn a lot of money”. There  are many myths and beliefs which many people harbor in regards to working with the humanitarian world. That the staff have drivers waiting for them at the doorsteps with white 4x4s, that they have security detailed, house helps running after them, PA’s,  secretaries and all kind of subordinate staff. As it might be true to some extend in certain categories of jobs, most of the jobs are in very hardship areas with barely minimum support.

Most of the humanitarian workers which are more than 50% work in extremely hard and more often than not dangerous environments. Most of these locations even lack basic amenities even including drinking water, wet food and sanitation facilities. Though the humanitarian systems tries as much as possible to take care of its staff, sometimes the infrastructure comes in too little too late.  In some location basic facilities are lacking and might have to be shipped from elsewhere and by the time it gets to the ground you’ll have made with what is available. Treating your won water, cooking what and eating the local food, using makeshift bathroom facilities mostly constructed with plastic sheeting or grass with no roof, pit latrines and sleeping in  tents. Some locations have no communication and internet services  and worst of all invested with all kind or rodents, ants and reptiles.  I have seen all kind of snakes and bugs, the dreadful camel spiders and scorpions and puff adders.

Personally I have been in places where I had to survive with canned food and bread for close to 2 weeks and running short of bottled water and having to take any available water.  I witnessed two staff depart the station because they could not cope with the hardship. Since then lower my expectations even beyond the bare minimum whenever I am posted to a new station.

If you don’t leave because of unbearable conditions, then you’ll survive and if you survive some end up being evacuated from serious illness or bug bites and even on security reasons.

The worst situation for humanitarian workers in finding your self in the line of fire. Some of these situations have led to fatalities and even outright staff becoming victims and targets of fire. There is nothing worse than staff loosing lives trying to save lives.  If you don’t lose life you might be traumatize or incapacitated for life. Though the systems have counseling services but it’s not as easily accessible as it should be especially in remote and emergency locations.

These staff lives in places which are designated non-family duty stations and stay away from their families, some as long as even one year. Rest and Recuperate (R&R), which is a humanitarian privilege to get a break after some time in the field are designed to take you out of the hardship area to the nearest city but not to your family city or home station, which poses another problem of staff being exposed to social evils which they engage to vent out the stress from the field, it might include clubbing,  drinking and other pleasurable activities worst of all engaging in sexual activities.

Next time you see a humanitarian worker know that not all is rosy. They go through a lot of hardship, hostile and often stressful environment.  Someone might be wearing a strong face but inside they are hurting.