Copyright holder: Tyndale University, 3377 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2M 3S4 Att.: Library Director, J. William Horsey Library Copyright: This Work has been made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws of Canada without the written authority from the copyright owner. Copyright license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Citation: Das, Rupen. “Dealing With War Trauma: A Do No Harm Perspective.” In Options for Aid in Conflict: Lessons From Field Experience, by Mary B. Anderson, Pages 62-63. Cambridge: Collaborative for Development Action Inc., 2000. ***** Begin Content ****** TYNDALE UNIVERSITY 3377 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON M2M 3S4 TEL: 416.226.6620 www.tyndale.ca Note: This Work has been made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws of Canada without the written authority from the copyright owner. Das, Rupen. “Dealing With War Trauma: A Do No Harm Perspective.” In Options for Aid in Conflict: Lessons From Field Experience, by Mary B. Anderson, Pages 62-63. Cambridge: Collaborative for Development Action Inc., 2000. [ Citation Page ] [ Head of title page ] THE COLLABORATIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT ACTION, INC. Options For Aid in Conflict Lessons from Field Experience Mary B. Anderson, Editor Copyright © 2000 The Collaborative for Development Action, Inc. Permission is granted for reproduction and use of these materials. Please cite the source and notify The Collaborative for Development Action of your use ❖ 130 Prospect Street, Ste. 202 Cambridge, MA 02139 ❖ ❖ Phone:(617)661-6310 ❖ Fax:(617)661-3805 ❖ Website: www.cdainc.com ❖ [ Title Page ] TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgements .... 1 INTRODUCTION Where does this manual come from? .... 5 Ideas to action - the pilot implementation projects .... 6 Some fundamental lessons .... 6 How to use this manual .... 7 Why try to do no harm? .... 9 SECTION I: THE FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW AID AND CONFLICT INTERACT 11 The framework has six steps .... 11 Other aspects of the do no harm framework .... 13 PART ONE A not unusual programming story, by Moussa Ntambara .... 18 Who: three critical - often interconnected - aid decisions .... 20 SECTION II: DECISIONS ABOUT WHO SHOULD RECEIVE AID .... 21 Why target recipients? .... 21 Experience shows that targeting can exacerbate conflict .... 21 How does this happen? .... 21 Additional effects/issues of targeting .... 22 How to do better with targeting: options and opportunities .... 25 SECTION III: DECISIONS ABOUT STAFFING OF FIELD PROGRAMMES .... 31 Why hire local staff? .... 31 Experience shows that hiring local staff can exacerbate conflict .... 31 How does this happen? .... 32 Additional effects of hiring local staff .... 33 How to do better: options and opportunities for hiring local staff .... 35 Some lessons about hiring international staff .... 38 How to do better hiring international staff .... 39 Considerations for handling relations between international and local staff .... 39 [ Page i ] SECTION IV: DECISIONS ABOUT LOCAL PARTNERS .... 43 Why work with local partners? .... 43 Experience shows that working through local partners can exacerbate conflict 43 and/or miss opportunities for promoting peace How does this happen? .... 45 Additional effects/issues of partnering .... 46 How to do better: options and opportunities in partnering .... 47 SECTION V: DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT TO PROVIDE .... 51 Experience shows that both the goods and services that aid provides can .... 51 exacerbate conflict How does this happen? .... 51 The importance of quantity and quality .... 52 Additional issues/effects of “what” decisions ....53 Special issues for different inputs .... 55 food .... 55 shelter, land, settlement .... 57 water .... 59 health .... 60 Dealing with war trauma: a Do No Harm perspective, by Rupen Das .... 62 Options and opportunities in “what” decisions .... 64 SECTION VI: DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO PROVIDE AID .... 67 Principles of operation .... 67 inclusivity .... 67 transparency .... 69 demonstrating/strengthening community .... 70 quick and small .... 70 To avoid theft, by Marv B. Anderson .... 72 Additional effects/issues of how to provide aid .... 72 SECTION VII: DECISIONS ABOUT WORKING WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES 79 Experience shows that aid can reinforce the illegitimate power of authorities .... 79 How does this happen? .... 79 Options and opportunities .... 79 [ Page ii ] PART TWO SECTION VIII: LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT HOW TO USE AND DISSEMINATE .... 89 THE APPROACHES OF DO NO HARM Training .... 89 Who should be involved? .... 90 Doing the analysis .... 91 When? How often? .... 92 Stumbling blocks .... 93 Side-lining .... 93 Pressure of time .... 93 Confusion of tensions existing between aid agency and people with tensions that .... 93 represent intergroup divisions Reluctance to revisit issues of conflict .... 94 SECTION IX: IMPACT ASSESSMENTS OF DO NO HARM .... 95 SECTION X: CONCLUSION .... 99 INTRODUCTION TO APPENDICES .... 101 APPENDIX I: LCPP IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK .... 103 APPENDIX II: A SAMPLE DIVIDERS/CONNECTORS ANALYSIS .... 108 APPENDIX III: STEP BY STEP METHOD/LOCAL CAPACITIES FOR PEACE TOOL .... 109 APPENDIX IV: A CASE STUDY EXERCISE .... 110 APPENDIX V: A PROGRAMMING EXERCISE .... 113 APPENDIX VI: A TOOL FOR ASSESSING AND RANKING PROJECT PROPOSALS .... 114 FROM PARTNERS, VILLAGES, ETC. APPENDIX VII: WHEN IS A DIVIDER A CONNECTOR .... 115 APPENDIX VIII: DO NO HARM FRAMEWORK .... 117 [ Pagre iii ] OPTIONS MANUAL FOR AID IN CONFLICT: LESSONS FROM FIELD EXPERIENCE PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many international and local staff of many aid agencies have offered their experiences for the writing of this Manual. Over a three year period, from fall 1997 through summer 2000, a number of NGOs that have programmes in conflict areas collaborated through the Local Capacities for Peace Project (lcpp) to "field test" the ideas and approaches reported in the book, Do No Harm: How Aid Supports Peace - Or War .1 During this period, the lcpp provided "Liaisons" to work with NGO staff in the field. These individuals visited the NGO programmes every three or four months, first training staff in the DNH Framework and then engaging with them in applying this analysis to the local context. Together, they traced the impacts of the aid programme on the conflict and identified options and alternatives for working that would do no harm and support local capacities for peace. It was a fascinating venture! Twice a year, these Liaisons and representatives of each of the field programmes met with lcpp donors, NGO headquarters people and lcpp staff to share and compare experiences, "add up" the lessons being learned, give each other help on special dilemmas and, in general, push the learning as far as we could. All of the people in the twelve field programmes and specifically those who worked together in the six-monthly meetings are the authors of this book. Many are listed below by name. An even larger number of national and international field staff also deserve appreciation for their involvement in developing the ideas reported here. _________________________________ 1 Anderson, Mary B., Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, Colorado and London, 1999. [ Page ] 1 In the lists of acknowledgments which follow, we do not identify the countries where the NGO programmes occurred. In every location, the NGO staff transparently engaged with local authorities and military personnel; they found such openness and inclusiveness to be important in applying the lessons of Do No Harm in their work. However, because many of these areas are tense and insecure, we are concerned not to increase the risks to field staff by publicizing their lcpp involvement beyond their immediate context. Therefore, we omit the identification of field sites of individuals—at their request—here. Although most of this book reflects collaborative thinking and writing, some sections were authored by individuals who are identified in footnotes. In other cases, individuals took responsibility for developing the core ideas and text which were then amended and developed by many others. Some footnotes also note these particular roles. Special acknowledgment is due here to J. Marshall Wallace whose job it was to ensure that liaisons submitted written reports so composite learning was possible; who took on the massive job of indexing a large number of these reports so that we could identify common themes that came up in all contexts; and who in recent months, applied his editor's pen and technical expertise to the layered text of this Manual to make it both more readable and more accessible. Below are the many authors of this book: Betelihem Abraham (IFRC), Rames Abhukara (CIDA), Macarena Aguilar (IFRC), Rajaratnam Anandarajah (CARE), Jane Barham, Bushoki Batibaha (GEAD), Polly Byers (US AID/OFDA), Chris Carr (IFRC), Balasubramaniam Chandramohan (CARE International), Jaco Cilliers (Catholic Relief Services), Ernest Cummings (IFRC), Bon E. Cummings (CIDA), Rupen Das (World Vision Canada), Robert David (Alternatives), Mohammad Dawod (IFRC), Sean Deely (IFRC), Winfred Fitzgerald (Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies), Justine Foxall (Oxfam Quebec), Joop Gieling (Oxfam Quebec), Kenneth Gluck (Collaborative for Development Action), Fisseha Gurmessa (World Vision Canada), Abraham Hadoto (World Vision Sudan), Birte Hald (Danish Red Cross), Greg Hansen (Humanitarianism and War Project), Eleanor Heath (CIDA), Wolfgang Heinrich (AG KED), Steve Hollingworth (CARE), Ann Howarth (Inovasol), Andrew Hurst (Collaborative for Development Action), Anowar Hussain (IFRC), Stephen Jackson (International Famine Centre, ), Wolfgang Jamann (World Vision Germany), Mark Janz (World Vision International), Andrew Jones (CARE/US), Bob Leavitt (Catholic Relief Services), Janis Lindsteadt (Catholic Relief Services), Nelke Manders (MSF Holland), Colin McIlreavy (MSF Holland), Mohammed Ehsan (Norwegian Church Aid), [ Page ] 2 Marc Michaelson (Institute of Current World Affairs), Charles Mugiraneza (Alternatives), Chris Necker (CARE), Leslie Norton (CIDA), Moussa Ntambara (Catholic Relief Services), Cedric Prakash (St. Xavier's Social Service Society), Abikok Riak (World Vision Sudan), Dave Robinson (World Vision), Laura Roper (Oxfam America), Andrea Scharf (Catholic Relief Services), Dayananda Silva (CARE International), Lynnette Simon (Save the Children UK), Ayalew Teshome (World Vision), Thangavel Thamotharampillaz (CARE), Marge Tsitouris (CARE), Tanneke Vandersmissen (MSF Holland), Bernard Vicary (World Vision Sudan), Peter Walker (IFRC), Marshall Wallace (Collaborative for Development Action), Luc Zandvliet (Collaborative for Development Action). Also deserving credit for their involvement in this learning by providing both financial and collegial support: The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Ottawa, Canada The Department for International Development (DFID), London, England Evangelische Zentralstelle fur Entwicklungshilfe, E. V. (EZE) Bonn,Germany The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, The Hague, Netherlands The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Oslo, Norway The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Stockholm, Sweden The United States Agency for International Development Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), Washington, D.C. The American Red Cross The British Red Cross The Danish Red Cross Red Cross of the Netherlands The Norwegian Red Cross The Spanish Red Cross The Swedish Red Cross To these friends and colleagues, and the many others in the field who constantly seek better ways to work, I owe appreciation for their roles in the development of this book and for the inspiration they provide. Mary B. Anderson Cambridge, September 2000 [ Page ] 3 Dealing with War Trauma: a Do No HARM Perspective by Rupen Das With increasing and intentional targeting of civilian populations in conflicts, there has been a growing! awareness of the need to deal with trauma. However, with this growing awareness there has also been a lot of controversy as to how best to address this issue. On one end of the spectrum are those who say that in the history of warfare citizens have always been targets and that people have, thus, learned! to cope with trauma. On the other end are mental health professionals who assert that, although trauma! has always existed as a result of war, with the greater understanding we now have about mental health and the tools to address dysfunctional behavior, it is a moral obligation to help deal with trauma soi people can live more fulfilled lives. Both ends of the spectrum hold truth. Many communities have traditional methods of coping with trauma. But, with the breakdown of traditional societies and their social support structures, much knowledge of traditional medicine and coping strategies is also getting lost. How communities and individuals deal with trauma from conflict can either be helpful in bringing! healing between various groups in conflict or can deepen the DIVIDERS that separate them. In all trauma recovery programmes there are two issues to be addressed. First is the issue of local capacity to deal with trauma. How is trauma understood and experienced in a particular community and what then are the culturally appropriate ways to programme for trauma recovery? Second, does this local capacity move the conflicting communities toward peace? Does the trauma recovery! approach bring healing between groups or does it deepen the DIVIDERS between groups in conflict? Key to healing of trauma is recalling the traumatic event. In the recalling and retelling a number a things happen. The cathartic process breaks the hold of the event and its associated emotions on the individual. If this process is carried out in the context of significant relationships, the experience and emotions can be affirmed as valid and, thus, be dealt with. This is an important step in the healing! process. [ Page ] 62 The danger in the process is that, in recalling the traumatic event, the focus can be on those who caused the trauma and the need to seek retribution through revenge. Retelling may institutionalize a commitment "to never forget". It is important to separate the event from those who caused it—though admittedly this is not easy. While there has been much controversy surrounding South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the basic thinking has been that trauma needs to be brought into the light and the truth told. There is healing in just that. Forgiveness then is the responsibility of the individual; justice is the responsibility of the legal system. [ Page ] 63 ***** This is the end of the e-text. This e-text was brought to you by Tyndale University, J. William Horsey Library - Tyndale Digital Collections *****