Senior Researcher, Antares Foundation, The Netherlands.
Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs, Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, and Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, United States.
Disasters. 2022 Jan;46(1):119-140. doi: 10.1111/disa.12460. Epub 2021 Sep 3.
Deployment in a crisis zone is a perilous undertaking. Little is known right now about how humanitarian workers relate social and professional goals to lived experiences of high-risk environments. In South Sudan, ranked as the most dangerous country globally for aid workers, 20 international humanitarian staff were interviewed to examine their sense of place, well-being, and vocation, using thematic and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Subjectivities of humanitarian space hinged upon negotiating physical hardships and social relationships: Juba, the capital, was described as a 'prison' and a 'party hotspot'. For expatriate staff, making sense of spatial, social, and professional transience was sharply gendered and rooted in the subjectivities of risk-taking, crisis management, and career-building. Two policy measures are highlighted here to address the implications of transience for human well-being and organisational effectiveness. Efforts to support teams and structure work environments, altering the humanitarian and vocational bubble, will help to develop resilience at the heart of humanitarian systems.
在危机地区部署是一项危险的任务。目前人们对于人道主义工作者如何将社会和职业目标与高风险环境的生活经历联系起来知之甚少。在南苏丹，这个全球对援助人员来说最危险的国家，有 20 名国际人道主义工作人员接受了采访，他们使用主题和解释性现象学分析，考察了他们的地方感、幸福感和职业感。人道主义空间的主观性取决于协商身体上的困难和社会关系：首都朱巴被描述为一个“监狱”和一个“聚会热点”。对于外籍员工来说，理解空间、社会和职业的短暂性具有明显的性别特征，并且根植于冒险、危机管理和职业发展的主观性之中。这里强调了两项政策措施，以应对短暂性对人类福祉和组织效力的影响。支持团队和构建工作环境的努力，改变人道主义和职业泡沫，将有助于在人道主义系统的核心发展韧性。
