They are often sent to conflict zones and unstable countries. Humanitarian workers risk their lives, as in Niger where seven members of the NGO Acted - including six French - and their guide were killed by armed men on Sunday August 9. Aware of the dangers they run, they are not soldiers trained to respond to threats. So how do you prepare them for the worst? Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been thinking about this for a long time and have developed different programs to train their staff.
“At any time during a humanitarian project, people have a right of withdrawal, they can return,” explains Sarah Château, human resources coordinator for the “West Africa” zone at Médecins sans borders. “We are in the process of reminding our teams in Niger about this in view of what happened. But so far, no member of the NGO on a mission in the country has requested to be repatriated.
"Before leaving, we tell them everything there is to know about the country and they have the right to say that they do not feel it", abounds Jonathan Fontenelle, head of the security service of the NGO Médecins du monde. The association, which has a service made up of three people, 100% dedicated to security, is not present in Niger.
False kidnappings
Depending on the NGO, training is more or less important. “A colleague who was going to West Africa told me that at the start of her contract with Acted, she was taken to a house for a weekend and via a private company of ex-soldiers, she participated in a mock hostage-taking, with a bucket of cold water on his head, etc. », Says Lucas Baussan, humanitarian at Handicap International. “I have friends who have done it,” confirms Sarah Château. I know that the Red Cross did it, Bioforce too, a few years ago… Depending on the structures, it can be more or less violent. "
But these false kidnappings are not practiced in all associations. "We discussed it at Doctors Without Borders, but the traumatic impact that these trainings can have is significant and I don't know how we leave more trained in the field when we spent two days locked up and hooded in the mountains. », Explains Sarah Château. "Whether the members of Acted who were murdered this weekend have followed this type of training or not would not have changed much", continues Lucas Baussan.
Most NGOs, on the other hand, set up workshops on topics such as kidnapping for example. These trainings allow managers to manage this crisis situation. In particular, teams are taught to save the number of the security manager on their mobile phones so that it appears first in their directory. "Because the kidnappers during a kidnapping will call either the last number dialed, or the first in the directory," explains Sarah Château.
Situation
Before leaving for the field, Médecins du Monde humanitarian workers spend two one-week training sessions, either in Paris or abroad, with Jonathan Fontenelle, head of the NGO's security service. “Often we invent fake countries in which we put them in a situation. The goal is that even a member who has experience in certain countries and who knows everything about everything is in difficulty, ”he says. Future expatriates are then tested on incident management. "It starts with a small demonstration and gradually it goes to peanuts", continues Jonathan Fontenelle.
Those taking the training can also choose a topic. "We have already done a day on the management of an attack, at the time of the assassinations of AQIM on the sidewalk cafes in West Africa," he recalls.
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But sometimes all the training in the world is not enough. "It is not because we have three people in charge of security that the mission will not turn into a tragedy", summarizes Jonathan Fontenelle. “There is no such thing as zero risk,” adds Lucas Baussan. In addition, NGOs seem increasingly targeted in conflict zones and less protected than before.
"The international community (must realize) the contradiction that there is between asking us to support these populations and leaving us alone confronted with a violence where we have become the easiest targets", warned Frédéric Roussel, the co-founder of Acted, the day after the attack in Niger.
VIDEO. Six French people, including humanitarian aid workers from Acted, killed with their guides in Niger
