Victoria woman heads to Germany for Red Cross effort
Lise Anne Pierce said goodbye to her Saanich family on Monday, then flew to Germany as the first Canadian Red Cross representative sent to help with the humanitarian crisis as thousands of Syrians and others flee conflict in the Middle East and Africa.
As far as she knows, she is the first Red Cross representative from any country asked to assist by the German Red Cross, headquartered in Berlin.
“It’s a huge honour, a huge honour to be the first to go,” said Pierce, 41, just before she boarded her flight at Victoria International Airport on Monday afternoon. “I’m feeling very humbled by the opportunity to go.”
Pierce, who was due to arrive in Berlin this afternoon local time, doesn’t expect to be dealing directly with the refugees. “My role is really about supporting the German Red Cross operation. Right now, it’s about those immediate needs of food, clothing, water, shelter.”
One of her first tasks in the two-week trip will be to look into the distribution of 13,000 cot and blanket sets sent on the weekend by Canada to Germany, which has committed to welcoming 800,000 refugees by the end of the year.
Half the bed sets were funded by the government of Quebec, the rest by the Canadian Red Cross, with transportation provided by the German Red Cross. A cot and blanket costs about $50, with donations of money the best way that Canadians can lend a hand, she said.
Since Sept. 3, the Cana- dian Red Cross has raised $2.1 million to provide assistance to refugees, migrants and others affected by the conflict in Syria and neighbouring countries, said Andrew Hopkins, communications adviser for the B.C. & Yukon branch of the Red Cross. He could not provide a provincial total for donations.
Once in Berlin, Pierce said she will be checking that the bed supply is being properly allocated and distributed to reception centres and other places hosting refugees, then will begin planning for other possible contributions from Canada, whether in the form of supplies or professionals skilled in social work, psychiatry and protection issues for refugees.
Pierce, manager for catastrophic readiness for the Canadian Red Cross, said the German and Canadian Red Crosses have a long history of working in partnership. Both countries deployed field hospitals to Nepal after its recent catastrophic earthquake and staff has often worked side by side.
Pierce called the number of refugees streaming into Europe “unprecedented” and said the level of humanitarian need exceeds what was experienced during 20th-century wars.
Pierce is no stranger to overseas assignments. She headed to Nepal in April after the earthquake and was deployed to Haiti for nearly six weeks following its 2010 earthquake. She was in Alberta during its massive 2013 floods, and went to Lac-Mégantic, Que., after its tragic train derailment that same year.
Pierce thanked the Canadian public for financial support that allowed the Canadian Red Cross to reach out to Germany with humanitarian aid.
Her sons, ages 11 and 13, are glad she’s not in a zone of conflict.
“It’s definitely not something ever to forget, the comfort and the safety and security that we experience currently in Canada. I’m very grateful that I get to leave my family home where they’re safe and sound, and their biggest worry is who they’re going to play with after school.”