With an eye on the world – and sub-Saharan Africa
“More and more civil societies in the continent of Africa are now growing stronger. They are demanding their rights and holding the authorities accountable. We can learn from this,” says Jose Garcia Barahona.
“Am I an idealist? Yes, but not an extreme idealist. I think we need a little more idealism. In our sector, it is easy to become very technical,” says NRC’s emergency response director Jose Garcia Barahona, age 49.
The Catalonian knows what he is talking about. He has dedicated his working life to the humanitarian and development aid sector. Some of the countries where he has worked include his beloved Mozambique, South Africa, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Darfur, Chad, Ethiopia.
He is leaning forward with his elbows on the table. His dark brown hair is gathered in a short ponytail. He shakes his head in exasperation:
“I’ve seen embarrassing examples of people from aid organisations coming to the field and being there for ten days without talking to a single ordinary person. They go from meeting to meeting, with the UN and humanitarian organisations. But sitting in the shade under a tree for three hours and talking to some of the people who receive our help...”
He slaps his palm lightly on the table before continuing:
“...sitting there to LISTEN. Not to give instructions about going here or there or about doing this or that. No – to listen. To ask questions. To laugh, cry and dance with people. We need to do more of this.”
Relocating to Africa
Barahona grew up in a village in Catalonia. He studied sociology, social anthropology and international development.
“After my studies, my goal was Latin America. But because I spoke English, I got a job in a bank in Barcelona. They needed someone who could work with colleagues in English speaking countries in Africa,” he says, explaining that he visited a number of African countries and eventually ended up moving to Mozambique, where he lived for eight years.
“When I travelled from one place to another, I used the matatu (minibuses). I got to know the country well. My wife and I, she is from Galicia (North East of Spain), still have good friends that we keep in touch with. Our daughter has a Shangaan name”, he says. Shangaan is one of the largest ethnic groups in Mozambique.
To learn more about the continent, he studied African politics at the University of South Africa.
“I’ve always had a political approach. Sometimes the aid sector has become too professional: You come in, do the project, implement it – and that’s it. However, more and more civil societies in Africa are growing stronger and claiming their rights. That is a perspective I want to bring to our sector,” he says.
Listening to his daughter
A few decades ago, the term “Third World” was commonly used to refer to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
“Today we talk about: ‘The world and sub-Saharan Africa’. Because when we talk about the least developed countries, we mean the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Afghanistan and Haiti. If you want to fight poverty, inequality and humanitarian crises – where there is no financial capacity to do so - it is in sub-Saharan Africa,” says Barahona.
His children have lived in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and South Sudan.
“One night, I was saying good night to my then 11-year-old daughter, and she said: ‘I want to live in a country where I can go out on the street and hang out with my friends.’ Due to the security situation, that was something she couldn’t do in DR Congo or South Sudan. She had to be transported from place to place by car.”
Barahona smiles:
“So, I started looking around for a job in a country where she could have the opportunity to do just that.”
He had noticed NRC both in South Sudan and in DR Congo. He liked what he saw:
“People were professional. In addition, I had some friends from Oxfam who had started working for NRC and who spoke warmly about the organisation. So, I applied for the position of emergency response director, and fortunately, I got it.”
The job
Barahona represents NRC at the Emergency Directors Group level, which is headed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). They focus on ongoing crises and devise strategies for how to quickly move in and help the population.
The second thing the emergency response director does is lead a team of 24 people. Of these, 19 are roving humanitarian experts in various fields. They are deployed at short notice to countries where NRC needs to scale up its emergency response. When something happens, they are there to provide support.
In addition, Barahona leads an emergency response roster of 100 people, who are experts in dealing with emergencies and who can be contacted if needed.
The emergency response director and his people keep an eye on what is happening in countries where NRC does not have a presence. If a crisis is starting to grow, they make recommendations to NRC Management and NRC’s leadership.
“If the request is approved, we start by sending a team to evaluate the situation. Then we look at three things: the needs, whether there are already enough other aid organisations in place, and finally, what funding opportunities we have available,” he explains.
People in the Sahel are scared
Armed conflicts and dramatic changes in the climate are increasingly affecting the remote and often inaccessible Sahel region. Burkina Faso is the country where NRC has most recently established a presence.
“Until recently, Burkina Faso was quiet and peaceful. But in September 2018, the country suddenly had five thousand internally displaced people. The figures rose toward the end of the year: Ten thousand, twenty thousand,” says Barahona.
The people of Burkina Faso are very worried about the future: They know that the Sahel is getting drier and drier. They may have five, six, seven children to support from less and less fertile land. They flee to find enough resources to survive. But they know that if they are away from their land for too long, someone could take it from them. Then they have no way to provide for themselves.
“I have met many people in various African countries including Burkina Faso. I ask them: ‘Do you own this piece of land?” And they answer: ‘Of course! My family has lived here for generations’ and they look at each other with eyes that say: ‘What is it about this white man that causes him to doubt us?’ Then I ask: “Do any of you have a document proving that this land belongs to you?’ Then it becomes completely silent.
“That’s why NRC’s legal assistance related to documentation and land rights is extremely important.”
Responding to a humanitarian emergency
The people of Burkina Faso have seen killings. They have seen men with machine guns arrive on motorcycles and shoot wildly around them.
Every six months, The Emergency Directors Group receive reports from a group of experts, who follow the crises that are under the radar but have the potential to become catastrophes.
“In January last year, between 26,000 people were displaced in Burkina Faso. The number increased, and in February, it was 60,000. Then we said that okay, we must get involved,” says Barahona.
They went to Burkina Faso in May. It was easy to see that there was a great need for humanitarian aid.
“We sent more people to respond to the needs, and in August, we had a full team on the ground in Burkina Faso. In January, NRC was present with an office in the capital Ouagadougou. We also have a guesthouse, a team of about 40 people – eight international and thirty local employees. We are still recruiting,” he continues.
He says that we have an office in the city of Kaya, which is close to the area where the displaced people have settled. One thousand houses have already been built, so that people no longer have to live under a tree or move into a school.
The houses they receive are 20 square metres and built from locally produced materials. Often, around eight people live in each house. That means that about ten thousand people now have a roof over their heads – so far.
“When you help make sure that people have a place to live, you also give them back their dignity. That’s so important. No one wants to live under a tree or in a squalid corner. You want a place where you can close the door before you go to bed. Or change clothes without people watching. You want a place where you don’t get wet when it rains.”
Barahona thinks for a moment before saying:
“Giving people dignity is perhaps the most important thing.”