On this World Humanitarian Day, we honour those who risk their lives to help others, and we demand that they be protected from harm while carrying out their life-saving duty.
It’s natural that when we hear of a danger – such as an outbreak of infectious disease, rising floodwaters, a rapidly spreading fire, or people injured by violence – our instinct is to want to move in the other direction.
But there is also a natural human instinct to want to help and, if necessary, to go close to the impending danger to see what we can do.
Today, on World Humanitarian Day (19 August 2024), we honour those around the world who #ActforHumanity every day, braving numerous dangers to provide life-saving first aid, medical care or other forms of assistance to people affected by crisis.
We also call for the IFRC campaign #ProtectHumanity The programme launched today ensures that all humanitarian volunteers and staff are fully protected from harm or violence while carrying out their life-saving work.
Ordinary Heroes
These volunteers and humanitarian workers are not superheroes. They are ordinary people, driven by their desire to help others, and have the training and experience needed to respond to emergency situations.
However, these volunteers are not without fear. They have been trained to deal with difficult situations and to protect themselves as best they can. But this training cannot fully protect them if they are not given the full respect, access and support they deserve as they work urgently to save lives.
These are people like Hélène Mula, a Red Cross volunteer from the Democratic Republic of Congo who is bringing life-saving information to communities currently facing a deadly Mpox outbreak.
“At first I was afraid to go into the communities and talk about Mpox and the risks,” she says. “Because I know it can be transmitted from person to person. But it’s OK to be scared. I’m a volunteer and I have no choice but to go out and try to save lives.”
Or there are people like 46-year-old Dil Mohammed, one of around 3,300 Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers who form the foundation of community preparedness and emergency aid for displaced people in Bangladesh in the settlements of Cox’s Bazar.
Dil is one of the many unsung heroes of disaster prevention and response in a place where cyclones are a constant threat.”People know that in the event of a disaster, we are there for them when they need ushe says.
For Hamasseo Borotia of the Cameroon Red Cross, it is about helping people in local communities avoid the dangers of deadly infectious diseases such as cholera. “I am happy to help protect my community from infectious diseases,” says Hamasseo. “It makes me proud to see the information I share being put into practice and making the community better.”
Others face life-threatening dangers every day while working in active combat zones, and they know what it’s like to lose colleagues who are killed while trying to help others.
Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance driver Jihad Mansour is reminded of this loss every time he opens the door of his locker at his local branch. On that locker door he has pinned a photograph of his close friend and colleague Fadi Al-Maani, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this year.
“Every time I open the closet, memories of my dear friend and colleague Fadi Al-Maani come back”, he says, remembering other colleagues who died in the line of duty. “We have spent many wonderful days and years together and the loss has hit us hard and left us emotionally drained. But we will continue our humanitarian mission until the end..”
Mohammed Alburai also understands this loss. And like Mansour, his passion for helping his fellow human beings remains undiminished. Alburai was a volunteer member of a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic team before he and his family moved to Slovenia due to insecurity in Gaza.
“Sometimes you go out as a volunteer to do your work and you don’t know if you’re going to see your family again or not, you don’t know if you’re going to come home or not.” he remembers. “But the volunteers never stop helping others… They are the heroes of humanity in this time.”
Today, Alburai works as a Red Cross volunteer in Slovenia, where he helps other refugees adapt to their new surroundings..
It’s time to #ActforHumanity and #ProtectHumanity.
All of these volunteers are an example of the many different ways humanitarian workers and aid workers make a difference and save lives, despite the many dangers they face themselves. On this World Humanitarian Day, we honor these volunteers and demand that they receive the support, protection and respect they deserve.
Unfortunately, the world is failing humanitarian workers and the people they help. This year alone 28 Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian workers were killed in the line of duty — killed while simply trying to save the lives of others.
That is why we are launching the Campaign to protect humanitycalling for safety and protection for humanitarian workers and highlighting the alarming number of our volunteers and staff killed in the line of duty since the beginning of the year.
In a joint statement announcing the campaignIFRC President Kate Forbes and IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said:
“This period has seen the highest levels of violence against our volunteers and staff in the world. Even one life lost is far too many. We have reached a tipping point where we must demand the safety and protection of our staff.”
The IFRC asks you to join this campaign, presented during a “Stand in Solidarity” event at the IFRC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on World Humanitarian Day. This solidarity is crucial because, as Mohammed Alburai knows very well, volunteers will continue to work for humanity despite the dangers. And they need our support.
“We as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement will not stop he says. “We are neutral and supportive of all people. But that has to change. If we continue to act like this, what kind of future will we build for the future??”
