Forgotten ferries The little-known story of the ill-fated Madjiriha A site for sore feet Reaching out with healing hands to migrants in Mexico Red Cross Red Crescent Unforgettable storms ISSUE 3 . 2012 www.redcross.int Learning from history: Galveston’s forgotten recovery

Humanity Inc. Generating profi t for care

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL R E D C R O S S A N D RED CRESCENT M O V E M E N T

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is made up of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the National Societies.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

The International Committee of the Red The International Federation of Red Cross National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Cross is an impartial, neutral and independent and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the embody the work and principles of the organization whose exclusively humanitarian world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian International Red Cross and Red Crescent mission is to protect the lives and dignity of network, reaching 150 million people each year Movement in more than 188 countries. National victims of armed confl ict and other situations of through its 187 member National Societies. Societies act as auxiliaries to the public authorities violence and to provide them with assistance. Together, the IFRC acts before, during and of their own countries in the humanitarian fi eld The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suff ering by after disasters and health emergencies to meet and provide a range of services including disaster promoting and strengthening humanitarian law the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable relief, health and social programmes. During and universal humanitarian principles. Established people. It does so with impartiality as to wartime, National Societies assist the aff ected in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class civilian population and support the army medical Conventions and the International Red Cross and and political opinions. Guided by Strategy 2020 services where appropriate. Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates — a collective plan of action to tackle the major the international activities conducted by the humanitarian and development challenges of Movement in armed confl icts and other situations this decade — the IFRC is committed to ‘saving of violence. lives and changing minds’.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is guided by seven Fundamental Principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

All Red Cross and Red Crescent activities have one central purpose: to help without discrimination those who suff er and thus contribute to peace in the world. Guest editorial Donors need transparency, not tactics

HE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS has this has highlighted the restricted to activities brought hard times for many. House- contrast between needs- where we have expertise Tholds and governments alike are fi nd- driven and funding-driven and can provide greatest ing themselves in reduced circumstances. approaches to raising assistance. After a decade of growth in aid budgets, money. Should an appeal some donors have begun making cuts. for a particular emergency After the tsunami hit South accept donations only for Asia in 2004, we received The situation hit a signifi cant low point last activities related to that more funds than were nec- year, when the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, emergency or for wider essary for our programmes Tuberculosis and Malaria — one of the most activities? in the region. We stopped important sources of funding for medical accepting contributions to programmes in developing countries — MSF depends heavily on our tsunami response and said it would not be able to consider new private funding; in 2011, asked people who had al- Photo: Médecins sans Frontières grant applications due to lack of funds. Po- almost 90 per cent of our income came ready made donations if we could redirect litical leaders had not fulfi lled their pledges; from private donors. This support — from the funds to our other programmes. The they had in eff ect broken their promises. more than 4.5 million people — is fi rst and vast majority agreed. Thousands of people in low- and middle-in- foremost testimony to the hard work of come countries were denied the life-saving MSF staff in the fi eld, who are recognized Engaging with donors treatment they needed. for saving lives and restoring health the Overcoming funding challenges is per- world over. But our dependence on private haps less about tactics and markets, and The Global Fund’s immediate crisis is over, more about donors’ belief in what is being thankfully, but it sounded an alarm for aid done: how effectively is their money programmes of all kinds. Transparency improves going to be spent? accountability and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) will con- Most donors are interested in what is being tinue to put pressure on governments to demonstrates integrity. done with their money, how and why. meet their obligations, fulfi l their com- Going beyond simple messages of crisis mitments and fund humanitarian pro- It creates a space for and emergency is not easy: talking about grammes. But humanitarian action is a the diffi cult choices that have to be made shared responsibility: the new economic engagement, builds trust and in humanitarian response raises questions powers also have the means to provide increases understanding. and invites even closer scrutiny. But MSF is more assistance, and those governments trying to be more transparent. And where that receive aid must step up and shoulder we have succeeded in doing so, we have their responsibilities, too. funds is also deliberate; it strengthens MSF learned that the vast majority of our do- as a humanitarian movement in a way that nors appreciate our openness. Needs-driven or funding-driven? public institutional funding cannot. Each Donations from the general public have private donation is an expression of soli- Transparency improves accountability and seen a decline as well. MSF felt this in 2009, darity and it helps to guarantee the inde- demonstrates integrity. And it goes even when funding from private donors fell by pendence and impartiality of our action. further. It creates a space for engagement, 3 per cent. This year, too, we are feeling an builds trust and increases understanding. impact in some countries, such as Greece, Given this situation, the need to sustain Italy and Spain. private funding is particularly resonant at To sustain funding, we should go beyond MSF. We have chosen to take the route of simple appeals for money. We need to Individual donors seem to be responding needs-driven funding. We prioritize unre- allow for engagement in an honest dia- more readily to particular emergencies. stricted funding, so that we can exercise logue about exactly what humanitarian MSF saw signifi cant increases in private independence, using money where it is assistance is all about, what it can and can- donations following the 2010 earthquake most needed and reacting immediately not achieve. in Haiti and, in 2011, the malnutrition cri- to emergencies. When we accept dona- sis in Somalia. In an uncertain climate for tions for particular emergencies, we do By Unni Karunakara private donations, where fund-raisers our best to accept funds commensurate Unni Karunakara is the international president of Médecins are looking for ways to sustain funding, with our estimated needs, which are sans Frontières.

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 1

In brief... More money needed to The earthquakes — the strongest of which was magnitude 5.7 — left save lives in Mali more than 80 people dead and As people in the north of Mali approximately 800 injured in one of continue to be hit hard by the eff ects China’s poorest areas. Some 200,000 of the armed confl ict and the ongoing people were evacuated. food crisis, the ICRC appealed to Thousands of quilts and warm donors for US$ 28 million, making the jackets, and hundreds of tents have Mali operation ICRC’s fourth largest in been distributed to the worst-hit budgetary terms. areas, which are more than six hours “In the north of the country, by road from the provincial capital, the situation is becoming more Photo: REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro, courtesy www.alertnet.org Kunming. An emergency response and more alarming,” said Yasmine team from the Yunnan Red Cross Volunteers of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) light candles during a Praz Dessimoz, the ICRC ’s head was deployed to provide latrines vigil for the victims of a garment factory fi re in Karachi in September. One of of operations for North and in one of the main camps for the the fi rst responders was a PRCS Emergency Response Unit, which gave fi rst West Africa. Along with the Mali displaced. aid and transferred survivors to local hospitals. At least 314 people burned Red Cross, the ICRC had already to death as fi re swept through factories in two cities in Pakistan, raising provided 160,000 people with questions about industrial safety in the South Asian nation. food. With the extra funds, the ICRC ICRC pushes for greater will reach a total of 500,000 people protection in Syria areas around the Philippine capital worked with emergency services and continue supporting a hospital ICRC President Peter Maurer were still unable to return home. to provide fi rst aid at events and in the city of Gao, as well as other concluded a three-day visit to Syria Unlike Metro Manila, where fl ood transportation hubs near the health centres in northern Mali. in early September, during which waters receded and people have Olympic venues. The IFRC has also launched an he held talks with Bashar al-Assad, started rebuilding their lives, the The teams didn’t just carry fi rst- appeal for food security assistance the Syrian president, and several surrounding provinces of Laguna aid kits. They were also equipped of US$ 2.7 million of cash, in-kind ministers. He urged all parties to the and Rizal remained inundated. with multilingual, Red Cross phrase or other services to support the confl ict to respect humanitarian Realyn Sembrano, 25, and her books that contained 62 questions Mali Red Cross and help more than law relating to the treatment of family were among the people now and phrases related to fi rst aid and 142,000 aff ected people. The IFRC detainees and called for greater living in a makeshift camp. The emergencies, translated into 51 had already allocated US$ 278,000 youngest of her three children had languages. from its Disaster Relief Emergency rashes caused by mosquito bites and During the events, the teams Fund to initiate actions in Mali. bathing in unsafe water. “It pains me helped dozens of people, many of to see my baby going through this at whom suff ered from dehydration or Quake hits remote an early age,” she said. heat stroke. Red Cross volunteers such China region as Dane Smith and Darren Oldham Rescue teams from the Red Cross How to say “I’m feeling responded on bicycles equipped Society of China struggled through dizzy” in 51 languages as mini ambulances, complete with rugged terrain and precipitous oxygen, defi brillators and items for As more than 2 million people mountain roads to bring help to treating cuts and sprains. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Al Hariri, courtesy www.alertnet.org fl ocked to London from all over survivors of a series of earthquakes “We might not be as fast as humanitarian access and protection. the world for the Olympic and that struck a remote part of Yunnan [Olympic cyclists] Mark Cavendish He also visited areas aff ected by Paralympic Games, British Red Cross province in south-western China in and Bradley Wiggins,” said Smith, “but the fi ghting to see fi rst hand how volunteers and staff provided fi rst- September. we can cut through the crowds to civilians are coping. “I was shocked aid training sessions to residents Crossing these mountains is provide help wherever it’s needed.” by the immense destruction of in the host Olympic boroughs and diffi cult even in normal times. But infrastructure and homes in several rockfalls and landslides following areas,” he said. “And I was deeply the earthquakes added to the moved by the stories of distraught logistical diffi culties. Humanitarian index children who had lost their parents Storm of 1900, in Galveston, Texas. in the fi ghting.” 51: Percentage of National Society See page 22. He also visited several non-emeregency revenue that comes Voices medical posts. “Health workers from fee-based services (blood banks, 40,000: Number of Central “Who would have ever face tremendous diffi culties in fi rst-aid training) and enterprises American migrants reportedly sent (hospitals, retail stores, etc).* home by Mexican authorities last imagined that three goats performing their duties,” he added. “Many men, women and children 98: Percentage of collines or year.*** would be the window of who could be saved are dying on a communities in Burundi that have 70,000,000: Number of people greater cohesion for a daily basis because they lack access Burundi Red Cross volunteer groups, worldwide who are forced migrants, community with such a dark to medical care.” each with 50 to 500 volunteers.** according to the IFRC’s World past of division and the See page 10. Disasters Report 2012. Thousands still displaced 2,850: Number of collines in curse of poverty?” 8,000,000,000: Estimated cost Burundi.** of all forms of forced migration to Habonimana Floride, volunteer by Manila fl ooding By mid-September, almost a month global economy, expressed in US speaking about livelihoods programmes 6,000: Number of people who after monsoon fl oods swamped dollars. supported by Burundi Red Cross died in the United States’ worst Manila and nearby provinces, volunteers. See page 10. catastrophe, known as the Great * IFRC ** Burundi Red Cross ***ICRC thousands of people in low-lying

2 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 Contents ISSUE 3 . 2012 . www.redcross.int

■ Cover story 4 ■ Assistance 18 Humanity Inc. Cash in hand As humanitarian needs rise and aid budgets — How a question posed to aid worker Sarah Bailey in particularly for core funding — are scarce, what’s a 2005 illustrates how far the thinking about cash as humanitarian organization to do? One answer is to open a form of aid has come in just a few short years. up for business. Our reporter rides along with the Kenya Red Cross Society’s E-Plus ambulance service and checks ■ Migration 20 4. Humanity Inc. into their growing hotel chain. She delivers this report of A site for sore feet the risks and rewards of using private enterprise to fund The ICRC and the Mexican Red Cross work together to humanitarian assistance. bring medical help to Central Americans on their way north. It’s one example of how the Movement reaches ■ Volunteerism 10 a healing hand to migrants when they are at their Investing in humanity most vulnerable. How the Burundi Red Cross is using the power of volunteering to help communities out of poverty, aid ■ Natural disaster 22 dependence and food insecurity. Unforgettable storms Galveston, Texas is the home of the United States’ ■ Humanitarian law and business 12 deadliest-ever natural disaster: the 1900 hurricane The grey zone that claimed more than 6,000 lives. Today, this city 10. Investing in humanity The idea of private businesses off ering military or built on an island still suff ers successive hurricanes. security services during confl ict is as old as war In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Ike, is the city’s itself. Today, rapid growth and change in the for- much-needed recovery being overlooked? profi t military and security industry pose major challenges for the enforcement of human rights and ■ Forgotten disasters 26 humanitarian law. The wreck of the Madjiriha When the massive Italian cruise ship Costa ■ Focus 16 Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy in January Faces of resilience 2012, killing more than 30 people, the world’s From Colombia to Yemen, the Movement is working media responded. In other parts of the world, in local communities to help people make themselves maritime disasters are claiming many more lives and their neighbours stronger, healthier, productive but few of those stories are told. Here is one of 12. The grey zone and more resilient. them: the tragedy of the Madjiriha.

■ Resources 29

Articles, letters to the editors and other correspondence We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of researchers and should be addressed to: support staff of the ICRC, the IFRC and National Societies. Red Cross Red Crescent The magazine is published three times a year in Arabic, Chinese, P.O. Box 372, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland English, French, Russian and Spanish and is available in 188 E-mail: [email protected] ISSN No. 1019-9349 countries, with a circulation of more than 80,000. Editor The opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily Malcolm Lucard of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 20. A site for sore feet Production Offi cer Unsolicited articles are welcomed, but cannot be returned. Paul Lemerise Red Cross Red Crescent reserves the right to edit all articles. Articles and photos not covered by copyright may be reprinted without prior Design permission. Please credit Red Cross Red Crescent. Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford, UK The maps in this publication are for information purposes only and Layout have no political signifi cance. New Internationalist, Oxford, UK

Printed On the cover: Mable Nakweya, a paramedic with the Emergency Plus on chlorine-free paper by IRL Plus SA, Lausanne, Switzerland Medical Services, an independent ambulance company owned by the Editorial board Kenya Red Cross Society, lifts a young girl with a broken arm onto a ICRC IFRC stretcher before being taken to the hospital. Dorothea Krimitsas Andy Channelle Photo: Claire Doole/IFRC; photo treatment Ian Nixon/New Internationalist. Sophie Orr Susie Chippendale Photos this page, from top: Claire Doole/IFRC; Nancy Okwengu/IFRC; REUTERS/ Florian Westphal Pierre Kremer Ceerwan Aziz, courtesy www.alertnet.org; REUTERS/Daniel LeClair, courtesy 26. Forgotten ferries www.alertnet.org; Comoros Red Crescent.

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 3 Disasters, violence and displacement are stretching aid groups to their limits. Funds, meanwhile, are tight. What’s a humanitarian to do? One option is to open up for business.

HumanityT’S AN OVERCAST AFTERNOON in traffic- “We never turn “We work in teams of two,” explains clogged Nairobi as the ambulance navigates anyone away. At the Abdi. “At the scene, one of us tends to the among the vehicles, sometimes taking to the patient and the other checks that the fi nances are I end of the day, we wrong side of the road with its horn blaring to in order.” warn oncoming cars. Time is precious: the team are all about saving On today’s visit to the school where Nyakio has is responding to an emergency call from a school broken her arm, there’s no need to deal with fi - where an 8-year-old has fractured her arm in the lives.” nances. The school is a member of the insurance playground. Mable Nakweya, Emergency scheme. Sometimes, however, the paramedics have Arriving at the scene, paramedic Mable Nakweya Plus Medical Services to assess on the spot if a patient can pay or contrib- cradles the young girl in her arms and gently puts her paramedic ute to the cost of medical treatment and transport. on the stretcher in the ambulance. It is one of many That assessment does not aff ect the care, how- calls that Nakweya and her colleague Jamal Abdi ever. It often happens that they forgo payment receive every day in their work for Emergency Plus (E- altogether or the patient makes a contribution once Plus) Medical Services, an independent ambulance Your turn he or she has recovered. company owned by the Kenya Red Cross Society. What do you think about Nakweya and Abdi stress that the patient’s It’s a for-profit enterprise with a humanitarian the risks and benefi ts of health always comes fi rst and that the service’s purpose. In a country where access to health care commercial enterprises fi nancial arrangement does not mean they avoid is limited, it was conceived as a way to provide a owned or managed by Red poor areas or shy away from the most vulnerable local, sustainable source of income while building Cross and Red Crescent during catastrophe. on the National Society’s competence and reputa- National Societies? Email Indeed, E-Plus crews are often side-by-side with tion as a leading provider of first aid and medical your comments to: volunteers as fi rst responders on everything from assistance. In this case, people subscribe to the [email protected] car crashes in central Nairobi to inter-communal vio- service like buying into an insurance policy. lence in rural provinces. They also work among the

4 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 Inc.refugees in and around the Dadaab refugee camps, L The Kenya Red Cross’s E-Plus service. According to a May 2011 report, some where two ambulances are permanently stationed. ambulance service was established 7,800 people were members and that number is Those ambulances were critical in saving lives after as a way to generate revenue for increasing. E-Plus aims to provide 80 per cent of National Society operations while an attack on a church in Garissa in July 2012 and dur- its services to paying members and offer 20 per also providing desperately needed ing recent clashes in the Tana River region. emergency medical services. Here cent as a free service to people who cannot af- “We never turn anyone away,” stresses Nakweya. paramedics attend to victims of a ford to pay. “At the end of the day, we [Red Cross] are all about road crash in Nairobi. Now, with 29 ambulances equipped with ad- saving lives.” Photo: Kenya Red Cross Society vanced life-saving equipment and highly qualifi ed paramedics, E-Plus is Kenya’s foremost ambulance The road to sustainability service provider. But, after two years of existence, it For many in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, is not yet making a profi t. the idea that fi rst responders are checking bank ac- The company’s managing director, Yusuf Nya- counts along with vital signs seems anathema to the kinda, is confident, however, that the lack of humanitarian mission of unconditional assistance to state-run services and other private providers the most vulnerable. means that E-Plus has considerable business po- But it is important to note that in Kenya, the E- tential. The idea is that over time, the company will Plus ambulances are off ering a service that would turn a profi t and a portion of the proceeds will pro- otherwise not exist. There are no state ambulance vide some fi nancial stability to the core operating services and few private ones. Health insurance poli- budget of the Kenya Red Cross. cies are not widely used. So whatever services are The main sources of funding for the Kenya Red provided often come at a cost to the patient. Cross come from local and international donors In the case of E-Plus, each member pays 2,500 and participating Red Cross Red Crescent National Kenyan shillings (US$ 30) a year to be part of the Societies. Given the current economic situation and

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 5 indication of Kenya’s growing interest and capability in fi nding local contributors and solutions. “We are aiming for sustainability but our imme- diate goal is to cover our core costs, which donors are reluctant to pay,” says Gullet. “That is why we are investing heavily in business ventures so that we generate enough profi t to pay our operational costs at the end of every year.”

Free enterprise It is also a question of freedom — of raising funds that do not come with restrictions. Donors often ear- mark funds to specifi c projects and they often put a cap on the percentage of their grants that can be used cover basic administrative overhead. The chal- lenge for humanitarian organizations, therefore, is to avoid being overstretched or becoming mere im- plementers of the donors’ agendas. Could enterprises such as E-Plus be part of the solution? If so, what does this mean for the hu- manitarian mission? Does the need to turn a profi t greater competition from non-governmental or- L National Society enterprises compromise the humanitarian imperative to help ganizations (NGOs), contributions are on the decline. around the world take many the most vulnerable? If so, is this any worse than At the same time, the National Society and its vol- shapes and sizes. The Thai Red over-reliance on donors or governments who may Cross Society, for example, raises unteers are dealing with a number of chronic issues also have agendas other than humanitarian? These snakes to produce anti-venom for and complex emergencies in which vulnerable peo- people bitten by poisonous snakes. are just some of the questions facing National Soci- ple and aid projects are reliant on external funding The snake farm is also a colourful eties as they look to diversify revenue streams in a from international donors. attraction for tourists. tough economic climate. To read more about the Thai These questions are not new to Red Cross and The time is ripe Red Cross snake farm and other Red Crescent National Societies: revenue-generat- National Society ventures, please Known as an innovator in trying to change that see our additional coverage at ing operations — from small retail shops to major paradigm, the Kenya Red Cross is engaged in a www.redcross.int. nationwide contracts with government or even variety of income-generating and food security ac- Photo: The Thai Red Cross Society manufacturing plans — have been part of the hu- tivities that use donor funding as seed money for manitarian landscape for decades. home-grown agrarian enterprise rather than sim- The Turkish Red Crescent Society, for example, ply delivering food aid or supporting a short-term has been producing and selling bottled water since emergency response (see Red Cross Red Crescent 1926, when the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa magazine, Issue 2-2012). Kemal Atatürk, off ered the National Society a bot- The time may be ripe for such an approach. Ken- tled water factory provided that revenues are spent ya’s economy is booming in some sectors and a on humanitarian aid activities. Today, the plant’s as- burgeoning high-tech sector is opening new ways sembly line produces up to 160,000 bottles per hour for people to do business, share ideas and respond “We are aiming for and the product line includes not only plain natural to emergencies. In Kenya, some 70 per cent of the mineral water but also water with aromas or natural adult population uses cell phones for banking, pay- sustainability but fruit juice mixed in. ing bills and borrowing cash — a phenomenon that our immediate goal Indeed, the types of businesses found among Na- many economists say is increasing local investment tional Societies are as diverse as they are colourful. and savings, as well as off ering a safe and fast way to is to cover our core A factory run by the Thai Red Cross Society raises make humanitarian contributions. costs, which donors snakes to produce and market anti-venom treat- A case in point is the National Society’s ‘Kenya for are reluctant to pay. ment; a snack bar run by the Belize Red Cross Society Kenyans’ appeal, which raised US$ 10 million over off ers breakfast and lunch next door to the capital’s fi ve weeks at the height of the Horn of Africa drought That is why we are central hospital; a chic vintage clothing store run by in 2011. The donations came from individuals and investing heavily in the Swedish Red Cross is attracting a hip crowd in- the corporate sector — mainly from individual bank business ventures.” terested in older fashions. accounts via cell phones. Sometimes one National Society will be engaged Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Abbas Gul- Abbas Gullet, secretary in diverse markets. Redmo Holdings, the commer- let cautions this was a one-off due to the extreme general of the Kenya Red Cross cial arm of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, is a major nature of the emergency. But the response was an Society construction contractor that also leases heavy ma-

6 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 chinery, off ers water fi ltration systems, as well as travel and tourism services and insurance plans. It National Society non-emergency even operates fuel stations. Many Red Cross and Red Crescent enterprises funding streams have little or no direct connection with their hu- Multilateral funding Own government manitarian mission other than off ering aff ordable 1% international programmes 3% goods or services to the public — and raising Other Movement partners money for the National Society. Others are more 3% directly linked to the humanitarian mission: swim- Other sources Own government of revenue 51% domestic programmes ming lessons, fi rst-aid courses, blood collection or An IFRC analysis of 25% contractual arrangements with governments to 20 of the largest National Societies run hospitals, ambulances or home health care are revealed that Corporate gifts in kind 51 per cent of <1% a few examples. revenue came from commercial and Corporate — cash Combined, these fee-based services or enterprises contracted services <1% are the largest source of non-emergency National So- such as hospitals, ambulances, fi rst- ciety income globally, accounting for 51 per cent of aid training, blood collection and other revenue (see chart right), according to the IFRC’s 2011 income-generating activities, ranging All individuals Federation-Wide Resource Mobilization Strategy. from sales of bottled 25% ”Some of these businesses raise signifi cant funds water to retail clothing shops. for the National Society,” says Andrew Rizk, IFRC’s Events Trusts and foundations 2% chief fi nancial offi cer and head of its Finance De- 1% Note: The percentages in this graph add up to more than 100 per cent due to some revenue partment. “Others are essentially subsidized by the being counted in more than one category. National Society but because it is mission-related — for example, fee-based blood services — it is viewed the ambulances are leased to National Societies for as worth the investment.” periods of fi ve years. Sometimes, the income provided does not make This arrangement helped the Kenya Red Cross up a great percentage of overall revenue, but it does keep the up-front start-up costs low. Indeed, many provide a fi nancial buff er. “The more streams of in- National Societies that have launched major busi- K E-Plus ambulance paramedics come you have, the less of a shock it will be if one of respond to all types of nesses were able to do so because land, buildings these streams dries up,” Rizk notes. emergencies, from natural or services were donated, reducing the amount of The IFRC has supported these operations in vari- disasters to urban fi res, inter- capital that had to be raised or borrowed. ous ways over the years. The ambulances used by communal violence and everyday To better understand the potential and risks in- minor injuries. Here a young girl the Kenya Red Cross and some other National Soci- volved in these businesses, the IFRC has engaged the with a broken arm is transported eties, for example, are leased from the IFRC as part from a school that is part of E-Plus global accounting fi rm KPMG to conduct a study of of a deal with the auto manufacturer Toyota. After ambulance’s membership plan. National Society commercial and contracted ventures being outfi tted with medical equipment in Dubai, Photo: Claire Doole/IFRC in 20 to 25 countries. The idea of the study, to be done by KPMG on a pro bono basis, is to share insight that could help National Societies make sound decisions, avoid pitfalls, share innovations, and minimise the risks associated with operating a business. The study is intended to highlight this important yet often mis- understood aspect of National Society fi nancing. Managing risk is critical for any business. In the case of contracted services for government, some of the fi nancial and legal liability is sometimes taken on by the state. But that does not leave National Societies invulnerable. In strictly private ventures, National Societies in some cases establish limited liability partnerships or holding companies that shield them from fi nancial and legal risks. It could be argued, therefore, that these ventures are no more risky than placing National Society funds in a high- yield investment portfolio.

A manageable risk? Perhaps the greatest risk has to do with reputation. Because many of these businesses carry the Red

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 7

Similarly, an independent study by Global Hu- manitarian Assistance on the Kenya Red Cross Society’s resource fl ows advised that high-profi le, income-generating schemes such as hotels could create the perception that the National Society is wealthy and therefore doesn’t need support. That could result in reluctance among some to make contributions, be they fi nancial, material or volun- teer labour. That said, there is ample precedent for National Societies running hotels without compromising the brand or their reputation. The Palestine Red Crescent Society has run a hotel near Ramallah in the West Bank for many years and the Red Cross Society of China owns a three-star business hotel in Beijing. However, others have opted out of hotels and conference centres. The Swedish Red Cross closed its conference centre in 2010 as it had failed to turn a profi t and survive in a very competitive market. “We could see no end to the continual defi cits we were running up,” says Tord Pettersson, senior ad- Cross or Red Crescent brand, any problems with L Retail clothing stores are a viser on business development at the Swedish Red the business might not only aff ect the reputation time-honoured way for National Cross. “Many also felt that we should not be running of one National Society, but of a global, humanitar- Societies to raise money. This a business we didn’t know enough about.” ian emblem. trendy and profi table boutique run by the Swedish Red Cross carries When the IFRC announced it was considering a hotel vintage clothing and targets Open for business and conference centre on part of the ground it had Stockholm’s youth market. Given the risks of the events and hospitality sector, no bought in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince following Photo: Peters Bilder/Swedish Red Cross wonder then that retail shops, mostly second-hand the January 2010 earthquake, there was considerable clothing stores, are viewed by National Societies as debate about whether a humanitarian organization a profi table and low-risk option. While not strictly in associated with fi rst aid, shelter and food distribution line with the Red Cross Red Crescent mission, they do should be going into the hotel business. off er low-price goods to people with low incomes The idea was that the hotel would provide rev- and the proceeds serve a good cause. enue for Haiti Red Cross Society operations as well “We don’t see ourselves running hotels and con- as new operating facilities for the National Society, ference centres in the UK market,” says Rebecca which had its headquarters and many of its facilities Mauger, head of high-value giving and events at the destroyed by the quake. British Red Cross. “But retail shops work well for us.” But according to Daniel Borochoff , president Income from the British Red Cross’s 60 second- of Charity Watch, an organization that evaluates hand shops across the United Kingdom topped £26 non-profi t organizations, the plan is controversial million in 2011 with a £5.6 million profi t. “This is a as it raises the question of whether land, pur- respectable margin compared to commercial retail- chased with disaster-relief funds, should be used ers,” she adds. for a commercial venture that caters to NGOs and “We are judged by While retail shops account for just 12 per cent of tourists in a city where thousands are still living in business criteria the British Red Cross fund-raising income, it is more makeshift tents. than double in Sweden where selling second-hand This is why communication about these ventures and that can be clothes in its 274 shops is big business. is vital, says Danya Brown from CDA Collaborative a challenge as In June, the Swedish Red Cross opened a vintage Learning Projects, a US-based non-profi t that con- traditionally we are and designer store in the centre of Stockholm as ducts research and offers advice for improving part of its strategy to market clothing to diff erent humanitarian response. Brown cites a survey CDA used to receiving segments of the population. According to Martina conducted of 600 aid benefi ciaries in 20 countries that donations and not Bozic, the Swedish Red Cross business develop- showed most people were extremely suspicious of making money.” ment manager, clothes, shoes and handbags from aid agencies and how they used the money. It is crucial, the store literally fl ew off the shelves in the fi rst two she says, that organizations listen to users and Walter Cotte, national weeks of opening, making more than US$ 28,000. donors and explain how the money being spent is executive director of the The Colombian Red Cross Society, meanwhile, to their benefi t. Colombian Red Cross Society augments its donations with revenue from renting

8 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 ambulances, blood bank services, training centres expectations of anything associated with the Red and gift shops. It has also ventured into the con- Cross Red Crescent brand. struction business — winning government funding “Whenever we sell a product, we need to ensure to build homes last year. that it is a quality product and that it is com- Such contracts, says Walter Cotte, national execu- petitively priced,” says Cotte. “We are judged by tive director of the Colombian Red Cross Society, are business criteria, which can be a challenge as tradi- tricky because they can put the National Society in tionally we are used to receiving donations and not competition with private companies that may neither making money.” ■ be able nor want to off er the service for the same price. The bottom line, says Cotte, is that whatever By Claire Doole product or service is off ered, people will have high Claire Doole is a freelance writer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Hospitality with a conscience When the fi ve-star Boma Nairobi hotel opened its “Guests at the Boma can eat, The new Boma hotel, also built on land donated doors in June 2012, the modern, glass-faced upscale drink and, at the end of the day, to the Kenya Red Cross, required signifi cant hotel off ered businesspeople and tourists a menu of borrowing. The Kenya Red Cross is confi dent, amenities: a rooftop swimming pool, a spa and gym, sleep well knowing that they are however, that income will rise substantially not only as well as international cuisine, individually designed supporting a good cause.” from the Red Court, which has been upgraded to a rooms and a massive ballroom. four-star hotel and re-branded as the Boma Inn, but One in a growing chain of Boma hotels and Mugo Maringa, newly appointed managing also as a result of its growing property portfolio. conference centres being built around the country, director of the Kenya Red Cross’s Boma hotel chain. Later this year, the four-star Boma Inn in the 150-room hotel is part of the Kenya Red Cross’s Eldoret in western Kenya will be completed and most ambitious business venture yet. Also unlike E-Plus ambulance service, which is there are plans to add rooms to a conference “Our principal business is the humanitarian business,” still relatively new and has not yet posted a profi t, facility in Nyeri and to build hotels in other towns says Abbas Gullet, secretary general of the Kenya Red the National Society’s hotel operations show a such as Kisumu, Malindi and Nakuru. Cross,“but the hotel business is purely commercial with track record of earnings. The Kenya Red Cross’s The newly appointed managing director of the its own board and management who have hired some of conference centre and three-star Red Court hotel, Boma chain, Mugo Maringa, who has 30 years’ the best hospitality professionals in East Africa.” built in Nairobi on land given to the National experience in the industry, says that “hospitality Unlike the E-Plus Medical Services, the hotel Society by the government, began to generate with a conscience” is a winning combination. “Guests venture is purely business. Their sole function is to profi ts 18 months after opening in 2007. Revenues at the Boma can eat, drink and, at the end of the day, run a profi t and provide a stable funding source to from the hotel currently cover roughly 6 per cent of sleep well knowing that they are supporting a good the Kenya Red Cross. the National Society’s core costs. cause,” he says.

K The new fi ve-star Boma Hotel in Nairobi as it nears completion in June 2012. Photo: Claire Doole/IFRC Investing in humanity In Burundi, the power of volunteering is helping many communities out of poverty, aid dependence and food insecurity.

NE OF THE AREAS most aff ected by the 1993 L 67-year old Nzinizirira Angeline would have ever imagined that three goats would ethnic violence and the subsequent years of hugs her granddaughter Habineza be the window of greater cohesion for a commu- civil strife in Burundi was the north-western Agnes outside her new home, nity with such a dark past of division and the curse O which was built by volunteers province of Bubanza. The area’s proximity to Kibira of poverty?” asks Floride. of the Burundi Red Cross when forest — a source of food and a good hiding place Angeline’s old house was near From those fi rst three goats, another 16 soon for the warring parties — exposed many people collapse. Photo: Nancy Okwengu/IFRC arrived. Impressed by the commitment and volun- here to painful times that they wish to forget. teer structures put in place by the Munanira unit, “Utter pain and desperation,” is how 30-year-old Burundi Red Cross headquarters donated another Habonimana Floride sums up life in Bubanza during three. “This gesture encouraged us to start an in- the years of fi ghting. “Who would have come-generating initiative,” says Floride. Now a Red Cross volunteer in the Munanira local ever imagined that The group then began leasing land where it now unit of Bubanza province, Floride works with 51 three goats would farms pineapples on a larger scale. “The manure other volunteers to bring back a measure of hope from the goats also came in handy in improving the and food security to a countryside that was once be the window of quality of the pineapples,” she adds. “The land in one of Burundi’s breadbaskets. “We realized that we greater cohesion for Bubanza is not very productive and needs manure could not moan over our losses forever and had to a community with in order to obtain a good harvest.” pull our collective eff orts together for a greater im- Sales of pineapple have led to better nutrition pact,” she says. such a dark past for families. And the venture’s economic benefi ts With the help of National Society’s provincial of division and the have meant that parents can aff ord school fees and staff , they formed a Red Cross unit and started materials, and can therefore send their children to planting cassava on farmland donated by one curse of poverty?” school. “We are proud because we started with of the staff members. They sold the fi rst harvest Habonimana Floride, three goats and now have 36,” says Everiste Sha- and from the proceeds bought three goats. “Who Burundi Red Cross volunteer ban, vice president of the Munanira Red Cross unit,

10 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 which now donates goats to other Red National Society signed on to an entrepre- Cross units. neurial approach being piloted by the IFRC. The fruit products, meanwhile, are sold RWANDA Instead of following a top-down model, the in local markets. “We sell more than 500 project focused on local traditions, as well pineapples at 2,500 Burundi francs [US$ as community ownership and leadership of 1.7] each,” Shaban says. “With the pro- Bubanza the process. ceeds, we can assist the most vulnerable  Province The challenge now, according to the re- in our community and improve the living BURUNDI port’s authors, is how to attract fi nancial conditions of our units’ volunteers. We support so that this network can grow, also have plans to buy more goats so that while maintaining “the approach of local everyone can get their own.” self-help and local resource mobilization in DEMOCRATIC There is still much to do, such as lobby- the long run”. In other words, is it possible REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA ing for the donation of more goats or cows THE CONGO to manage “external fi nancial investment in to provide milk for children and manure for ways that do not damage this spirit of com- the farms. But hope and social cohesion munity ownership and enterprise?” have sprung up along with the crops. Volunteerism in Burundi may also be bringing some new social cohesion to a country The heart of change with deep ethnic divisions, which in recent history Though the steps may be small, they are signifi cant led to two events (in 1972 and 1993) that were later economic and social achievements for communi- classifi ed as genocides by United Nations inquiries. ties struggling to recover from confl ict, drought and Today, the local Burundi Red Cross groups attract long-term poverty. And these successes didn’t come both Hutu and Tutsi men and women, young and about by accident. old. “As the groups got used to working together, In the absence of any large-scale international or a level of social cohesion began to return to com- government funding, the Burundi Red Cross and its munities which had been destroyed during the civil partners have made the development of local, com- war, rebuilding links between members of Hutu and munity-based volunteering a key priority. Now, the Tutsi communities,” according to the IFRC report. Burundi Red Cross has more than 300,000 volunteers in all regions of the country and is being recognized All smiles internationally as a leader in volunteer development As humanitarian organizations and donors look to as a means to build up community resilience. develop and support locally owned solutions, the This is a huge achievement for a National Society Burundi example could serve as a model. In many that eight years ago employed only four people at the of the collines now, some volunteers who were once national level and had very limited reach at the colline vulnerable people themselves are now in a position or community level. There are roughly 2,850 collines to help others. (hilltop communities) in Burundi, each with about “I have seen hard times but now there is a ray of 2,000 to 3,000 residents. Today, roughly 98 per cent hope for the future,” says Ngerageze Judith, a volun- of collines have Burundi Red Cross volunteer groups teer with the Burundi Red Cross who, along with 21 made up of 50 to 500 volunteers, according to a 2011 other women, has helped create a vegetable farm as IFRC report that evaluated the National Society’s ef- an income-generating initiative. forts to build its capacity at the branch level. The volunteer group has hired a piece of land “At the heart of this change is a belief that pov- where they grow vegetables. After harvesting, they erty and vulnerability are not a barrier to hundreds divide the vegetables into two portions: one for of thousands of Burundians organizing themselves Web extra! their own use and the other to sell the rest. “We al- to address the needs of the most vulnerable,” the From refugee to ways have a ready market and in a good harvest we report points out. life-saver can get more than US$ 400,” she says. “We use the Although Burundi has a rich tradition of neighbours How Burundi Red Cross money to buy seeds and fertilizer for the next plant- helping neighbours and community volunteering, a volunteers helped Biriho ing seasons and share the remaining profi ts. culture of aid dependence developed in the country Edward fi nd a home in “I can now support those who can’t support them- during and after the years of fi ghting. “Initially identi- helping others: “For a selves especially through training them,” she says. “I fi ed as ‘another NGO’ come to hand things out, the country with an ugly past of owe this to the many training courses conducted by National Society has succeeded in becoming identi- division, Red Cross principles the Red Cross; they have made me food secure; I eat fi ed as an organization that catalyses and supports have found favour among healthy food and have the strength to work. This has locally owned community action rather than a pro- us… These principles unite alleviated dire poverty from my family.” ■ vider of external resource,” the report concludes. us,” he says. With 300,000 Swiss francs (US$ 320,000) of seed www.redcross.int By Nancy Okwengu funding from the IFRC’s Capacity Building Fund, the Nancy Okwengu is an IFRC communications delegate.

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 11 The grey zone

The practice ofof papayingying fforor mmilitaryilitary or N SEPTEMBER 22007,0077, employeesemployees of a US-based privatei t military ilit and d security it company namedd security services is as old as war itself. IBlackwater Security Consulting were working their way through the crowded Nisour square in Today, rapid growth and change in the downtown Bagdhad, clearing the way for a US State Department diplomatic convoy. for-profi t military and security industry What happened next is still in dispute. The guards hired by Blackwater say they came under attack and poses major challenges for those fi red back at their attackers in self-defence. Wit- concerned about enforcement of human nesses in the market that day said the Blackwater employees opened fi re without provocation and rights and humanitarian law. continued to shoot at civilians trying to fl ee. A few things about the incident are certain, how- ever. When the fi ring ended, a total of 17 civilians lay dead, and at least 20 more were injured. The Iraqi public was outraged and a major diplomatic rift had been created between the US and the fl edgling Iraqi government. The episode also marked a turning point in the debate over the increased use of private military and

12 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 security companies (PMSCs) in the prosecution of war. “The private security increase over the previous Iraq war. Meanwhile, in Taken along with the implication of private contrac- genie is out of Afghanistan, the number peaked at around 20,000. tors in the scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004 Why this growth? In the years leading up to the at- — in which prisoners were subject to various forms of the bottle. At the tacks on New York and Washington DC in September abuse and torture — the Blackwater episode height- moment, however, 2001, the US military had been going through a period ened debate about whether basic functions of war states are largely of downsizing. With two major ground wars launched should be outsourced to private enterprise. in Afghanistan and Iraq, US military leaders felt they Subsequent legal obstacles to prosecution and ob- letting the genie do had to augment their forces. At the time, there was taining redress for victims further raised the question what it wants and also a trend favouring the privatization of government of whether the rise of PMSCs was creating a growing services, from prisons to hospitals and schools. class of military personnel who were eff ectively op- then disciplining it for The trend goes well beyond the US military. “Most erating outside the standard rules of war. Even many going too far, rather people think of PMSCs and they think of Iraq and Af- experts didn’t have answers to some fundamental than setting the ghanistan,” notes Faiza Patel, chair-rapporteur of the questions: What is the status of private contractors United Nations Working Group on the Use of Merce- under international humanitarian law (IHL)? Are they parameters for action naries. “But in fact they are used in many spheres. combatants, civilians, mercenaries or something en- from the beginning.” They are used for example to provide security for tirey new? And what rules are they bound by? extractive industries or as part of drug eradication Sarah Percy, Oxford University, eff orts in Latin America.” Not above the law writing in an upcoming edition Indeed, the vast majority of the work being done In 2008, a total of 17 states signed a statement that, of the International Review of by this sector occurs in situations that are not con- in essence, answered the above question with a fi rm the Red Cross entitled “Business, sidered areas of armed confl ict and are outside the “no” — private contractors are not above the law Violence and Confl ict” scope of IHL. They are nonetheless often operat- and do not operate in a legal vacuum. ing in volatile areas with violent crime or civil strife Now signed by 42 states and the European Union, where kidnappings, assassination and other attacks the statement (known as the Montreux Document) are a daily risk of doing business. reaffi rms that international humanitarian law and Given the complexities, how should this massive human rights law do apply to private contractors. new industry be regulated? In situations of armed States, meanwhile, are obliged to ensure that con- confl ict, who will ensure that they respect the norms tractors comply with these laws. of IHL and who will prosecute contractors if they vio- While not trying to legitimize the PMSC industry, late those laws? or take a position on whether the use of private con- The cases of abuse at Abu Ghraib off er an exam- tractors is good or bad, the Montreux Document ple of the challenges being faced. While there have takes on questions such as the status of PMSC per- been numerous prosecutions of low-level military sonnel under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the personnel on a variety of charges related to the ways to ensure individual accountability for miscon- abuse of detainees, none of the private contractors duct in diff erent jurisdictions. connected to the Abu Ghraib abuses have been A joint project of the Swiss Federal Department of brought to court on criminal charges. In some cases, Foreign Aff airs and the ICRC, the Montreaux Docu- contractors were also granted immunity from pros- ment encourages states to develop regulations ecution under Iraqi law. aimed at preventing and prosecuting abuses. It also off ers a catalogue of good practices to help govern- ments implement these obligations in the fi eld. The problem is that the regulation is not keeping up with the industry. Many states still do not have suffi cient domestic laws, regulations or practices in place to oversee the rapidly changing industry, l A foreign security contractor which has experienced explosive growth in recent stands guard near the scene of a decades and is now estimated to be worth more bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, in October 2007. Photo: REUTERS/Ceerwan than US$ 100 billion. Aziz, courtesy www.alertnet.org I A woman whose husband Explosive growth was killed during a shooting How quickly has it grown? After the US invasion and by employees of US security subsequent occupation of Iraq in 2003, it is estimated fi rm Blackwater sits next to her daughter while attending a that more than 100,000 private contractors were em- meeting with prosecutors and ployed in functions ranging from guarding convoys US investigators in Baghdad in to logistics support, intelligence analysis, checkpoint December 2008. Photo: REUTERS/Atef duty, among many other duties. This was a tenfold Hassan, courtesy www.alertnet.org

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 13 Subsequent civil lawsuits by former detainees killed while performing a wide range of duties under US law, meanwhile, have been blocked or (both security and non-security related) for the delayed by arguments that the contractors should United States government. either enjoy the same immunity from lawsuit as soldiers At the same time, the status of contractors as ci- during combat or that they should be given vilians means they would not have to be treated as a ‘battlefi eld exemption.’ This exemption would prisoners of war if captured, and would not have the allow civil cases to be dismissed on the basis that same immunity from criminal prosecution in civilian courts should not second-guess decisions made in courts for acts committed as part of combat operations. detention facilities during the heat of battle. Attempts by states to grant immunity from domes- “These cases have been going on for many years tic law to private contractors during specifi c confl icts without even getting to the point of looking at the (as was often the case during the 2003 Iraq war), while merits of the case,” notes Katherine Gallagher, a sen- at the same time blocking civil or criminal cases on ior lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, grounds that contractors are eff ectively acting as sol- based in New York, which has fi led lawsuits against diers, highlight the need for greater clarity. two military contractors on behalf of 330 Iraqi de- The Montreux Document off ers guidance to help tainees held at Abu Ghraib in 2004. states sort out complex legal issues. But it is now up to states that have signed the document to follow The challenge of regulation up, says Marie-Louise Tougas, a legal adviser for the Whatever the outcome of cases such as these, the ICRC who specializes on how IHL interacts with pri- focus of many working in the fi eld today is to prevent vate military and security companies. future abuses and provide clarity about the rights “The challenge now is for states to implement and duties of private contractors, who are consid- their obligations under IHL in this regard,” says ered as civilians and protected from attack under Tougas. “What we are doing is assisting states in IHL unless they directly participate in hostilities. (It developing the tools to implement the obligations is worth noting, however, that these protections, described in the Montreux Document — enact- and what constitutes ‘participation in hostilities,’ ing national legislation, establishing the oversight K Not all private security are diffi cult to broadly defi ne as they depend on the mechanisms and creating licensing controls.” contractors are foreigners. Here, context and the circumstances.) an Afghan security contractor A clear understanding about their status and Voluntary enforcement checks teenagers looking for work at a US military combat outpost in obligations is critical as contractors often work in But legislative reform takes time and each country eastern Afghanistan in September extremely volatile situations. In Iraq, numerous will likely take its own approach. For these reasons, 2011. Photo: REUTERS/Erik De Castro, PMSC personnel (including from Blackwater) were some key eff orts at reform are happening outside courtesy www.alertnet.org

14 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 the legal system. A case in point is a recently created “To allow private other measures, the convention would limit the International Code of Conduct (ICoC), which is being military and security range of activities that governments can outsource championed by the Swiss government and many in to private contractors and require signatory states to the industry, that would establish a system by which companies to develop licensing schemes similar to what is in force companies voluntarily agree to be regulated by a operate [without regarding the export of weapons. multi-sector panel of experts. regulation] “The idea is to not just regulate the export of Governments, meanwhile, are encouraged to con- arms, but also of armed men and women,” the Work- sider the company’s standing vis-à-vis this code when in volatile ing Group’s Faiza Patel told the San Remo gathering. they award security contracts. The United Kingdom, environments Many countries, says Patel, have stringent laws which is home to many of the world’s largest private and licensing schemes for domestic security compa- security fi rms, has already agreed to award contracts with sophisticated nies, but lax controls for companies working abroad. only to companies in compliance with the code. fi repower … seems “To allow PMSCs to operate [without regulation] in As of August 2012, a total of 464 companies in to me an abdication volatile environments with sophisticated fi repower, 60 states had signed up to the ICoC, which was with all the risks to human rights and humanitarian developed by members of industry associations, of basic due law that such operations entail, seems to me an ab- security experts, legal scholars, governments and diligence.” dication of basic due diligence,” says Patel. corporate leaders. At the moment, however, there is not suffi cient Advocates of the code argue that this type of Faiza Patel, chair-rapporteur support among key states, where many PMSCs are requirement, which could aff ect a company’s sur- of the United Nations based, for a new international treaty to be adopted. vival, off ers suffi cient incentive for companies to Working Group on the Use of maintain high standards in training, carefully vet Mercenaries A moving target employees and adhere to principles of IHL and One of the key challenges facing all these eff orts human rights law. is that the industry itself is a moving target. In the The code itself is rooted in IHL and human rights Autumn 2012 issue of the International Review of the law, says Anne-Marie Buzato of the Geneva Centre Red Cross, an edition dedicated to exploring ways in for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, which which business impact confl ict, Sarah Percy of Ox- is spearheading the eff ort. ford University writes that while the PMSC industry “The use of force, for example, should not exceed is evolving quickly to meet new market and political beyond what strictly necessary — it should be pro- demands, the process of developing international portionate,” Buzato told a recent gathering of experts regulations is moving much more slowly. at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in As the ‘gold rush’ of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars San Remo, Italy. “Contractors should not use fi rearms has settled down, the industry has already adapted against persons unless in self-defence or in defence of to new markets, namely protection of maritime others against imminent threat of death or to prevent trade against piracy, protection of humanitarian aid a serious crime involving grave threat to life.” delivery and even delivery of aid itself. Some experts in the fi eld are sceptical of what they To Percy, the current approaches toward regu- see as industry ‘self-regulation’ over critical life-and- lation are still too much geared towards an older death matters and they note that some key aspects model of PMSCs as mercenary, or as companies pro- regarding the code’s enforcement are still unresolved. viding services in an international armed confl ict as But Buzato argues the model is more one of ‘co-regu- in Iraq. “As a result, regulators at all levels have often lation’ given that experts from government and civil been stuck in lengthy negotiating processes while society would be members of panels conducting au- the target of their regulation is rapidly changing dits and reviewing compliance with the code. form,” she argues. “The private security genie is out of the bottle,” A call for a new convention she writes. “At the moment, however, states are For some, the code is at least a positive step while largely letting the genie do what it wants and then binding laws or agreements are developed. But for disciplining it for going too far, rather than setting others, neither the ICoC nor domestic regulation the parameters for action from the beginning. would be enough to control companies operating “A discussion about the appropriate role of pri- in multiple jurisdictions — often in places where vate force might be diffi cult, and it might need investigation of allegations would be challenging to begin domestically, but it is perhaps the best at best. What is needed, some argue, is a binding chance of regulating an industry which is always international treaty. likely to change faster than regulators can re- At the United Nations, the Working Group on the spond,” says Percy. ■ Use of Mercenaries is developing a draft convention that would require states to regulate the export of By Malcolm Lucard security services much more stringently. Among Malcolm Lucard, editor, Red Cross Red Crescent.

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 15

Focus

In a small village near Tillabéry in north-western Niger, 61-year-old Fati Hassane sells 1-kilogram bags of rice from a new seed bank set up by the Niger Red Cross and the IFRC. Part of Hassane’s job as president of a committee overseeing the seedbank is to ration rice and crop seeds so there’s enough for all, while keeping prices down. Meanwhile, 20 kilometres into the hills from the remote mountain hamlet of Las Joyas, Honduras, a young man named Wilmer navigates steep, slippery and rocky terrain on horseback. Wilmer is no ordinary horseman. In 2010, he lost both his legs and an arm when he fell from a freight train headed towards the United States. After receiving new prosthetic legs from L “I am very pleased with the way the seed bank has changed my life and the ICRC, Wilmer is able to make a modest income working on his family’s small the lives of my fellow villagers,” says Fati Hassane, president of a committee that oversees a seed bank in a small village near Tillabéry, north-western banana and coff ee plantation. These are just two of many examples of how the Niger. “We used to have to travel far to buy rice. Now we have it here in our Movement helps people and communities regain independence and restore village.” Photo: Mari Aftret/Norwegian Red Cross their resilience in the face of economic, physical or environmental hardship. Faces of resilience

K “People can learn to overcome anything, if they take it one step at a time,” says Wilmer, a Honduran plantation worker who received two artifi cial legs from the ICRC. “Even though I fall down — and I fall down a lot — I keep trying until I succeed.” After crossing Guatemala, he climbed onto a train in Tenosique, in southern Mexico in an eff ort to reach the United States. Photo: Olivier Moeckli/ICRC

16 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 L With the help of cash grant from the Pakistan Red Crescent Society and the IFRC, Aziz Ullah was able to open a shop where he repairs punctured tyres for people in his village, located in Sindh Province. The grant was part of a livelihoods project for families aff ected by Pakistan’s 2010 monsoon fl oods. Photo: Usman Ghani/IFRC

J “They are always pushing and helping me to move forward and change the way I look upon life,” says 37-year- old Jackeline Erazo, referring to volunteers with the Colombian Red Cross’s Panica programme, which reaches out to vulnerable families in Cali’s impoverished El Calvario neighbourhood. “They also help with food and education, and they are teaching my children in order to prevent them from engaging in criminal activity. When they come I feel happy — more protected and not so alone.” Photo: Rene Diaz Helkin/IFRC

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 17 A question posed to aid worker Sarah Bailey in 2005 illustrates how far the thinking about cash as aid has come in just a few short years: “If a benefi ciary runs away with the cash, should we chase him?”

LOCAL AID WORKER asked me the question above in 2005 as we prepared to distrib- Aute US$ 70 to people aff ected by disaster and fi ghting in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The cash grants were part of a study to see if those aff ected would rather buy household goods Cash in a local market than receive a standard package of commonly needed items. Every single person preferred the cash, and they mainly chose things it had never occurred to us to provide: bicycle parts, mattresses and radios to keep up on election news. The ‘chasing’ question has stayed with me over the years. We laughed about it at the time, but it in also embodied the scepticism and discomfort many of our team members felt about trying this new ap- proach. Today, cash transfers are accepted as an inte- gral part of emergency operations and evidence is mounting that cash transfers, properly handled, work. It is simple economics and human nature. hand Aid agencies tend to provide people aff ected by tinely provide cash to poor people as a form of social disaster with the goods and services they need. protection and also to people aff ected by disasters. But where these are available locally, why not give In 2005, the government of Pakistan gave cash to people money instead? From paying school fees to 270,000 families devastated by the Kashmir earth- choosing their preferred foods, cash enables people quake, and partnered with the credit card company to respond to their own priorities. For aid agencies, Visa to reach nearly 2 million families hit by fl oods in cash transfer programming reduces the costs and 2010. The United States government provided US$ logistics of storing and transporting tents, rice and 7 billion to people aff ected by hurricanes Rita and other commodities. The potential advantages are Katrina to cover losses and expenses. obvious. Cash transfer programming is, however, relatively Giving people money is a straightforward new to most humanitarian agencies, donors and solution, but still a divisive one. Cash transfer pro- Red Cross Red Crescent societies. The response to gramming challenges traditional ways of delivering the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami included several and organizing humanitarian response. The inher- small projects giving cash instead of food, sparking ent power associated with cash turns notions of substantial discussion on cash in emergencies. Much charity on their head. Most aid agencies would not of the debate focused on risks: would cash be em- hesitate to deliver large quantities of food. However, bezzled, cause infl ation and put people in danger? the notion of delivering large quantities of cash Some were concerned that aff ected people might raises a series of questions about the opportunities, spend cash on frivolous, and even harmful, products consequences and risks of giving money to vulner- like alcohol and cigarettes, and that women might able people during times of crisis. be disadvantaged if men controlled they money. One donor summed up fears about negative press An (almost) new approach if a cash intervention went awry: “I can just imagine Cash as a form of relief is actually not a recent in- the headline, ‘Aid groups throwing away cash’.” novation. Among other historical examples, Clara Barton, one of the founding fi gures of the American No evidence of more corruption Red Cross, organized cash relief in the 1870–1871 These are valid worries. But in fact, numerous pilot Franco–Prussian war. Numerous governments rou- projects, studies and evaluations since then have all

18 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 respond to their own priorities in a fl exible and dig- nifi ed way. Cash also means that people do not sell aid to buy the things that they need most.

Raising the bar Aid agencies are using more in-depth analysis to justify cash — both to themselves and to donors — compared to other responses. They are looking at markets, what aff ected people prefer and how families make decisions in times of crisis. These are important issues that they do not always consider when providing other forms of aid. Responses using cash have also been subject to intensive monitoring in terms of how the money is spent and its impact. In short, cash transfers are more scrutinized than more traditional ways of helping people. This could be seen as an ‘unfair’ double stand- ard, but it’s a good thing. The scrutiny given to cash transfers actually might raise the bar for how humanitarians plan, implement and monitor their responses — regardless of the type of assistance provided. The very fact that cash exists as an option encourages analysis of the likely impact of diff erent responses, rather than automatically opting for tents or food aid.

A change of mind In-kind assistance remains by far the dominant form of humanitarian aid. However, it is diffi cult generally concluded the same thing: that cash poses L 45-year-old Aurenia Bandao to fi nd any recent major disaster response where diff erent — but not necessarily more or less — risks used a cash grant from the IFRC cash transfers have not been used by aid agencies. than in-kind assistance. and Philippine Red Cross as part No crystal ball is needed to know that the rapid in- of a typhoon recovery programme In Somalia and the Russian republic of Chechnya, to buy new sets of thread, which crease in cash transfer programming will continue. some aid agencies found cash to be safer than food enabled her to produce and earn Aid agencies therefore need the skills and systems aid, as cash can be delivered more discreetly and more. Photo: Afrhill Rances/IFRC to routinely consider and deliver cash responses can disappear into a person’s pocket once received. when they are appropriate. This includes having the Also, there is no evidence that cash is more prone to skills, and incentive, to better understand markets. corruption or that it results in unmanageable target- Achieving this is not overly diffi cult: aid agencies ing challenges because it is so desirable. (Is it not a have tools and experiences to share and resources good thing to provide desirable assistance?) on cash programming and market analysis abound. Fears that women would be disadvantaged by Perhaps most importantly, a change in mindset is cash — along with hopes that they would be em- also required, whereby those providing assistance powered — have little evidence to back them up. give some of their control to people aff ected by dis- After all, the roles of men and women are deeply aster and crisis. embedded in our cultures, and cash alone is unlikely In less than ten years, humanitarians have moved to change them. far beyond ‘testing’ cash to reaching hundreds of People receiving money by and large spend it thousands of people annually. They are even using responsibly. Concerns that they would not reveals new technologies like mobile phone transfers in some troubling biases about how aid agencies per- places where banks do not exist. Cash programming ceive those they assist. There will always be a small is arguably one of the most radical, yet simple, de- number of people who are irresponsible; disaster velopments in humanitarian aid in decades. Change does not eradicate human failings that can be found is happening — and in this case, it’s change we anywhere. But how can humanitarians support the should keep. ■ dignity of vulnerable people if they do not trust them to look after their own needs? By Sarah Bailey Countless interventions have confi rmed the main Sarah Bailey is an experienced humanitarian aid worker and an advantage of cash: that people aff ected by crisis can expert on cash transfer programming.

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 19 A site for sore feet The ICRC and the Mexican Red Cross work together to bring medical help to Central Americans on their way north. It’s one example of how the Movement reaches out to help migrants when they are at their most vulnerable.

NE MORNING RECENTLY, Juan Carlos, a young, fl esh from the rocky earth — were thinning. Blisters black-haired Honduran, rested under a tree ready to burst signalled trouble. Othat gave some shade from the hot sun. He “I had a feeling this would happen,” he said. “I’m had just crossed the wide, brown Suchiate River and trying to ignore the pain. Not think about it.” Mexico’s southern border, and had settled for a mo- So, Juan Carlos took notice when a white truck ment near the small agricultural town of Tenosique. pulled up alongside the train tracks. Other migrants, After four nights of walking through the Guatemalan those more experienced with this trek, quickly hills and jungle to get here, he was one less border jumped to their feet and began lining up. away from the United States — and exhausted. Soon, the next phase of Juan Carlos’ journey would Basic needs begin. With little warning, a freight train would move Operated by the Mexican Red Cross, recently in part- L A migrant jumps a moving through Tenosique, along the rail tracks where Juan nership with the ICRC, the truck was a mobile medical freight train outside Tenosique, Carlos now rested. He would sprint and try to grab a unit stocked with supplies needed to treat people Mexico. Each year, thousands of freight wagon’s metal ladders, hoist himself aboard bound for the United States. US-bound illegal immigrants are and head further north. Mostly, the needs are basic: treating lacerations hurt or killed as they head north through thick jungles controlled by Catching the train was one worry. But there was caused by falls over rocks or barbed wire, intestinal violent drug gangs. Photo: REUTERS/ something more pressing. The soles of Juan Carlos’ infections from drinking river or lake water, dehydra- Daniel LeClair, courtesy www.alertnet.org shoes — the critical synthetic cushion separating his tion and severe blistering. But such ailments can go

20 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 untreated as migrants tend to remain underground “We’ve heard that lower fevers. Some migrants were sent to a small during their trek and simple remedies, from band- there’s a spot where private room inside the trailer for antibiotic in- ages to aspirin, are often out of reach. By mid-journey, jections. Bello would also ask about conditions migrants like Juan Carlos, who asked that only his fi rst people will come out — diabetes, asthma and hypertension — that could name be used to protect his identity, usually have with guns to rob us. fl are up during the trip. only a few pesos to spare if any at all. I’ve already been In April, a Pew Hispanic Center report showed the A dangerous road number of Mexicans migrating into the United States robbed though, in María Canchola, working for ICRC’s migration pro- is slowing due to a weak American economy and a Guatemala. I gave ject in Mexico, said that the migrants’ needs are tighter border. But Central Americans continue to enormous. “Right now, our focus is on treating those make the crossing. The economies in countries like all the money I had. who may be sick,” she said. More extensive medical Honduras and Guatemala remain very weak and vi- I’m not sure what attention can include the need for artifi cial limbs olence is rampant. Although precise fi gures for the else they can get for migrants left maimed after falling off a train. But number of Central Americans moving through Mex- although the ICRC’s mission in Mexico centres on im- ico are not available, Mexican migration authorities from me.” mediate medical treatment, it also aims to address last year deported some 40,000 Central Americans. Juan Carlos, Honduran other humanitarian consequences of migration. The The number of church-supported migrants’ shel- migrant group supports coordinated work among forensic ex- ters set up throughout Mexico and along the routes perts in both Mexico and Central America to identify used by Central Americans is also increasing. There human remains found in Mexico — a growing prob- are now more than 60 refuges to help satisfy the de- lem as migration becomes increasingly dangerous. mand for food, clothing and safe haven. The trip is no longer about sneaking past Mexi- Juan Carlos waited for about 20 minutes until it can migration authorities or the US Border Patrol. was his turn to enter the medical trailer. When he Migrants face organized criminal groups who may stepped inside, Oswaldo Bello Lovato, the clinic’s kidnap them and demand ransoms from their rela- 25-year-old doctor, asked basic questions: name, age tives living in the United States. In 2010, and in what and his country. He also asked how Juan Carlos felt. appeared to be a botched mass kidnapping, 72 Cen- “Look,” Juan Carlos said, taking off his shoes to show tral American migrants were massacred in northern a series of puff y sores on the bottom of his feet. His an- Mexico, near an area that Juan Carlos may have to kles were swollen from overheating and fl uid retention. travel through. Such killings are now routine in Mex- “How long have your feet been like that?” Bello ico and it is common that bodies remain unidentifi ed. asked. “Since yesterday,” said Juan Carlos. “Already been robbed” Bello handed him a tube of anti-blister cream. Back at the clinic, a sense of calm surrounded the “Keep applying it for at least a week even if the blis- area. Although the migrants enter Mexico illegally, ters go away,” he said. the Mexican government supports the Mexican Red “Anything else?” Bello asked. “How are you feeling Cross’s mission of responding to health-care needs today? Headaches? Fever?” without distinction of a person’s legal status. Local Juan Carlos complained of stomach pains, al- migration offi cials are not allowed to seize migrants though he wasn’t suff ering from diarrhoea, a typical drawn to the clinics. ailment among migrants triggered by drinking con- After his consultation, Juan Carlos chatted with taminated water. some of his fellow travellers. As he moved north, Juan Bello handed him a few anti-parasitic tablets in Carlos had met others like him. They felt some safety case things worsened. in numbers against the threat of gangs who rob them of their cash, cell phones and anything else consid- Unexpected attention ered valuable. Juan Carlos took his medicine and stepped down But whatever calm he felt began to disappear as from the trailer. He applied the blister cream and it talk turned to the journey ahead. “Up there,” said was cool and soothing. His spirits seemed up. Web extra! Juan Carlos, pointing north along the tracks. “We’ve “I see their mental health improve with just the most For more links and stories heard that there’s a spot where people will come out basic consultation,” said Bello. “The idea that someone related to migration, with guns to rob us. I’ve already been robbed though, is willing to pay attention to them is unexpected.” including the IFRC’s World in Guatemala. I gave all the money I had. I’m not sure That morning, Bello would see about 50 men Disasters Report 2012, Focus what else they can get from me.” ■ like Juan Carlos. In the afternoon, more women on Forced Migration and and men would appear when the clinic arrived at a Displacement, please visit our By Monica Campbell migrants’ shelter just up the road. Bello prescribed website at Monica Campbell is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco. anti-rash and anti-diarrhoea medicine, off ered ad- www.redcross.int. This article fi rst appeared in Intercross, the ICRC’s blog based in hesive bandages, aspirin and other medicine to Washington DC (http://intercrossblog.icrc.org/).

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 21 Unforgettable storms Galveston, Texas is the home of America’s deadliest natural disaster: the hurricane of 1900 that claimed more than 6,000 lives. Today, this city built on an island still suff ers successive hurricanes. In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Ike, is the city’s much-needed recovery being forgotten?

22 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 N 12 SEPTEMBER 2008 — exactly 108 years and five days after the unnamed ‘Great O Storm’ of 1900 — Galveston Island, off the Texas coast near Houston, was hit head-on by Hurricane Ike. The 966-kilometre (600-mile) wide Category 2 storm (on a scale that counts five, with Category 5 being the most severe) crossed the Gulf of Mexico on a trajectory hauntingly similar to its historic predecessor. Ike left 75 per cent of the island’s buildings and streets buried under several metres of brown, churning salt water and the city’s electric, gas, water and sewage systems inoperable. The situation was dire. The city of Galveston, Tex- as’s oldest port city, was devastated physically and psychologically, its economic engine ground to a sudden halt. For a few days, at least in Houston and the imme- L A photo taken after the ‘Great and teaching school, has a reputation for pugna- diate surrounding environs, a 24-hour news cycle Storm’ of 1900, which destroyed cious survival in the face of adversity. It now faced churned visuals of the fl ooded island, its homes afi re, much of Galveston, Texas and took rebuilding and redefi ning itself for the second time the lives of roughly 6,000 people. its seaside structures thrown up onto the streets in in just over a century. J A Galveston resident surveys piles of splintered lumber. Some 40,000 evacuated what is left of the trailer that he residents watched from motel rooms, shelters and lived in before it was destroyed by Local Red Cross goes into action family homes on the mainland, looking for sparks of Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Among the buildings swamped in Ike’s flood wa- life and waiting to hear when they would be allowed Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria, courtesy ters was the Galveston County Red Cross branch www.alertnet.org to return to their sodden residences to begin mitiga- headquarters. American Red Cross staff there had tion eff orts. hastily piled items on top of furniture, expecting Nearby, the Bolivar peninsula, home to some a few centimetres of standing water — not an 30,000 residents at high season, was almost swept unusual circumstance on this low-lying barrier clean of buildings and trees, its bridges wiped out island — and evacuated to wait out the storm at and the ferry connecting it to Galveston Island out Houston. of commission. Small inland communities along the Before leaving, they helped with evacuation ef- canals and rivers splintering off Galveston Bay also forts, directing island residents to buses headed saw massive home losses and fl ooding. for shelters in San Antonio and Houston. When America’s eyes were on the Hurricane Ike disas- they returned, everything in their building, includ- ter for a brief few days, bringing back memories of ing a carefully preserved letter from American Red Hurricane Katrina and its crushing landfall on New Cross founder Clara Barton, was under 1.2 metres Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf coast just three of water. Late summer heat and closed, wet build- years before. US President George W. Bush and for- ings produced a pervasive mould that destroyed the mer Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton contents of many ground fl oors across Galveston, in- visited the island to survey the damage alongside cluding those at the Red Cross. eager camera crews. But media attention quickly Undeterred, Galveston County Red Cross execu- turned to a diff erent kind of disaster on 15 Sep- “[The Red Cross] had tive director Mari Berend, who had taken up her tember when Lehman Brothers bank collapsed shelter agreements post just six weeks before, went to work with a leaving the US banking and investment system on staff of four, a handful of local volunteers and a life support and the economy in a prolonged state with 12 buildings welcome crew of hundreds of volunteers from the of emergency. in the city. The day surrounding region and across the country. They Galveston became old news fast and was left to handed out emergency food packets and water, recover out of sight and out of the minds of the vast after the storm, not and began the tedious task of checking every majority of Americans. At stake were billions of dol- one of them was street on the island, looking for survivors and as- lars in damages, uncertainty about the survival of usable.” sessing the damage. the city’s key employers and an ongoing internal “[The Red Cross] had shelter agreements with 12 battle over what kind of city Galveston would be- Mari Berend, executive buildings in the city,” said Berend. “The day after the come once the fl ood waters receded and recovery director of the American Red storm, not one of them was usable.” Some 15,000 in- began. This historic seaport, home to rich architec- Cross’s Galveston County habitants of the island had ignored the then Mayor tural treasures and a world-class medical research branch Lyda Ann Thomas’s orders to evacuate or were un-

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 23 able to leave the island for lack of transportation. ing roofl ess and tottering, told what had once been Shelter was desperately needed. the make-up of a thriving city.” Berend and her staff took shelter in an old school With Barton’s help, the attention of generous building and in cooperation with the Texas task force philanthropists across the country brought in large (made up of volunteers from the Salvation Army, Red donations of cash and supplies. Local women, in- Cross and a Southern Baptist church men’s group) spired by Barton, became involved in shaping public provided food to stranded islanders from 400 mo- policy and public health issues. The island had lost bile feeding units across the community. 12,000 people or 32 per cent of its population, but A tent shelter erected on the grounds of an ele- the city quickly repaired its deep-water harbour mentary school in central Galveston, run by the city and embarked on one of the United States’s most authorities, the Galveston County Red Cross branch successful building projects. The US Army Corps of and the American Red Cross, became a temporary Engineers elevated every surviving building on the home to more than 800 people. “The sea, with its island, raised the ground itself with infi ll and erected “We directed and referred people to services, a 27-kilometre (17-mile) concrete seawall to protect and continued providing food and shelter,” said fury spent, had the island from future storms. The recovery of a city Berend, until a federal emergency declaration sullenly retired. nearly completely destroyed was nothing short of brought in the United States’s Federal Emergency miraculous. Management Agency, to take over disaster relief The strongest and move the community towards recovery. Ber- buildings, half Reclaiming their future end’s eff orts are focused now on rebuilding her Forty months after Hurricane Ike, Galveston Island volunteer corps which, she says, went from 447 standing roofl ess has recovered to a degree but has a long way to go. trained and certifi ed volunteers to 39 post-Ike, a and tottering, told Gone are the mountains of debris collected from decline due to the swift depopulation of the island what had once been city streets and hauled off the island, truckload by after the storm. truckload. Insured homeowners have rebuilt their the make-up of a flood-ravaged homes and businesses have re- A page from the past thriving city.” opened their doors. Gentle sea breezes still wash The American Red Cross looms large in Galveston’s the island, hefting wings of seagulls and pelicans, history, owing to its extensive relief eff orts following Clara Barton, founder of the and the grand old houses on the island’s East End, the great storm of 1900, when Clara Barton, aged 78, American Red Cross many of them survivors of the 1900 storm, still stand, travelled to Galveston from Washington DC, to head witnesses to fi ckle turns of weather and the brutal relief distribution. Operating out of a four-storey force of nature. warehouse that still stands, Barton was shocked by The University of Texas Medical Branch was heav- what she found on the stricken island — more than ily damaged by the storm and at risk of being closed 6,000 people dead, wagonloads of corpses being after more than half its workforce was let go. But it buried at sea only to wash ashore again, count- was rescued after a political fi ght between the uni- less orphans and homeless men and women, and versity’s board of regents and a determined island residential areas reduced to rubble. To this day, the politician, State Representative Craig Eiland, which K Great Storm remains the single most deadly natural This map shows the path of returned full state funding to the institution and Hurricane Ike and many other disaster in American history. storms that have slammed guaranteed its presence on the island for the fore- Barton wrote: “The sea, with its fury spent, had Caribbean nations and the Gulf seeable future. sullenly retired. The strongest buildings, half stand- Coast of the United States. But the island’s low-income residents haven’t fared so well. When all four public housing projects were ruined by Ike, the city made the decision to USA bulldoze them rather than rebuild. Thousands of workers and elderly people who had evacuated New Orleans their houses, the majority African-American, had no Galveston homes to return to. And while the city received more Miami than adequate federal funding to replace housing according to the directives of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, Galveston’s housing authority and city council MEXICO have locked horns and failed to decide how, where and when to rebuild. Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski admitted frustra- tion over the issue. “There’s a sense of blame, that poor people, it’s their fault,” he noted. Jaworski said some Galve- stonians oppose what they perceive as a sense of

24 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 Neighbourhoods across the island still harbour rotted-out houses that have been deserted, and the city lacks the staff to claim and demolish them. But Jaworski’s number-one concern is the dip in popu- lation following Hurricane Ike, putting Galveston’s census below 50,000 and at risk of being declassifi ed as a small urban district subject to federal transpor- tation and education funding. “There’s a sense of loss in the community,” he admitted, “a fear that we’re not coming back. But I choose to see it diff erently. We bottomed out; now let’s change.” Trevor Riggen, senior director of disaster services for the American Red Cross, spent three weeks in Galveston following Hurricane Ike in 2008, helping coordinate the emergency response. Galveston, he says is representative of a lot of communities in the United States that see population and numerous other community losses after a disaster. “The question becomes, now that you’ve seen the impact of a natural disaster like Hurricane Ike, how do you organize against that impact in the future?” says Riggen. The American Red Cross advocates partner- ship and training with local businesses, churches, schools and community centres to ‘develop resil- ience’. One such tool is its newly developed Ready Rating, a service to businesses and organizations to help them measure their readiness and pre- paredness level in the face of future disasters. One rating criteria, for example, asks the follow- ing question: if your company or organization has one central headquarters and it is destroyed, how will you conduct operations and reach your people? It’s not a hypothetical question, but an experience-based reality check for communities L Red Cross volunteers assist a entitlement by those who lived in public housing. like Galveston. resident with settling into a storm “Why should they get help and not me?” To Riggen, helping companies and local organi- shelter in Galveston in 2008. Also at play is a political climate fuelled by anti- zations survive is key to helping people recover. Photo: William Pitts/American Red Cross government sentiment at both federal and local “We’ve seen how invested those centres of gravity, levels. those centres for social capital are in a community “The question “The debate over federal versus local control like Galveston. They are trusted resources,” he said. becomes, now plays into this,” said Jaworski. “The people who “Our job is to help them develop tools to either re- oppose rebuilding low-income housing say, ‘The spond or recover.” that you’ve seen feds [federal government] won’t tell me what to Taking aim at poverty and blight also requires the impact of a do.’ Those in support of rebuilding say, ‘They [the time and will. Jaworski cites a pre-Ike complacency poor] have just as much right as anyone to come in Galveston that was satisfi ed to let poor people live natural disaster like home.’ Meanwhile, hundreds of people are fi xing in ghettoes. Now, he is championing a movement Hurricane Ike, how their houses with the same pot of money and they towards building new mixed-income neighbour- are not complaining about it.” hoods and scattering low-income housing around do you organize At issue is how the city will defi ne itself in the fu- the city. against that impact ture: as a laid-back resort community dependent on “I say let’s play on the strengths of this place, let’s tourism, with a large number of workers commut- make it so aff ordable and gorgeous that people will in the future?” ing to aff ordable housing on the mainland, or as the look and say, ‘Why aren’t I living there?’” ■ Trevor Riggen, senior working-class city it has long been, dependent on director of disaster services for the wharves, the port and the medical centre and By Kathryn Eastburn the American Red Cross their labourers to support the local economy. Kathryn Eastburn is an author who lives in Colorado, USA.

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 25 Forgotten ferries When the massive Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy in January 2012, killing more than 30 people, the world’s media responded. In other parts of the world, maritime disasters are claiming many more lives but few of those stories are told.

HE SUN HAD ALREADY fallen over the Mo- zambique Channel when the Madjiriha left TANZANIA Tthe port of Moroni, Comoros, crowded with 180 passengers and crew, heading south towards COMOROS the island of Anjouan, roughly 100 kilometres to the south-east. Madjiriha is one of many boats that ferry people among the islands that make up the Comoros, a set MOZAMBIQUE of volcanic isles rising from the Indian Ocean be- tween Mozambique and Madagascar. Only an hour into their voyage, one of the Madjiriha’s two engines failed, followed closely by the second. For several hours the ship drifted while the crew MADAGASCAR tried to restart the engines. The drama continued as the ship approached the coast and seas became

26 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 rough. Finally, around 03:00 on 9 August 2011, said Ibrahim Drolo, a survivor who also felt that the ship smashed into the rocks along the south- victims have received a very limited assistance. “I west coast of Grand-Comoros island, causing the wonder, had I died, what would have become of crowded vessel to capsize. my children? Once alerted, residents of the nearest coastal vil- “We are all morally wounded. And we are really lage rushed to the rescue. Volunteers of the Comoros disappointed that the government did not take Red Crescent also hastened to the scene to assist vic- care of us,” he said. Like many victims, he would tims along with military and civilian offi cials. like to see those responsible for the accident held But the wreck was not easy to reach. Foundering accountable. amid the rocks and crashing waves, the boat had “My entire life has changed radically,” said Fatima overturned along a particularly inaccessible part of Youssouf, the widow of one of the victims. She re- the coast. Throughout the morning and into the day, lives the drama almost every day as she sees her fi ve Red Crescent volunteers joined civilian and govern- orphan children, aged between 3 and 12 years, grow- ment boats, scouring the choppy seas for survivors, ing up without a father and a breadwinner. “I do not collecting bodies and bringing whoever they could work; if I did, how could I take care of my children?” fi nd back to shore. As the rescue boats went back and forth to a An ocean graveyard beach near the seaside village, other Red Crescent Sadly, the tragedy of the Madjiriha is far from an iso- volunteers received the wounded and consoled lated incident in the waters between the islands of the grieving survivors. They also carried bodies in the Comoros and other Indian Ocean countries. sheet-covered stretchers and began caring for the Indeed, the crossing between the islands of An- dead according to local customs. jouan and Mayotte, which remains under French The local health centres were the fi rst to receive administration, has become a maritime graveyard the wounded while the entire community, with for hundreds of people every year, many of whom the support of Comoros Red Crescent volunteers, were trying to immigrate to French territory. helped in any way they could before the patients, L The hull of the Madjiriha traumatized and in shock, were transferred to El- wallows among the rocks off Maarouf, the main hospital in the capital Moroni. the south-west coast of Grand- By the time the sun set on 9 August, the offi cial Comoros. Only approved for 90 toll was 56 dead, nine of whom could not be iden- passengers, the boat was holding roughly 180 people when it tifi ed; an additional 48 people were still missing. capsized in the early morning of Among the victims were many children. Thanks to 9 August 2011. Photo: Comoros Red those who responded, 76 people survived, some of Crescent whom suff ered serious injuries.

Resources overwhelmed Despite the heroic eff orts of the responders, the disaster quickly revealed weaknesses in the islands’ ability to deal with mass casualties. The hospital in Moroni, for example, was quickly overwhelmed. Some patients simply decided to go home. “Con- sidering the overfl ow and panic of doctors and paramedics, and knowing the lack of means in this hospital, I preferred to go home and being able to rest,” said one of the survivors, who suff ered dam- age to his spine. I A big part of the response to In the following days, as it became clear that no maritime emergencies involves more survivors would be found, Comoros Red Cres- proper identifi cation and treatment of the dead. Here a cent volunteers turned their full attention to off ering policeman records the handprint psychological, emotional and practical support to of a woman killed in a ferry the victims. They worked to reconnect victims with tragedy in Zanzibar, Tanzania relatives, identify remains and attended funerals, in July 2012. Rescue workers providing psychosocial therapy to the injured and including the Tanzania Red Cross relatives of victims. responded after an overcrowded ferry sank in rough seas. To this day, the scars of August 2011 are still fresh. Photo: REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya, courtesy “I regularly relive this drama and directly think of www.alertnet.org my two children aged 3 and a half and 1 and a half,”

ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 27

of the equation is what happens before these ferries leave port.

Lack of attention In the Comoros, critics and groups of victims say there is a general lack of attention from both of- fi cials who oversee port activities and among ship owners, captains, crews and even those dealing with civil security. One key issue is chronic overcrowding of ves- sels. While the Madjiriha had permission to carry 90 passengers, it left with 180 people aboard. Local media also reported that the ship had experienced technical problems linked to the engines a few days before. A few days after the sinking of the Madjiriha, a national commission was set up by the Ministry of Transport with the mandate to “enforce the rules and laws in force without any complacency”. Regular and unannounced controls appear to be taking place, and mechanical and safety checks are carried out before each boat’s depar- ture. Many wonder if these measures will remain in place once local public attention wanes, but so far it appears that enforcement after the disaster In 2004, the San-Son ferry sunk with 120 pas- L While some Comoros Red has changed and reduced unregulated boat traffic sengers on board. Only one person, a woman, Crescent volunteers joined boat between the islands. survived. In 2006, another ship, the Al Mubaraka, crews searching for survivors, Now, new rules force crews to have proper other volunteers on the beach foundered, killing 20 people and 33 others re- systems for giving life jackets to passengers in rushed victims to medical care ported missing, followed by the Niyati Soifa, centres or to makeshift morgues. emergencies. The authorities have also taken steps taking 60 lives, with only ten survivors who were Photo: Said Abdou/Comoros Red Crescent to improve weather reporting and avert clandes- rescued by fi shermen. tine, unauthorized ferry services. They have also Another boat, the Ile d’Anjouan sank in 2009 set up a system of coast guards. The state has off the coast of Tanzania with 47 passengers and established a Directorate for Civil Protection that 29 crew members, plus livestock and cargo. For- recruited 120 young people who will be trained to tunately, 75 people were rescued by a German become fi refi ghters. container ship, which received a distress call while The Comoros Red Crescent has been studying heading to Zanzibar. ways to better prepare for future maritime emer- The Comoros is not the only country in the region gencies, including developing response units and to face this problem. In July this year, the Tanzania training rescuers specialized in nautical activities Red Cross National Society was among the fi rst to “I regularly relive who would also need to be outfi tted with appro- respond to a passenger ferry accident near Chumbe this drama and priate equipment. The National Society must also island in Zanzibar. The MV Skagit, certifi ed for 250 strengthen psychosocial and material support to people, capsized as it was travelling to Zanzibar directly think of my compensate for the lack of state services. from Dar-es-Salaam. Local sources said the ferry was two children aged 3 Meanwhile, one year after the tragedy, the hull carrying more than 280 passengers. “Strong waves of the Madjiriha still sits rocking in the waves, just hit the boat causing it to lose control,” said one sur- and a half and 1 and a few metres from shore. A few days after the trag- vivor. “Passengers panicked as they scrambled for a half. I wonder, edy, a tugboat tried to turn the boat in order to life jackets.” recover bodies trapped inside. The tug failed and Kibar Tawakal, disaster response manager for the had I died, what the human remains are likely still trapped inside — Tanzania Red Cross, said the National Society set up would have become one more reminder for relatives and victims of a a response unit in Zanzibar’s port to provide fi rst aid of my children?” painful problem that still has not attracted a com- and off er information to relatives. Rescuers that day plete response. ■ saved 146 people. Ibrahim Drolo, who survived What these later two incidents suggest is that the 9 August 2011 ferry By Ramoulati Ben Ali lives could be saved if systems were in place to reach accident off the coast of Grand- Ramoulati Ben Ali is a communications offi cer for the Comoros Red those in distress before it’s too late. The other part Comoros Island Crescent.

28 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | ISSUE 3 . 2012 ICRC materials are available from the International Committee of the Red Cross, 19 avenue de la Paix, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland. www.icrc.org Resources IFRC materials are available from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, P. O. Box 372, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland. www.ifrc.org PUBLICATIONS MEDIA prevent their recruitment, protect experience of their colleagues. It them and help them rebuild their aims to prepare an organization to Health Care in Danger: lives after their demobilization. respond well to an emergency and what is it and why is it Available in English and French; Spanish (fi rst its potential humanitarian impact. edition) Available in English important? ICRC, 2012 Health Care in Danger: the ICRC Director-General Yves Strategic planning Daccord gives his personal view responsibilities of health- guidelines for National as he attends a photo exhibition care personnel working in Societies on the theme during the London armed confl icts and other IFRC, 2011 Olympics. Images by Tom emergencies This guide provides an overview of Stoddart show the dangers facing ICRC, 2012 the key aspects of strategic planning medical staff and patients in war A guidance document in simple in a National Society, based on good zones. language for health personnel, practice and learning from around Running time: 3:44 min. Available in English setting out their rights and the world. This introduction answers World Disasters responsibilities in confl ict and other some of the key conceptual questions Into the light situations of violence. It explains a leader may ask when setting out on IFRC Report 2012 the strategic planning journey. IFRC, 2012 how responsibilities and rights for In Asia Pacifi c, an estimated health personnel can be derived Available in English 500,000 people who inject This year’s World Disasters Report from international humanitarian law, drugs are HIV positive. In many aims to widen and sharpen the human rights law and medical ethics. countries, repressive laws fuel focus on the complex causes of Mini EHL: The essence of Available in English HIV transmission, denying forced migration and the diverse humanitarian law drug users access to health and consequences and impacts for ICRC, 2012 social services. Through a series both aff ected populations and A guide for This resource kit introduces young of intimate portraits, this fi lm humanitarian actors. The report draws parliamentarians to people to the principles and basic highlights the impact of HIV attention to the diverse health needs the International Red rules of international humanitarian harm-reduction eff orts carried out of forced migrants, stressing the law (IHL). It provides 5 x 45 minutes Cross and Red Crescent by the Red Cross in Cambodia and importance of enhancing professional of sequential learning activities Movement Viet Nam. standards and mainstreaming the designed for both formal and non- IFRC, 2012 Running time 10:00 min. Available in English health care of those displaced. formal education settings for young This guide aims to familiarise online at: http://vimeopro.com/ifrc/into- Available in English, summaries in Arabic, French people and other interested groups. parliamentarians with the the-light and Spanish Available in English and French. Sfr. 7 Movement, particularly the role of x 2 Red Cross and Red Crescent National TED RC : multiplying Child soldiers and other Societies throughout the world. IFRC Annual Report 2011 the power of humanity children associated with There are a number of characteristics IFRC, 2012 ICRC, 2012 armed forces and armed that distinguish National The International Federation The International Red Cross and groups Societies from non-governmental reviews its work worldwide over Red Crescent Movement’s fi rst- ICRC, 2012 organizations, the United Nations the year. This report highlights ever TEDx event took place on 27 This updated brochure provides and other elements of civil society, key operations and development November 2011. Over 550 people detailed information about the but not all parliamentarians are activities, and also includes the gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, problem of child soldiers, and aware of these diff erences. This guide year’s fi nancial statements. to hear our speakers talk about Available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish outlines what should be done to is designed to provide information multiplying the power of humanity and understanding with a view to and meeting tomorrow’s building on the existing strong and Rapid Mobil Phone-based humanitarian challenges. valuable relationships between (RAMP) survey toolkit Running time 18:00 min. Available in Arabic, parliamentarians and the National IFRC, 2012 English, French and Spanish Photo: Marko Kokic/ICRC Society as auxiliaries to government. This toolkit describes how to design Available in English, French, Spanish and Russian and implement Rapid Mobile Phone- based (RAMP) surveys. The RAMP is Contingency an easy-to-use, swift, inexpensive Planning Guide survey methodology that allows IFRC, 2012 for data collection by Red Cross This guide, the second version Red Crescent volunteers on locally produced by the IFRC, is for available, inexpensive mobile practitioners, volunteers and staff phones and produces a fi nal survey working with National Societies report within days of completion of around the world who wish the fi nal questionnaire. to benefi t from the collective Available in English and French

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The Thai Red Cross Society (TRCS) Snake Farm was opened in November 1923 by Queen Savang Vadhana, then president of the TRCS. The farm raises snakes for an institute it also runs that produces anti-venom for snakebites and conducts vaccine research. See page 6 and www.redcross.int.