Issue 1, June 2006 - Australian Red Cross

theHUMANITARIAN
june 2006 Issue 1
Just say yes
dealing with discrimination
the heart of cyclone Larry
behind bars
Australian Red Cross and
beyondblue join forces
theHUMANITARIANnews 2
theCONTENTS
Issue
1
Editorial
5
6
Welcome to the first edition of
theHumanitarian. The main purpose of
this magazine is to explore issues that
are of importance to people who hold
common basic humanitarian values and
to share with you, the reader, news on
the ways in which these issues are
being addressed.
17
This is a different approach for
Australian Red Cross. We are not
looking inwardly but outwardly. We are
not simply self congratulating our work
in local and international communities
but we are seeking engagement with
broader audiences on the basis of
common concerns.
For example, in this edition, Emma Tom,
one of Australia’s brightest young
journalists, joins us to take a very
contemporary look at discrimination and
how the individual can bring about
change. We also look at the experience
of women and war and, closer to home,
the faces of tropical cyclone Larry and
the heart-warming response from
around Australia.
This new approach signals change that
is permeating the Australian Red Cross
on a very pragmatic level. Rather than
eight different magazines we are
producing one national magazine with
local information for each state. We aim
to be more efficient and effective as a
leading humanitarian organisation and
will demonstrate our commitment to
that aim in this and future editions.
Robert Tickner
chief executive officer
Australian Red Cross
<<
Just say yes
Emma Tom, columnist
for The Australian,
considers the subtle
forms of discrimination
15
theFEATURES
Cyclone Larry
Australian Red Cross
workers on the ground
in the hours and days
after cyclone Larry >> 6
Behind Bars
In any situation of armed
conflict or internal violence,
individuals are captured and
detained >> 15
Community Care
Australian Red Cross to
lead a community
care pilot >> 17
theINSIDE
News, features and
updates after page 7
Page
3
inBRIEF
Responding to Cyclone Larry
Australian Red Cross activated its
disaster services to assist those
affected by tropical cyclone Larry which
crossed the coast near Innisfail in late
March. One of the first to provide
assistance to people in the areas
affected by the cyclone, Red Cross
worked closely with the Queensland
Department of Emergency Services and
the Australian Defence Force to provide
food and emergency shelter.
More on page 6.
Red Cross launches the
Indonesian Disaster Appeal
Review of Australia’s plasma
fractionation arrangements
Red Cross has responded to an
earthquake that shook the island of
Java, leaving at least 2,700 people
dead and 3,000 injured.
The Australian Government is
currently undertaking a review of
Australia’s plasma fractionation
arrangements under the Australia-US
Free Trade Agreement. The Review,
which is headed by a former head of
the Foreign Affairs and Trade
department, Philip Flood, AO, will
consider whether the fractionation (or
manufacturing) process should be
opened up to competition as part of the
Free Trade Agreement.
Image – REUTERS/Crack Palinggi courtesy
www.alernet.org
A further 200,000 people have been left
homeless by the magnitude 6.2 quake
that struck the Indonesian island on 27
May. Initial reports indicate that the most
severe damage occurred in the capital
Yogyakarta, where an estimated 70 – 80
percent of houses have fully collapsed.
Timor-Leste Appeal launched
Red Cross launched an appeal to
support the people affected by the
current unrest in Timor-Leste at the end
of May.
Funds raised from the appeal will help
provide food and other relief items such
as tarpaulins, tents, household items,
and mosquito nets, as well as logistical
and communications support.
Up to fifty thousand people are
estimated to have left their homes
because of the violence and are living in
makeshift camps around the country.
‘By launching this appeal we can help
with the immediate needs of those who
have fled their homes. It will also help
us contribute to the longer-term
development of Australia’s closest
neighbour,’ says Robert Tickner, CEO
of Australian Red Cross.
Local Red Cross volunteers have been
distributing food, bottled water, tents,
tarpaulins and other essential supplies
to affected people. Additional medical
supplies, as well as 1,000 family tents
and six field hospital tents are being
shipped to the earthquake zone.
Red Cross Calling supports
vulnerable Australians
The 2006 Red Cross Calling
Appeal has almost come to an end,
with funds still rolling in from the army
of volunteers, Red Cross branch
members, school students, workplaces
and service groups involved.
This year, over 120,000 volunteers
across the country offered to knock on
doors and fundraise for the March
Appeal. To date, more than $7.5 million
has been banked. Red Cross relies on
these funds to help cover the costs of
running over 60 community services
across Australia, targeting people living
in disadvantage.
Our sincere thanks to all our loyal
supporters who helped us to raise these
vital funds, and our wonderful donors
who gave generously to the Appeal.
The ARCBS has provided a
comprehensive submission to the Review
Committee which is available on our
website at www.donateblood.com.au
The Committee is due to report to the
Minister for Health and Ageing, Tony
Abbott, later in the year.
Operation Lifeblood
The Australian Red Cross Blood
Service (ARCBS) are trying to recruit
45,000 new donors around Australia
during May, June and July.
To become a blood donor call 13 14 95.
As part of Operation Lifeblood – and as
World Blood Donor Day falls right in the
middle of it – we’ve also joined with
some corporate supporters to say thank
you to all existing and new donors.
In June and July, you can enter a
competition to win a unique gourmet
experience, for you and five of your
friends at Maggie Beer’s Pheasant Farm
in the Barossa Valley. Just make sure
you and your five friends all give blood
during June or July and tell us in 25
words or less why you’re special!
To find out more, visit
www.operationlifeblood.com
theHUMANITARIANnews 4
Maria Headley is the sort of
woman who gets called nasty names
on the back of toilet doors. Yet this 20something New York writer gets my
vote for anti-discrimination role model
of the decade.
Headley, an aspiring playwright, was
sick of being single and decided to stop
being so judgmental about potential
partners. She then made the
extraordinary decision to date anyone
who asked her out—regardless of their
age, appearance, profession or gender.
Over the period of a year, Headley hit
the town with about 150 people
including a homeless man, an actress,
a Microsoft millionaire, a carpet
salesman, a boxer, a 70-year-old salsa
dancer, a family-minded lesbian, an
actress and an "ex-coke-head cowboy
Colombian" handyman.
She recorded her remarkable
adventures in a book called The Year of
Yes which has just been released in
Australia by HarperCollins.
While some people may find Headley's
actions shocking—and perhaps even a
little salacious—I have nothing but
admiration for her bold social
experiment. I think it demonstrates an
open-mindedness and generosity of
spirit sadly lacking in our individualistic
society. It is also a vital reminder that
true tolerance starts at home.
Perhaps you've been to a party and
heard someone start a rant with the old
‘I'm not racist but...’ line. This all-toocommon (and almost always erroneous)
opener reflects our tendency to view
discrimination as something only other
people do: Bastardly bosses who sack
staff for having wheelchairs, dark skin,
or the wrong set of secondary sexual
characteristics, for instance.
The unfortunate extension to this line of
thinking is assuming that solving
discrimination is always someone else's
responsibility, too. ‘Surely there are laws
to take care of these sorts of
unpleasantries,’ we tell ourselves.
‘Surely there's some sort of tribunal...’
In reality, however, discrimination is a
subtle and insidious beast that often
goes unexamined and unremedied.
Most of us are aware of race-, religion-,
gender- or disability-based prejudice,
but what about other forms of
discrimination relating to people's
financial, intellectual, social or
subcultural status? Have you ever
treated someone less than fairly
because they dressed like a Goth? (If
so, you may be interested to learn that,
contrary to the cat-killing stereotypes, a
recent academic study showed that
Goths actually tend to be peace-loving
and intellectual high achievers.)
The unpalatable truth is that we all have
the potential to behave in a
discriminatory manner—even those of
us who pride ourselves on our
upstanding equal opportunity-ism.
I, for instance, regard myself as one of the
most non-judgmental people I know. My
effervescent network of family and friends
includes folk of many ages, cultural
backgrounds and sexual orientations.
Some wear suits, while others think the
height of sartorial elegance is a silver ring
dangling from the nostrils. A few worship
Muhammad, while others kneel before
punk rocker Courtney Love.
Yet, despite all this, I know I have blind
spots, particularly when I'm frightened,
angry or stressed. Say, for example,
someone does something stupid on the
road. Almost involuntarily, I'll strain to
catch a glimpse of the driver to see if
they conform to stereotypes about who
drives badly in Australia. I've never
actually verbalised anything sexist,
ageist or Volvo-ist under these
circumstances, but I'm embarrassed to
admit that there are times when the
inside of my head is as vitriolic and
hate-filled as the most reactionary of
talk-back radio programs.
The first thing I do to counter my
discriminatory tendencies is to stop
denying they exist. Rather than puffing
myself up about being Ms Broadminded,
I recognise that every so often I slip into
shock-jock mode. I then take steps to
avoid acting out my inner Alan Jones.
Let's say that, yet again, my bicycle
and I have narrowly avoided being
pulverised by a car driver who looks like
she's from the hypothetical country of
Nicole Kidman. ‘Bloody Nicole
Kidmanians,’ I'll huff as I dust myself
off. “They're all the bloody same. Vapid,
self-obsessed and absolute assassins
behind the wheel.”
Once I've finished fuming and taken a
couple of deep breaths, I begin the
debrief with a series of logic-based
questions.
‘How do I know for sure that this driver
is from Nicole Kidman?’ I'll ask myself.
‘Sure, she looked like she was, but how
can I be certain?’
What if she actually came from a
neighbouring country such as Angelina
Jolie or Jennifer Aniston?
‘OK, so let's say she IS from Nicole
Kidman,’ I'll continue (often getting some
weird looks from people who discriminate
against dishevelled cyclists talking to
themselves by the side of the road).
‘Does this mean everyone from her
country is a clone? And how much do I
really know about this nation's
inhabitants given that my only experience
is a couple of National Geographic
specials and a few bitch sessions with
friends who probably haven't met any
Nicole Kidmanians in person either?’
By this stage, I've calmed down enough
to continue on my way, optimistic that if
Just say
Page
5
I ever meet a Nicole Kidman in less
perilous circumstances, I'll be able to
relate without a whole load of
discriminatory baggage.
by Emma Tom
While cognitive processes such as this
are all well and good, the downside is
that they're reactive rather than
proactive. That's why I'm such a big fan
of Maria Headley. Instead of merely
deconstructing her discriminatory
reactions, she took things one step
further and went out of her way to
interact with people she would normally
have shunned (her particular blind spots
included mimes and the wearers of
sweater vests). Instead of pretending
not to see her fellow citizens, she made
eye contact, beamed and welcomed
them into her life, even if it was just for
a single coffee.
While I'm not suggesting everyone adopt
Headley's extreme approach to the
letter, I would invite you to experiment
with her attitude by reaching out and
making a connection with someone who
has a look or who comes from a
background you'd normally reject. I'm no
psychic (in fact I'm still battling a few
prejudicial views about this particular
bunch) but I do predict that you'll be
surprised at how difficult and yet how
rewarding this exercise will be.
Emma Tom is a Sydney author,
broadcaster and musician who writes a
column for The Australian.
yes
Richard (left) and Deyar Mosa, residents of public housing flats in
Melbourne attend a soccer clinic organised by Jesuit Social Services.
theHUMANITARIANfeature 6
Image - Newspix, Peter Wallis
cyclonelarrymaking a
difference in
the North
Australian Red Cross workers
on the ground in the hours and days
after cyclone Larry faced tough but
rewarding times.
Far north Queensland residents warmly
welcomed over 700 Red Cross staff
and volunteers from across the state
and Australia who answered their
urgent call for help following the
cyclone’s devastating impact.
Authorities reported hundreds of
millions of dollars in property damage
and crop losses to communities in an
arc that stretched from Cairns to Tully.
Greg Goebel, executive director,
Queensland Red Cross, says cooperation
with government and other emergency
agencies had been the starting point for a
successful working partnership as
recovery efforts got underway.
‘It certainly allowed us to triage so we
could get things done immediately. It
enabled Red Cross to provide help to
those most in need,’ Mr Goebel says.
Red Cross volunteers provided 24-hour
care at the Innisfail TAFE which had
become the community’s central
evacuation point for those who lost
everything and had no place to go.
The Red Cross Emergency Evacuation
Centre at the TAFE building housed
over 200 people during its ten days of
operation in addition to providing food,
water, clothing and reassurance for the
people driven from their homes.
Image - Electric Images
Meanwhile, Red Cross ground crews
began visits to more rural communities
including Babinda, Silkwood, Kurrimine
Beach, Cowley Beach and Mourilyan.
Visits by door-to-door volunteers
checked on the health and well-being
of people who remained in their homes.
Robert Tickner, Australian Red Cross
CEO, says volunteer and staff teams
had earned the deep admiration of the
people they helped in the far northern
communities.
By Peter Rochman
Rose Munez and her daughter received shelter and food at
Innisfail TAFE after cyclone Larry struck.
theHUMANITARIANtheINSIDE
world
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Picking up the pieces
in Pakistan
Red Cross has revived its 'Asia
Quake' appeal calling on Australians to
support long-term recovery efforts in
the areas worst hit by the October 8
disaster in Pakistan.
Image - Arzu Ozsoy/Federation
A Pakistan Red Crescent
Society volunteer helps villagers
load corrugated iron sheets onto
a jeep to be driven into the
mountains of Kaghan Valley.
theCONTENTS
greater access to Solomon
Islands health care
hiv/aids
the power of the image
conflict in Darfur continues
Now that the northern winter has
ended, the focus of the massive
international humanitarian operation has
shifted from emergency relief to
recovery. The International Red Cross
has revised its initial emergency appeal
upwards from $160 million to
approximately $250 million to fund the
recovery phrase.
The Red Cross Red Crescent recovery
plan, which covers activities between
March 2006 and December 2008, aims
to strengthen primary health care
services, increase water and sanitation
facilities, improve shelter, rebuild
community buildings such as clinics,
hospitals and schools, and boost the
capacity of the Pakistan Red Crescent
Society to lead the recovery efforts.
During the initial emergency phase of
the operation, the International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement
provided assistance to over 960,000
people in North West Frontier Province
and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
This included 18,000 tonnes of aid,
such as 57,000 winterised tents. In
addition, approximately 227,000
patients received medical assistance at
Red Cross Red Crescent emergency
response units, field hospitals and
mobile health facilities.
Australian Red Cross has so far
deployed 22 aid workers to assist in the
emergency phase of the response,
some of whom have now returned from
mission, while others are still in the field.
Avian Flu appeal launched
In March, Australian Red Cross
launched the ‘Avian Flu appeal’ in
support of the International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
global call for approximately $18.4
million. Funds raised through this appeal
will be used to assist countries in their
preparedness for the potential worldwide
spread of avian influenza and the
potential risk of this leading to a
pandemic of human influenza.
More than 40 countries have reported
the deadly avian influenza virus strain
H5N1 in wild birds and domestic
poultry. Avian influenza has spread
rapidly across Asia, Europe, the Middle
East and Africa through migratory birds.
To date, the International Federation and
National Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies are preparing for or responding
to avian influenza in close to 30 countries.
The funds raised through this appeal
will be used for the following activities:
– to support disaster preparedness,
response and recovery activities of
the International Federation and
National Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies
– to fund any deployment of specialist
aid workers to countries to assist in
the International Red Cross response
– to support any Australian Red Cross
programs of assistance in affected
countries
To donate to the ‘Avian Flu appeal’:
visit www.redcross.org.au or call
1800 811 700 toll free.
theHUMANITARIANtheINSIDEWorldWide
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Nationwide mosquito net
distribution in Niger
More than two million mosquito
nets were delivered to mothers of
children under the age of five in Niger in
April. The intensive distribution
campaign was timed to coincide with
the start of Niger’s wet season in May,
and aims to protect 3.5 million children
from malaria.
Tsunami update
Helping the visually impaired
Ambulance Service
A new Australian Red Crossfunded project will assist visually impaired
people who lost glasses in the recent
tsunami disaster and provide eye-care
services to others who were displaced.
Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar now
have fully trained and functioning
ambulance services with trained
ambulance staff operating equipped
vehicles that are linked by a radio
network to their base station. These
centres have acted as pilot projects and
three more centres have been identified
for training and development.
The International Organisation for
Migration held the $3-million project’s
first mobile eye clinic in Matara, southern
Sri Lanka, in early March 2006.
The program will help up to 100,000
people in tsunami-affected areas, of
whom 75,000 will receive free glasses if
sight-related problems are detected.
Reconstruction on Nias Island
Construction of the remote Nias
Island was completed in March, with
the building of 254 family homes, a
health clinic, two primary schools, nine
bridges and three clean water systems.
Image - Federation
Mosquito nets delivered to
families in Niger aim to protect
3.5 million children from malaria.
Nias Island was one of the areas where
the tsunami had a very obvious impact
says, Tsunami team general manager
Chris Staines. ‘The coral reefs were lifted
about one metre above sea level, so it
was practically jutting out of the water
leaving the existing pier totally useless
apart from being somewhere to fish from.’
The program was in partnership with
‘Zero to One Foundation’.
The ambulance project is a ‘consortium’
project where several Red Cross
Societies have come together to combine
skills and resources to deliver support to
the Indonesian Red Cross Ambulance
services in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam
Province for the next five years.
Consortium members include
Indonesian Red Cross; Australian Red
Cross; Norwegian Red Cross; German
Red Cross; and Hong Kong Red Cross.
Temporary living centres
established in Aceh
A number of temporary shelters
have been completed in the province of
Aceh in the last four months. Seventy
two families have received replacement
tents, 125 families now have transitional
shelter and over 400 families are in the
process of receiving transitional shelter.
Maldives cleaned up
The successful distribution of the nets,
which took place in two week-long
phases, had a clear commitment from the
people of Niger, including 3,850 Red
Cross volunteers and another 16,150
vaccinators and community workers who
played an essential role in reaching the
remotest areas of this West Africa country.
The Niger Red Cross Society played a
vital role in ensuring the nets were
correctly hung and used.
Image - Federation
254 family homes have been
built for residents of Nias Island.
The Maldives Waste Management
program is beginning to show visual
signs of progress, with the clean up of
seven of the 74 tsunami-affected islands.
More than 800 Maldivian Islanders took
part in sustainable waste management
training sessions, contributing to the
clean up of their islands. In addition, six
waste management centres have now
been constructed and handed over to
island communities. Clean up of all of
the islands is expected to be completed
by March 2007.
The Weathercoast is only accessible
by boat or helicopter.
Residents of Komate at a hygiene and
sanitation workshop.
Deidre Ballinger (right) preparing for class.
Solomon
Islands
greater access to
health care
During the ‘unrest’ in the
Solomon Islands from 1998 to 2003,
government infrastructure was heavily
affected and the health of the
population suffered immensely.
Although calm has been restored with
the intervention of the Regional
Assistance Mission to the Solomon
Islands, rebuilding the medical,
educational and social systems has
been a longer-term challenge.
Deidre Ballinger has seen those
challenges first hand in her work with
the Solomon Islands Red Cross (SIRC)
staff to establish a community-based
health awareness program which aims
to provide remote communities with
information to help them improve health
and hygiene practices.
As an Australian Red Cross technical
advisor, Deidre’s work in the Solomon
Islands’ remote ‘Weathercoast’ is a long
way from her ten years as a nurse and
midwife in the Northern Territory. She
remains no less passionate, however,
about the challenges and rewards of
working in a cross-cultural environment.
‘I am constantly amazed at the human
resilience, generosity and optimism of
the Solomon Island people who
struggle every day just to ensure they
‘…the whole
village turns out
to help haul the
boat up the
pebble beach
where they will
watch over it for
the week while
we trek up the
hill to the
villages we
came to visit.’
have enough food to eat, let alone
enjoy the luxuries of good antenatal
care and comprehensive immunisation
programs,’ she says.
Deidre’s commute to work in this
remote community accessible only by
boat, helicopter, or, as Deidre describes
it, ‘a very long walk’, involves a fourhour journey (more if the weather is bad)
in the Red Cross fibreglass ‘canoe’.
‘When we reach the coast, the whole
village turns out to help haul the boat
up the pebble beach where they will
watch over it for the week while we trek
up the hill to the villages we came to
visit,’ says Deidre.
After wading through red, clay-like mud
and balancing on bridges made of
coconut trees to cross rivers, Deidre
and her entourage finally arrive at the
remote village.
The Solomon Islands Health Awareness
Program aims to promote behavioural
change that will enhance lifestyles and
make healthy choices possible for
people on the Weathercoast and in
northern Malaita.
Guided by SIRC’s assessment, the
Weathercoast’s awareness program is
focussed on hygiene and sanitation
practices (the causes of diarrhoea, skin
and eye diseases), malaria and
community-based first aid.
‘The SIRC staff are a constant
inspiration’, says Deidre. ‘I have seen
them continue to work with malariainduced fevers and they willingly give
up their weekends for the frequent
travel to the field.’
Australian Red Cross will continue to
assist the Solomon Islands Red Cross
to raise community awareness on other
important health topics, such as
HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted
diseases. The current project is funded
by AusAID, the Australian Government
Overseas Aid Agency, until early 2008.
Images - Katica Dias Australian Red Cross
theHUMANITARIANtheINSIDEWorldWide
Red Cross volunteers in Myanmar
reversing
discrimination
Recently in Myanmar, Red Cross
workers discovered a five-year-old boy
living in a box under a tree in the
backyard of his parents’ house. His
parents didn’t know this was the fate of
their son because they had both died of
AIDS several months earlier. But his
relatives knew. They put him there.
Assuming that the boy had contracted
the HIV virus from his parents, his
relatives confined him. Though they
continued to bring him food, he was
kept in these conditions for several
months, banished from the shelter of
his home. Eventually he was found by
Red Cross staff working in the area and
given medical treatment. As it turned
out, he didn’t have HIV. He was just
severely dehydrated and suffering from
the effects of diarrhoea and worms. It
was quite easy to ‘fix him up’ and the
people living in the village regarded his
recovery from AIDS as a bit of a
miracle. That was their second
assumption – that people with AIDS
could be easily cured.
Stories like this are common in Southeast
Asia where an estimated 8.3 million
adults and children live with HIV and an
estimated 14 million children have lost
one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.
In Thailand, says Bangkok-based
HIV/AIDS technical advisor, Elden
Chamberlain, the stigma is further
exacerbated by a new social order
campaign to ‘clean up’ society.
‘The authorities went through this whole
process of rounding up drug users.
They had a real clamp-down on
brothels and sex workers which drove
everything underground.’
Similarly in Vietnam, ministries campaign
against the ‘social evils’ of sex, drugs
and homosexuality at the same time
that others run serious campaigns
aimed at reducing discrimination.
In Vietnam,
ministries
campaign against
the ‘social evils’ of
sex, drugs and
homosexuality at
the same time that
others run serious
campaigns aimed
at reducing
discrimination.
One of the challenges in Southeast
Asia, says Mr Chamberlain, is the
prevailing attitude towards
homosexuality.
‘In the western world, people tend to
be more forthcoming about their
sexuality, whereas Asian men won’t
admit they’re gay,’ he says.
‘Instead they have wives and carry on as if
they’re heterosexual yet go underground
to find sex workers and brothels.’
Mr Chamberlain says that despite
attempts to raise awareness about
HIV/AIDS there is still much ignorance
and denial.
‘We realised that before we could do
anything about reducing discrimination
in society at large, we had to focus on
the fact that it exists within our own
Red Cross organisation.’
‘Four years ago Red Cross was running
a project to reduce stigma in cross
border areas. One of the criteria was
that 25% of the participants had to be
living with HIV. At the time this was a
hard target to achieve because stigma
and discrimination within the Red Cross
made people living with HIV/AIDS feel
very uncomfortable about disclosing
their status. But now, after a concerted
HIV
effort with the Red Cross in the region
to raise the issue of stigma and
discrimination, that situation has been
reversed. The Red Cross is the only
place where people living with AIDS feel
like they are receiving the support they
need. There is still work to do though we are currently working on a project to
develop workplace policies and
guidelines that protect the rights of staff
and volunteers living with HIV,’ says Mr
Chamberlain.
Health care providers were another
group of people who discriminated
against people living with AIDS, he said.
‘On the one hand we were encouraging
people to access their health care
services but in doing so we put them in
a situation where they would experience
another level of discrimination. To
address this we have been working very
closely with the Asia Pacific Network to
provide training and resources to health
care workers around the region.’
So far the results have been
encouraging, with pre- and post-tests
taken in places such as Cambodia and
Mongolia showing a marked
improvement in attitude.
‘We need to be eternally vigilant – even
the slightest reduction in prevention and
support programs can have a
significant impact on increasing the
rates of HIV. And even with the best of
efforts we are only accessing 25% of
vulnerable populations meaning 75% of
those most vulnerable to HIV still have
not had any access to information or
training in ways to protect themselves.
All levels of society need to take the
issue seriously and mobilise
accordingly, especially government and
community leadership before we stand
a real chance of halting the epidemic.’
By Janine Gray
AIDS
theHUMANITARIANtheINSIDEWorldWide
In November 1985, Paris Match
magazine published a now famous
photo of Omayra Sanchez, a 13-yearold Columbian girl trapped in debris
caused by a mudslide following the
eruption of a volcano in the country’s
north. The image of the young girl, her
eyes fixed on the lens, seemingly
oblivious to her surroundings, is
undeniably confronting.
By the time the photographer, Frank
Fournier, arrived at the scene, rescuers
had long since given up their attempts
to free the young girl. Shortly after the
photo was taken, 60 hours after she
was trapped, Omayra died of exposure.
The picture sparked widespread
controversy. People were appalled at
the apparent voyeurism of the photo.
Why hadn’t anyone done anything for
her? And what right do photojournalists
have to so exploitatively invade
someone’s last precious moments?
This debate is not a new one. In the
not-for-profit sector, images of disaster
victims and of recovery efforts are
important in building the profile of
appeals or causes. Yet at the same
time, their potential to harm and belittle
is almost universally acknowledged.
The Code of Conduct for the
International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement and NGOs in
Disaster Response demands that
signatories recognise ‘disaster victims
as dignified human beings, not hopeless
objects’ (Principle 10). In other words,
NGOs are forbidden from portraying
people as passive recipients of aid – as
broken and beaten individuals reliant on
hand outs. They must in no way exploit
those that they portray.
the power of
An undeniably important call, to be
sure. But one that is itself potentially
problematic or even short sighted.
Ellen Whinnett is a journalist with
Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper.
She has written on a number of
humanitarian crises, including a piece in
February of this year that looked at the
ongoing food crisis in the remote Sahel
region of West Africa.
Whinnett worked closely with Red Cross
officials in Australia and in Niger to gather
information on the size and nature of the
endemic food shortages, as well as the
response of the Red Cross. She also
looked to the organisation to supply
photos to accompany her piece, but was
somewhat surprised with what was
on offer.
‘The problem that I had was that the
story was about widespread hunger
and food shortages, but the images we
were getting were of plump and
apparently healthy, smiling mums and
babies,’ she explained.
‘And from a news point of view, the
photos that have the greatest impact
are those that are confronting.’
The question is, therefore, whether the
insistence of NGOs on maintaining the
by shunning
sensationalist
shots that
dramatically show
suffering and grief,
are NGOs missing
opportunities to
engage with the
public and
potential donors?
dignity of victims of disaster or conflict
can sometimes be at odds with the
media’s need for dramatic, confronting
imagery? And, if this is the case, does
this conflict therefore impact upon NGOs
generating publicity for their appeals?
Says Whinnett: ‘I understand that these
people are vulnerable and must not be
exploited, even if that ‘exploitation’ is
for the greater good in that the NGO is
attempting to raise money for them and
awareness for their plight.
‘But somehow we need to find a way to
balance these two competing issues.’
So by shunning sensationalist shots that
dramatically show suffering and grief, are
NGOs missing opportunities to engage
with the public and potential donors?
In an interview with BBC some 20 years
after taking his now infamous image,
Frank Fournier defended his role and
that of the photojournalist
‘I am very clear about what I do and
how I do it, and I try to do my job with
as much honesty and integrity as
possible. I believe the photo helped
raise money from around the world in
aid and helped highlight the
irresponsibility and lack of courage of
the country's leaders,’ he said.
‘There are hundreds of thousands of
Omayras around the world – important
stories about the poor and the weak
and we photojournalists are there to
create the bridge.’
Arguably, then, not to have taken
Omayra’s picture would have amounted
to a greater betrayal of her and of those
who survived the eruption.
by Matt Cochrane
Frank Fournier’s famous controversial
image of Omarya Sanchez.
theimage
During the Niger appeal,
Red Cross sent a selection
of images to the media
similar to this one.
Image - © Frank Fournier/Contact Press Images.
theHUMANITARIANtheINSIDEWorldWide
conflict in Darfur continues
but Red
Cross
remains
According to UN estimates, up
to 180,000 people have been killed and
a further three million affected as a
result of ongoing conflict in the Darfur
region of Sudan. Hundreds of
thousands of people have been forced
to flee their homes and villages as this
humanitarian crisis continues. While a
tentative peace deal has recently been
struck between the government and
rebel forces, tensions remain.
Australian Red Cross, working closely
with the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC), British Red Cross
and the Sudanese Red Crescent,
continues to run a primary health care
clinic outside of the remote town of
Gereida, in southern Darfur.
Sitting in the shadows of a series of
camps, the clinic currently houses
between 70,000 and 90,000 displaced
people, with more arriving every day.
Between 400 and 500 people are
treated daily, mainly for diarrhoea,
malaria, and eye and skin infections,
and there are supplementary feeding
programmes run by the ICRC for
malnourished children.
‘When we got there
we found the area
was called the ‘Steps
to Hell’ because it
was just so awful,
and we said in the
end that we had
turned it into the
‘Steps to Heaven’.
Health clinic helps
malnourished children
One of the efforts of Australian Red Cross
in Darfur is to feed malnourished children
back to health. Anne Carey, an Australian
Red Cross nurse recently returned to
Australia after eight months in charge of
one of the Darfur feeding centres,
described her work to theHumanitarian.
‘We’d see up to 600 a day in the
(health) clinic, 800 in the moderately
malnourished feeding area, and 80 to
100 in the severely malnourished area.
There was fighting nearly all the time –
every day in November – it was
insecure most of the time,’ she says.
Still, the efforts were worthwhile.
‘When we got there we found the area
was called the ‘Steps to Hell’ because
it was just so awful, and we said in the
end that we had turned it into the
‘Steps to Heaven.’
In fact, so successful were their efforts,
says Ms Carey, that they nearly got to
the point of closing the severely
malnourished centres.
‘We decreased the numbers almost to
the point where we didn’t need it,
before more came in,’ she says.
Ms Carey has nothing but praise for the
efforts of her team.
‘It was very positive, I wouldn’t mind
going back. The team is what pulled it
together. We got on so well, I couldn’t
do anything without the team. We
laughed a lot – that was good medicine.’
By Daniel Wilson
Page
15
In any situation of armed
conflict or internal violence, individuals
are captured and detained and are at
risk of brutal treatment, disappearance
and extrajudicial execution.
For decades, the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
has striven to visit prisoners and
detainees behind prison walls where its
action can make a difference.
The Red Cross in some countries
conduct detention visits as part of
their mandate. They focus on the
specific needs of detained asylum
seekers and migrants including, for
example, people who have breached
the terms of their visa.
How to deal with migration is a
controversial political issue in Australia
where public opinion is divided on the
government’s policy of mandatory
detention. During regular visits to
detention centres, Australian Red Cross
workers help detainees to communicate
with their families through Red Cross
messages, organise activities such as
sewing and cooking classes, and provide
clothing, phone cards and newspapers in
different languages. ‘The detainees view
our visits very positively even though our
agreement with the government
stipulates clear limits to what we can do,’
explains Hang Vo, Australian Red Cross
manager of international tracing and
refugee services.
‘We don’t really deal with detainee
abuse allegations or publicly advocate
on behalf of detainees. But there are a
number of other organisations that do.’
behindbars
The Canadian Red Cross Society has
been visiting detention places since
1999 when the mass arrival of Chinese
boat people in western Canada and their
detention by authorities led to public
concern. Trained volunteers now
regularly monitor the situation of
foreigners arrested under Canadian
immigration laws. ‘We consider these
detainees a particularly vulnerable group
in need of protection,’ says Johanna
Hökeberg Canadian Red Cross assistant
manager for detention monitoring.
Like the ICRC, Canadian and Australian
Red Cross are aware that their reason for
conducting detention visits are not
always understood and accepted by
members and the public at large. Ms Vo
explains, ‘Initially we were concerned that
the public would simply not support the
work of the Red Cross with people often
accused of not really being refugees.
However, within the Red Cross there has
already been a shift of perceptions.
I think the more people know about our
work in places of detention, the more
they accept that it makes sense.’
A version of this article first appeared the
‘Red Cross Red Crescent’, the magazine
of the Red Cross Movement, Issue 1 2006.
theHUMANITARIANfeature 16
A Sydney stockbroker smokes
the illicit drug ‘ice’ in his car before
going to work. In Melbourne, a user
shoots up in a side street. In Brisbane,
a young girl contemplates suicide. In
Perth, a man beats up his girlfriend
after a big night of drinking.
The statistics are hard to ignore –
80 to 90% of the major health
burdens that affect young people in
Australia are drug- and alcohol-related
or a mental health issue. To address
this disturbing fact, Australian Red
Cross and beyondblue: the national
depression initiative will be joining
forces in July in a new peer education
initiative that addresses both alcohol
and other drugs and mental health
issues such as depression and anxiety.
This will be the first time these issues
are addressed together within the
context of a peer education model.
At present the save-a-mate (SAM)
program meets an identified service gap
in Australia because most drug and
alcohol training programs do not
address the prevention and
management of potential emergencies
resulting from substance abuse. SAM’s
peer education component has
benefited over 10,000 young people,
with a further 275,000 exposed to the
program through their attendance at
events and festivals.
According to a recent National Drug
and Alcohol Research report titled,
‘Co-Morbid Mental Disorders and
Substance use Disorders,’ nine out
of ten of the major health burdens
impacting young Australian men are
either drug and alcohol-related or a
mental health problem. In the case of
women, the figure is eight out of ten.
SAM national manager, Shaun Hazeldine,
who works closely with young people,
sees the initiative with beyondblue as a
natural progression from what is already
offered through SAM. ‘Basically, we have
the infrastructure and capacity and
beyondblue have the knowledge and high
profile about depression and anxiety.’
‘When young people start to feel
depressed or anxious they often
self-medicate and then the problems
get worse. Conversely, drug and
alcohol use can lead to mental health
problems. This is an area that demands
attention when you consider 60% of
people with mental health issues do not
ask for help. One of the biggest barriers
to getting help for mental health issues
is the stigma associated with it, so
young people won’t seek treatment
when really they should.’
beyondblue senior program manager,
Craig Hodges, says that while peer
education programs have been widely
used in the drug and alcohol arena for
many years, they haven’t really been used
extensively in the mental health area.
‘One of the biggest
barriers to getting
help for mental
health issues is the
stigma associated
with it.’
‘Essentially we’ll be bringing two of the
key health issues facing young people
together and educating them about the
core issues associated with drugs and
alcohol and depression and anxiety and
how they’re linked.’
The program will initially be trialled
in NSW and South Australia and
evaluated to ascertain its effectiveness
and reach.
‘This initiative provides a unique
opportunity for two national
organisations to work together in two
priority health areas to develop a
comprehensive program which can
assist in educating young people about
drug and alcohol and mental health
issues,’ Mr Hodges says.
Australian Red Cross &
beyondblue join forces
joiningforces
save-a-mate volunteers at a music festival in Sydney earlier this year.
Page
17
Image - Dave Tacon
community
care
Australian Red Cross to lead
Community Care Pilot
Australian Red Cross has been
asked to lead a 12-month community
care pilot for the Department of
Immigration, Multiculturalism and
Indigenous Affairs (DIMA). The pilot is
expected to show that adequate
support to vulnerable people in the
immigration system can improve their
mental, emotional and physical health.
It will also assist DIMA in their
immigration work.
Australian Red Cross domestic
operations general manager, Noel
Clement, says that Red Cross will work
with government and non-government
organisations to provide coordinated
care for vulnerable people in the
immigration systems. This will include
people with mental and physical health
issues, families with children and other
people with significant support needs.
‘Prior to this program many people had
been left with inadequate support in the
community and reliant on the
assistance that can be provided by
already overstretched charities, so this
is a real significant step forward in
responding to humanitarian needs,’
says Mr Clement.
Australian Red Cross will provide a
casework service, including income
support, access to health services and
brokerage funds to enable referral to
other welfare services (eg. counselling
and support). Much of this work builds
on the existing Australian Red Cross
Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme and
Residence Determinations program
models. Other welfare agencies will
partner with Australian Red Cross to
provide a specific service.
theHUMANITARIANnews 18
Don’t close your eyes
‘I didn’t want to see this, but it happened anyway.
I thought these things might pass us, but they’re
happening today.’
That’s the message from Greg Arnold, front man of iconic
Australian band ‘Things of Stone and Wood’ whose song
(Close my eyes), was written specifically for Red Cross.
Launched on World Red Cross Day on 8 May, Greg says
he was inspired by the fact that it’s far too easy to ignore
all the terrible news in the world. ‘The onslaught of
images one sees and hears in the media can make us
emotionally immune. Yet, there are those who don’t close
their eyes and turn their backs, there are those who
dedicate their lives to humanitarian work.’
Greg was joined on the recording by former Midnight Oil
drummer, Rob Hirst, and Paul Greene, members of the
critically acclaimed act Hirst and Greene.
‘Close my eyes’ was launched at an event held at
Sydney’s State Library, as part of World Red Cross Day.
The launch was co-hosted by Australian Red Cross and
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Page
19
workplacegiving
Earlier this year, the
Pricewaterhouse Coopers(PwC)
Foundation tried something a little
different to promote the charitable
organisations they support through
Workplace Giving.
Rather than bombarding their staff with
emails about the latest news on charity
partners, they decided to hold a
‘Foundation Week’, where the
organisations themselves came in to
showcase the types of services they
provide and to celebrate the difference
being made as a result of their
partnership with PwC.
PwC Foundation national coordinator,
Carolyn Bruce, explains the main
objectives of Foundation Week were to
introduce new charity partners, raise the
profile of existing partners and encourage
their people to make or refresh their
pledge through PwC’s Workplace Giving
program, PwC People Giving.
The PwC Foundation re-survey their
people every three years to ensure they
continue to focus support on the cause
areas and charities their people are
most passionate about. After resurveying late last year, there was a
noticeable swing towards environmental
and health issues, says Ms Bruce. Other
causes nominated by staff were poverty,
disadvantaged youth and children.
As one of PwC’s new charitable
programs, Australian Red Cross spoke
about the Good Start Breakfast program
and handed out healthy breakfast items
to staff during Foundation Week.
‘Prior to our partnership with the Red
Cross, I didn’t realise that 70% of their
programs were domestically focussed.
I guess I’ve always thought of Red Cross
as an organisation that helps disaster
victims internationally and provides blood.’
‘Foundation Week not only helped our
staff understand what each of our
charity partners does, it resulted in over
220 new or modified pledges, so it
really exceeded our expectations. It
also increased our overall participation
in Workplace Giving by 2% nationally,’
says Ms Bruce.
Mallesons’ partners and staff have been
contributing to Australian Red Cross
through Mallesons’ Workplace Giving
program since 2001. Says pro bono
and community programs manager
Jane Farnsworth, ‘One of the benefits
with Workplace Giving is developing a
deeper relationship with the charitable
organisation. For the past three years
we’ve had a group of about 50
enthusiastic staff members who
volunteer with Telecross and the Good
Start Breakfast Club.’
Mallesons also provides pro bono legal
assistance to Australian Red Cross.
Workplace Giving is a simple yet powerful
way for employees to assist Australian
Red Cross to deliver services to
vulnerable communities through dollars
received via regular payroll deductions.
In addition to Workplace Giving, the
PwC Foundation work collaboratively
with their charity partners, providing a
package of support including pro bono
services and volunteers through the
PwC ‘In The Community’ initiative,
which allocates staff one day’s paid
leave per year to undertake teambased volunteering in the community.
For legal firm Mallesons Stephens
Jacques, one of the spin-offs from
Workplace Giving was increasing the
involvement of staff with charitable
organisations.
For more information on Workplace Giving
contact national business partnerships manager
Kellie Johnston at [email protected]
taxtime
As we get closer to 30 June 2006 and our thoughts turn towards tax returns, please keep an eye on your letterbox for the Red
Cross Tax Appeal letter. Your tax deductible donations help support our 60 plus community services here in Australia.
If you donate to the annual Red Cross Winter Appeal before June 30 it could result in a tax benefit to you in this financial year.
The table below shows the real cost of your donations.
Donation amount
$50
$100
$250
$500
Income
The real cost to you...
$6,000 - $21,600
$41.75
$83.50
$208.75
$417.50
$21,601 - $63,000
$34.25
$68.50
$171.25
$342.50
$63,001 - $95,000
$28.25
$56.50
$141.25
$282.50
$95,001 and over
$25.75
$51.50
$128.75
$257.50
There are now 4 easy ways to donate this financial year:
Visit www.redcross.org.au to donate via our secure online donation facility. Call 1800 811 700
Mail your cheque or credit card details to Australian Red Cross GPO Box 2957 Melbourne VIC 8060
Or fax to (03) 8327-7905
theHUMANITARIAN
In all activities our volunteers and staff are guided by
the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement.
Humanity The International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring
assistance without discrimination to the wounded
on the battlefield, endeavours, in its international
and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate
human suffering wherever it may be found.
Its purpose is to protect life and health and ensure
respect for the human being. It promotes mutual
understanding, friendship, co-operation and lasting
peace amongst all people.
Impartiality It makes no discrimination as to
nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political
opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of
individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and
to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.
Neutrality In order to continue to enjoy the
confidence of all, the Movement may not take sides
in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies
of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature.
cover image
Dave Tacon
designer
Miguel Valenzuela
house mouse design pty ltd
Independence The Movement is independent.
The National Societies, while auxiliaries in the
humanitarian services of their governments and
subject to the laws of their respective countries,
must always maintain their autonomy so that they
may be able at all times to act in accordance with
the principles of the Movement.
theHumanitarian is published
three times a year by
Australian Red Cross
mailing address
155 Pelham Street
Carlton VIC 3053
Australia
Voluntary Service It is a voluntary relief
movement not prompted in any manner by desire
for gain.
Unity There can be only one Red Cross or Red
telephone
00 11 61 3 9345 1800
Crescent Society in any one country. It must be
open to all. It must carry on its humanitarian work
throughout its territory.
editor
Janine Gray
Universality The International Red Cross and Red
sub editors
Natasha Broadstock
Kirsten John
Crescent Movement, in which all Societies have
equal status and share equal responsibilities and
duties in helping each other, is worldwide.
printer
DPA printed on
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National Office
155 Pelham Street,
Carlton VIC 3053
Tel 03 9345 1800
ACT
Cnr Hindmarsh Drive and
Palmer Street,
Garran ACT 2605
Tel 02 6206 6000
NSW
159 Clarence Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel 02 9229 4111
NT
Cnr Lambell Terrace and
Schultz Street,
Larrakeyah NT 0820
Tel 08 8924 3900
QLD
49 Park Road,
Milton QLD 4064
Tel 07 3367 7222
SA
207-217 Wakefield Street,
Adelaide SA 5000
Tel 08 8100 4500
www.redcross.org.au
TAS
40 Melville Street,
Hobart TAS 7000
Tel 03 6235 6077
VIC
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North Melbourne VIC 3051
Tel 03 8327 7700
WA
110 Goderich Street,
East Perth WA 6004
Tel 08 9325 5111
General enquiries
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