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Eleven years ago today, 22 of our colleagues were killed in a bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. Every year since has brought more heartache to the aid community. In conflict zones around the world, men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping others have been attacked, killed and abused.
World Humanitarian Day, which we celebrate on 19 August, was created to remember and honour their sacrifice.
The past eight months have been a dark time for South Sudan, and for the aid organisations working here. Since December 2013, 13 of our colleagues – most of them South Sudanese - have lost their lives, caught up in the violent conflict that has swept the country. Six of them were killed only two weeks ago, in Maban county in the north of the country; singled out and attacked based on their ethnicity.
These attacks on aid workers are symptomatic of the brutal violence against civilians that has characterised the conflict so far. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, injured or raped. Children have been separated from their families; elderly people left to fend for themselves. Many people have told me that things are worse than they were during the long civil war South Sudan fought against its northern neighbours in Sudan – one of Africa’s longest and most devastating conflicts.
Local personnel make up the backbone of any aid operation. Before the crisis, nine in 10 staff members with international NGOs in South Sudan were South Sudanese. When violence struck, it dealt a huge blow to our ability to deliver assistance. Thousands of nurses, teachers, drivers and logisticians were displaced along with their communities. Many of the men and women responsible for vaccinating children, distributing food and helping women through childbirth were suddenly themselves in need of emergency relief. Making matters worse, the ethnic tensions fuelling the violence meant that some South Sudanese aid workers were not able to work where they were most needed, as their lives were potentially in danger.
The theme for this year’s World Humanitarian Day is that the world needs more humanitarian heroes. The true heroes of our operation are the South Sudanese men and women who have continued to assist their brothers and sisters, in the most difficult conditions imaginable, while hoping for a better future for their country.
Now it is time for their political leaders, and for the international community, to show the same dedication. The best way to honour the work of humanitarians in South Sudan is to work for peace; for an immediate end to all violence against civilians; for aid workers to be able to do their life-saving work in safety. The parties to the conflict must be held accountable for keeping people safe from harm, and for participating meaningfully in the peace process. In the meantime, NGOs and UN agencies will continue to deliver food, water, shelter and healthcare to the millions of people who suffer needlessly in this conflict, and to help them live to see brighter days for their country.
• Toby Lanzer is UN assistant secretary general and a humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan
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