The trip to UNHCR was very interesting. The woman we met with spent 15 years working in refugee camps in Africa. Her perspective was great to hear. However, discussing just a few problems we face these days regarding human rights, refugees and the like I posed a question to her. “Having seen the worst of the worst and spending so much time working in refugee camps and not seeing significant amounts of progress, do you still have hope that things will improve significantly within your lifetime?” It’s my fear that after dedicating my studies to human protection, development and human rights and then starting a career in this field that I will become disillusioned by the bureaucracy and red tape that prevents aid organizations from doing what want and need to get things accomplished. So her answer surprised me. She said when looking at a place like Africa she thinks there has been progress since she started working there 20 years ago. Compared to some places the progress may not be as big but it’s there and the progress is still happening. Her biggest complaint was people thinking that throwing money and aid at the situation is the number one way to solve the problems when, in fact, that isn’t what is needed most.
It’s nice to see someone who has been working in the field since the ’70s still remaining optimistic.
