Humanitarian Aid Worker Presumed Dead

What Does Margaret Hassan's Death Mean?

The British government concluded Tuesday that Margaret Hassan, a British-Iraqi relief official who worked on behalf of poor Iraqis for more than 20 years, was probably killed by kidnappers who seized her in Baghdad a month ago.

Read the story:CARE Official Abducted in Iraq Presumed Dead (Post, Nov. 17)

Nathaniel Raymond, communications adviser for Humanitarian Response at Oxfam America was online Wednesday, Nov. 17, at Noon ET to discuss the reported death of CARE director Margaret Hassan and its implications regarding the future of humanitarian aid to the country.

Oxfam, an international relief agency that works in over 120 countries, withdrew staff from Iraq in August 2003 after the bombing of the U.N. headquarters.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Nathaniel Raymond: Thanks for having me on today, and I am sorry that it is under such tragic circumstances. The entire aid community is mourning the murder of Margaret Hassan. We have lost a friend and colleague that was truly one of the best.

Some background: I work with Oxfam an organization that worked in Iraq until April 2004. Like most aid organizations we have pulled out of Iraq for safety reasons, but we do continue to monitor the situation and advocate on behalf of the Iraqi people in capitals around the world.

Thanks again, and let's get started...

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Monterey, Calif.: How would you describe the spirit of cooperation -- if there is one -- between the charity organizations and the U.S. govt/military in allowing access to areas of need in Iraq?

Nathaniel Raymond: Aid groups that adhere to the Red Cross/NGO code of conduct, as Oxfam does, are not permitted to work with military actors from any country in the delivery of aid.

We are obligated to be independent and impartial actors--a policy that keeps both our staff and the people we serve safe.

So, to answer your question, when we were there, or for groups that are still operating in Iraq, it is a key part of our profession to not cooperate with troops, even US and coalition forces.

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London, U.K: How do you think the murder of Margaret Hassan will affect future aid and relief programs in Iraq? Will aid workers be less willing to give of themselves after such an abhorrent killing of an Iraqi national and supporter of the Iraqi people?

Nathaniel Raymond: Though the heinous murder of Margaret Hassan haunts us all (how could it not?), humanitarian aid workers have faced tragedy and immense loss before--it is, sadly, part of the job.

The best memorial we can build to our colleagues and friends is a continued commitment to provide aid to all those in need wherever they may be, regardless of religious background, ethnicity, and political context.

Almost all aid groups have either left Iraq, many relocating to Amman, Jordan, or have relocated to the North and South of Iraq, where the situation is comparatively less tenuous at present.

For those groups, like Oxfam, that have left the country, we want nothing more than to help however we can right now, and we plan to return as soon as it safe to continue the work we have started. Unlike aid groups, though, the Iraqi people cannot leave. We must remain committed and accountable to them and their severe need.

Yes, Iraq is one of the hardest situations in which we have ever had to work, and though the past two years have been extremely difficult and frustrating, the aid community, I am sure, will not walk away from the Iraqi people.

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Ellicott City, Md.: I read in passing when reading about Fallujah that all the displaced people are either with relatives or in a large tent city outside Fallujah. There haven't been any real stories that I read about these displaced peoples. Is there not much to this or is it just impossible to get to them because of the danger?

Nathaniel Raymond: According to assessments I have seen from a variety of sources, 80%+ of Fallujah's population evacuated the city before the US/coalition offensive began. Those people are currently what we call IDPs, or internally displaced people. Given the immense access issues facing aid workers and journalists, the level of information we have about these populations is limited and slow in coming. It is essential that these displaced people can be assessed by aid personnel and have their needs met quickly. Good question.

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Toronto, Canada: Margaret Hassan's death is a reminder for us here at home that aid workers' safety seems to be at greater risk in this conflict than in other conflicts.

The news that the U.S. military cut off medical supplies to Fallujah two months ago is disturbing. And the news that the U.S. military is not allowing the evacuation of civilian casualties is very disturbing.

Do you think the brutality of the U.S. occupation is making it more difficult for international aid workers to retain the trust of innocent Iraqis?

Nathaniel Raymond: True, the Iraq conflict has been tragically unique compared to the dozens of other conflict zones in which aid groups have operated. There are several reasons for why the Iraq situation has become the difficult environment it has for aid personnel.

-Civil society, a.k.a. NGOs, basically did not exist in Iraq during the brutal tenure of Saddam Hussein. Unlike Afghanistan, a place where the civilian population has had a three decade relationship with outside and local aid groups, Iraq was a place where our arrival happened in the context of an invasion. We did not have the time to put down the type of roots in communities that we would have liked, and that we need to effectively do our job through local partnership.

--Also, the way in which the initial reconstruction phase, led by the Pentagon-run CPA (Coalition provisional authority), was structured made it hard for us to maintain the type of impartial space we need to operate separately from military forces. In aid wonk terms, we call this "civil/military" space.

I hope, that with time, Iraqis will know, as many already do, that aid groups are neutral actors in their country to help them. The scenes of Iraqis protesting the abduction of Mrs. Margaret Hassan when she was initially captured give me hope.

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Virginia: Hello. How do the aid workers eat three times a day, sleep good, etc?

Nathaniel Raymond: To answer your question, we rarely eat three times a day, sleep well, or shower. Power bars and power naps are often our best friends.

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Washington, D.C.: Democracy Now picked up a report from an independent journalist in Fallujah who reports that the Red Cross estimates that 800 civilians (not insurgents) are presumed dead. I'm sure it will be days before the Post and the rest of the corporate media start to show interest in this story, since it won't be hand-fed to them by our military. Do you find it as frustrating as I do that the story of the humanitarian calamity of the occupation of Fallujah gets short shrift in the corporate media?

Nathaniel Raymond: The news coverage of the war in Iraq has not fully shown the human cost and crisis of what is happening there as it should. It is important to note, though, that many good and courageous journalists, Elizabeth Neuffer of the Globe among them, have lost their lives trying to bring the story of what Iraqi civilians are experiencing home to the US public.

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Washington, D.C.: Why the term "actors"?

Nathaniel Raymond: This is a good question. Like most humanitarian aid policy wonks, I often speak in "international humanitarian law-ese," a common affliction in my profession. We use acronyms a lot, too. "Actors" is a common phrase we use to distinguish between certain types of groups, governments, and institutions present in a conflict setting. Hope that answers it for you...

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San Francisco, Calif.: Hello,

Why was she killed?

What was her killing supposed to be or to represent?

I am trying to understand the insurgents better.

Thanks for your patience.

Nathaniel Raymond: We all would like an answer to this question right now.

We all would.

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Rockville, Md.: Since their governments sponsored and pursued this illegal war, I am surprised to see that foreign aid agencies -- including Oxfam and CARE -- didn't anticipate the Iraqi backlash against them. The problem with an illegal war is that the resistance (i.e., the insurgents), occupies the higher moral ground, and not the aid agencies based in the countries that instigated the invasion in the first place. In the long run, I believe that the Iraqis would be better off without any foreign aid agencies operating in their territory.

Nathaniel Raymond: While I appreciate your perspective on the situation, I think the crucial challenge for aid groups right now, besides the obvious security issues, is figuring out how we can best meet the needs of the Iraqi people the way that they want them met.

You can see in the statements from average Iraqis and the "Arab Street," as Thomas Friedman would say, that there is huge outrage about the brutal murder of Mrs. Hassan.

Why?

Well one reason (among many)is that Mrs. Margaret Hassan was seen as an Iraqi citizen, which she was, but she was also seen as someone who had stood by the people of Iraq in their toughest hours.

Despite the massive hurdles we face, the aid community, I am sure, is committed to not walking away from the Iraqi people.

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Washington, D.C.: Could you give a rough explanation of how aid delivery is going in northern and southern Iraq? How does the ability of groups to provide food aid compare to what they were doing during the "Oil for Food" era under Saddam Hussein?

Also, were there aid groups working in Iraq while Hussein was still in power? Were they harassed/threatened by his government?

Nathaniel Raymond: Great question...

There are security concerns throughout the country, not just in the central area and Al-Anbar province, the home of Fallujah.

But it is true that the North and the South are comparatively less tenuous security environments than the center. I can't compare the current aid operations to the Oil for Food era, but a lot of groups are trying to do what they can in these areas (Basra, the Kurdish sections, etc...).

Oxfam did a great deal of water and sanitation work in the South when we were operating in iraq, and the consequences of the mismanagement of the Hussein regime and a decade of sanctions left the South's wat/san infrastructure devastated, even before the new war began.

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New York, N.Y.: How can groups like yours protect themselves if a paranoid extremist thinks that someone like Ms. Hassan is a spy or is aiding spies?

Also, should the U.S. provide more troops to protect groups like yours and the U.N?

Thanks

Nathaniel Raymond: The best thing aid groups can do to protect themselves is to continue to uphold the Red Cross/NGO code of conduct. I am probably starting to sound like the proverbial broken record on this point.

By showing the communities we work with that we are there for them, not for a political or military agenda, aid groups can eventually win the trust of initially suspicious local populations. Results speak louder than any words, and when people in need become part of the solution, rather than just a recipient of aid, they become invested in seeing aid operations continue. Humanitarian responses that become "localized" end up being successful.

The current environment in Iraq makes it very hard for this process to happen right now.

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San Francisco, Calif.;: Raymond: The news coverage of the war in Iraq has not fully shown the human cost and crisis of what is happening there as it should.

How can this be so?

Do the execs not have a conscience?

Where is there sense of humanity?

Is it due to the fact that they, like most Americans, have
been above the stench of mass death?

Nathaniel Raymond: These are some big questions, parts of which are better left to philosophy and journalism departments than to me.

I will say, however, that millions of Americans are deeply concerned about what has happened and what is happening in Iraq.

Oxfam's work in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention every other country in which we work, is supported by Americans from Red and Blue states alike that are deeply concerned about what is happening several time zones away from where they live. The public understanding and support of aid work is quite inspiring, actually.

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Boston, Mass.: Don't you think it is time for the U.N. to actually do something in the world before these situations get to this point?

Nathaniel Raymond: It is important to remember that the UN had a major presence in Iraq up until the tragic and brutal bombing of UN headquarters in August, 2003. Iraq has become a place where no flag or passport is affording anyone protection.

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Kansas City, Mo.: There is a perception in the Arab and Muslim world that foreign aid workers are either christian missionaries especially if they are Americans or spies. How do you counter this?

Nathaniel Raymond: I think that it is important not to generalize how aid groups are viewed in the Arab and Muslim world. There are a variety of perceptions that we face working in that region, many of which are actually quite positive. The moving displays of grief for Mrs. Margaret Hassan taking place now in Iraq show this fact to be true.

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Nathaniel Raymond: Thanks for taking part of your day to share your questions with me. I am sorry I couldn't answer all of them. For those of you who want to know more about what Oxfam does, you can find us online at www.oxfamamerica.org. If you want to learn more about Mrs. Margaret Hassan and her profound contributions to the lives of countless Iraqis, please visit www.care.org.

It was a real pleasure, despite the sudden carpal tunnel syndrome, to hear what was on your minds and try to shed some light on such a complicated situation.

Nathaniel

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