The Challenge of Insecurity
In many countries, ongoing conflicts present deadly security risks, and inhibit our teams from reaching people in crisis. However, our staff are passionate about finding ways to overcome these obstacles, conducting thorough risk assessments and logistical planning.
Angola
In 2002, Medair sent a team to Angola to launch a new programme, even though the country was still at war. The team remembers its small plane descending very steeply onto the runway to avoid the possibility of a rebel missile attack. For the next four years, the team provided vital health care services to a remote population that was only accessible by air. Throughout that time, Medair needed to rely on the de-mining activities of Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to deal with the constant threat of landmines at project and construction sites.
Sudan’s Northern States
In Sudan’s northern states, the problems with insecurity are ongoing and severe. In 2006, a Medair vehicle was stolen at gunpoint. Later in the year, violent fighting in Malakal forced our staff to make a sudden exit, although we returned shortly thereafter because the city urgently needed an emergency water supply.
The frequent insecurity makes it difficult to reach our project sites in Sudan. However, our teams are determined to respond whenever they can, sometimes relying on helicopters to visit remote sites during windows of opportunity in the conflict. When Finance and Logistics Manager Kirsty Mauritz heard about three sudden crises in West Darfur that Medair could respond to, she and her husband quickly left their R&R in Khartoum to return to camp. “I am excited to be involved in this,” said Kirsty, “because I feel that – for the moment – this is the most important work we can do. I just hope we can reach the people in crisis despite the insecurity in the area.”
Uganda
In Uganda, security conditions have improved over the past year, but it is still difficult to reach beneficiaries, particularly in remote Kaabong District, where Medair is working on providing better access to safe water and sanitation. Road travel is quite dangerous, and any night travel is impossible.
“One of our vehicles was ambushed in October by a group of armed warriors,” said Logistician Jakob Sorensen. “They were looking for soldiers. They took out some food items, and stole some things and money from the car.”
The Lord’s Resistance Army was very active in Uganda in 2004, on a night when three Medair staff risked their own lives to save a young boy. The child had been shot, and needed to be transferred immediately to the hospital in Soroti, which was 50 kilometres away along a deserted road. The three staff members set off with the boy on the dark road, calling back to the base every 15 minutes. Fortunately, no harm came to any Medair staff, and the boy made a complete recovery.
Although Medair exercises great caution in insecure areas, every team member knows that risk is unavoidable in some situations. This can be a difficult burden to bear, but our staff believe in the importance of their work.
“If I go to the camps, and I see all these people suffering, I know why I’m here,” says Programme Manager Henrieke Hommes. “We work long hours six days a week, and sometimes on Sundays when necessary, and I completely forget about it. It’s much more basic what you do here, compared to what you do back home. It has more to do with life and death, in a very essential way.”
This kind of dedication and purpose helps our teams to put aside their fears, despite the dangerous conditions that surround them. Our staff focus on the beneficiaries, whose lives have been so tragically affected by conflict, and whose families lack the most basic essential services for health and safety. These are the world’s most vulnerable people, and they cannot be forgotten, despite the perils of insecurity.
