The Phillipian

Ever thought of going to help out in a developing country? You might have to think again. Aid workers nowadays are killed not just as collateral damage but also as targets.

On October 20, Gayle Williams, a UK charity worker in Kabul, was fatally shot by two men on a motorbike. The Taliban claimed responsibility. On the same day, a UN worker was assassinated in Somalia. He had been working for UNICEF, a branch of the UN, and was shot several times in the head. Dozens of other aid workers have been killed in countries including Afghanistan, Chad, Ethiopia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Somalia and Lebanon in this year alone.

Aid workers are the true heroes of the 21st century. Without any guns or armor, they venture out every day to help ordinary people with their daily activities. They do not get high pay or many material benefits. Instead, they often come home battered, bruised or worse. This does not deter them though.

Aid workers help to increase the safety of the people. In Sudan, many women dare not go out to collect firewood for fear of attack; aid workers help by accompanying them on these trips. Aid workers also help to maintain and run refugee camps, which provide a safer alternative to living out in the open. Many victims of conflicts are often without a home, property or food.

With the help of aid workers, they are less vulnerable to these attacks.

Also, aid workers help to control the spread of diseases. There are countless volunteers working towards AIDS prevention. Not only do they give out condoms and take care of those who have been infected, aid workers also spread awareness about AIDS and how to avoid being infected by it. Many aid workers also volunteer to prevent other dangerous diseases such as hepatitis and malaria.

This issue has a big impact on us at Phillips Academy. Many college graduates and even some high school graduates take a gap year to do community service abroad. For instance, the Peace Corps has a program specially designed for students to work in developing countries. If the situations in developing countries deteriorate further, many potential volunteers might think twice before signing up to risk their lives overseas.

On the other hand, aid agencies could decide to pull out of a country. Many UN aid agencies have already ceased operations in parts of Sri Lanka and Iraq. These moves, although necessary, mark successes for terrorists.

The least we could do to improve conditions for NGOs and other volunteers would be to pressure politicians into providing better security to aid agencies. Aid agencies and of course the aid workers themselves would greatly appreciate more security around the areas where they work.

In addition, governments of especially troubled countries should pursue the murderers who target aid workers. These killers and those behind them should be prosecuted. Just as war criminals are prosecuted in The Hague, murderers of aid workers should also be brought to trial. If criminal proceedings are not feasible, then the murderers should be detained to prevent them causing more harm.

Take for example World Health Day, in which PA took part during Wellness Week. Without satisfactory protection for aid workers on the ground, we risk losing the valuable information that their work in developing countries can bring us. We must take action before the non sibi virtue of the aid workers ends up being nex sibi—“death for self.”

Max Png is a New Upper from Singapore.

cpng@andover.edu