The preventable trauma of humanitarians | What’s Unsaid (REPLAY)

07/11/24 • 30 min

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*This episode was originally published on September 27, 2023.

Aid worker and psychologist Imogen Wall tells host Ali Latifi that the way humanitarian organisations are run, can do as much damage to aid workers' mental health as being confronted with war, hunger, and rights abuses.

What’s Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable truths around the world’s conflicts and disasters.

*This episode was originally published on September 27, 2023.

What’s Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable truths around the world’s conflicts and disasters.

Previous Episode

The stories humanitarians tell (and why they need to change) | Rethinking Humanitarianism

When crises hit, a host of questions arise, among them: Who needs humanitarian aid? How much? Who delivers it? And who has the power to make all of those decisions?

How aid agencies and the media choose to frame this information doesn’t always help.

For the last year, researchers at ODI’s Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) have been trying to understand narratives and the role they play in humanitarian response and policy. What they’re finding so far is that human stories are more powerful than data when it comes to influencing change in the sector, and yet humanitarians don’t take their role as storytellers seriously enough.

In this bonus episode, we get a snapshot of HPG’s ongoing exploration of humanitarian narratives from one of its main researchers, and we bring together a local organisation founder, a researcher, and a journalist to discuss the power humanitarians have to shape the stories that affect crisis response.

Guests: John Bryant, research fellow at ODI’s Humanitarian Policy Group; Leen Fouad, research officer at ODI’s Humanitarian Policy Group; Mohamed Ali Diini, founder of Iftiin Foundation and chair of the Shaqo Platform; Patrick Gathara, senior editor for inclusive storytelling at The New Humanitarian.

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Next Episode

A Syrian reminder: The ones you once saw suffering, still are | First Person

Iyad Agha, a Syrian now living in Germany, has been working on his country's humanitarian crisis for nearly a decade. The United Nations itself recently said that “Syria is in danger of being forgotten”, while noting that the country is facing the highest levels of humanitarian need since the start of its 13-year war. Some 7.2 million people have been forcibly displaced inside the country, and another 5.1 million are refugees in neighbouring countries. Türkiye is host to 3.3 million refugees who are increasingly subjected to harassment, not to mention arbitrary arrest, detention, and deportation by authorities. In this First Person account, he narrates his experiences as an aid worker in Türkiye, and laments how many times Syrians have had to rebuild their lives.

The continuing conflict in Syria is featured in The New Humanitarian’s annual list of ten crises that demand your attention now, which highlights places in the world where needs are rising, aid budgets have been cut or are insufficient, and where people feel forgotten by the international community. Over the coming months, our First Person series will feature aid workers and people affected by the crises on this year’s list.