Making a Difference
Amidst a pandemic, while thousands of Kiwis are returning from overseas, it almost seems counterintuitive to find individuals choosing to leave our relatively Covid-free shores. Cantabrian John Entwistle is one such individual.
John Entwistle headed offshore when most were returning
AFTER BEING CAUGHT IN CHRISTCHURCH FOR four months through COVID-19 enforced lockdowns, John Entwistle was eager to return to work in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) as soon as flights were available. He currently works as the Head of Country Office for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), based in Ramallah in the West Bank.
When I talk to John via Messenger, it is the beginning of his day and the end of mine. He is settled in his office in Ramallah. It is a city of roughly 60,000 and acts as the administrative centre for the Palestinian National Authority. The West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip all make up the oPt and the history and politics of the region are fraught. Considering the working environment, John seems relaxed. He is definitely not blasé though – he takes all the necessary precautions to keep himself safe and healthy, taking nothing for granted. What helps is his 25 years of experience in development and humanitarian work, including four years in Sri Lanka during its civil war.
Our conversation quickly turns to how John came to be working in the humanitarian field and his response is immediate. In 1978, when he was just 12, John’s father made a career change that saw the family pack up their home in Christchurch and move to Pakistan. John’s formative teenage years were spent amidst the exhilaration and chaos of life on the Asian subcontinent. His eyes were opened to the diversity of cultures and beliefs, and he was exposed to poverty and inequities on a level that he hadn’t seen in New Zealand. At age 14 he distinctly remembers sitting with a friend in a village in Sindh Province and realising how much he enjoyed the people, the culture, and the idea of being able to make a difference. This experience ultimately sparked the desire to pursue aid work overseas. His first overseas posting was in 1991 at a small hospital for Afghan refugees in Quetta, Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan.
Since then he has worked in Laos, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Uganda and now the oPt from 2015. He has worked for a variety of humanitarian organisations, the longest being for the Danish Red Cross. While his current job isn’t an ‘on the ground’ posting, many of his previous roles involved handson work. In Laos he was involved in organising water and sanitation in remote mountain villages. It could take two days to reach some villages including a six-hour trek on the second day. The transformative effect of bringing clean water into communities is something that sticks with him. Given cultural norms and the division of labour in the villages, it was often the women and children that benefitted the most. ‘The impact that it had on the lives of women and children was incredible. You immediately reduce the demands on women exponentially because basically they could walk to a tap in
their village and turn the water on rather than taking old jerry cans down to some dirty stream and filling them up, which could take two or three hours.’
His current job is more a management role, acting as an advisor and support to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). The PRCS, a large humanitarian organisation with over 4,000 staff and 20,000 volunteers, plays a crucial role in providing health and rehabilitation services as well as disaster relief in times of crisis to the most vulnerable people throughout the oPt and its diaspora (refugees), in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Iraq.
When COVID-19 hit John was on holiday in New Zealand. Unable to travel back he was forced, like millions around the world, to work remotely. His focus immediately became about advocacy. ‘My role really in the case of Covid is then to advocate on behalf of PRCS towards other donors and say, “The humanitarian needs in Palestine are immense, and now with COVID-19, the situation is worse”, then it’s helping with the proposal writing, the budgeting, the resource mobilisation and then, of course, the ongoing monitoring of the project to make sure that it does what it says it is going to do.’ Personal interaction is important to John so Zoom meetings weren’t a natural fit. He was pleased to once again be able to interact with the team in the Ramallah office on his return, following the obligatory two weeks of self-isolation.
John is very aware of the complexities of the PRCS team’s role and the additional stress that COVID-19 adds to
their load. When the virus hit, the PRCS were focused on aiding civilians in the Gaza Strip after a severe storm. They then had to seamlessly transition into providing emergency and community services in a pandemic, all the while still providing timely assistance to the vulnerable. The needs of the communities they serve were massive prior to the pandemic; unemployment was already at 33 per cent in 2019 and poverty levels were high. In Gaza, 80 per cent of the population of some two million are reliant on international assistance for the basic necessities of life. In the West Bank many Palestinians cross through the checkpoints into
Israel to work as day labourers. Those commuting to work must obtain travel permits; add a pandemic with increased restriction of movement and lockdowns in the mix and the ability to earn a living is severely curtailed. With no welfare system like we have in New Zealand, their living situation quickly becomes dire.
Given the political context in the oPt and the ongoing tensions and challenges in delivering humanitarian services under the Israeli occupation, the environment in which the PRCS work is extremely challenging and at times dangerous. As COVID-19 numbers have increased exponentially and the spread of the virus has advanced, with thousands now infected, PPE-clad PRCS teams work tirelessly around their communities to help those who are ill. Doctors, nurses, social workers and volunteers travel together doing health checks and providing medication where necessary, supplying food packages and providing psychosocial support. John is constantly amazed at the resilience of the Palestinians despite all the challenges they face and is deeply impressed with the dedication of the PRCS teams.
With so many years of humanitarian work behind him, John is not left unaffected by the injustices he has seen. ‘I’m human – you feel – you are very aware of other people’s suffering, other people’s vulnerability, and you try to do something about that. The aim is to “alleviate vulnerability” – to support people and improve lives, you’re just part of this massive team to try and do something about it … you’re not changing things on the political front, obviously, but the humanitarian challenges always need to be addressed.’
Over the years of intense working and living environments, John has learned that you need to take regular breaks to recharge, and the support of family and friends is vital. At heart John is a family man and he is grateful for his close-knit family who have settled with him wherever work has dictated. His partner, Francesca along with their three ‘third-culture’ children have continued to enable him to pursue his professional career by providing love and support. They have a deep understanding of the many cross-cultural challenges of living in different countries and help to keep him grounded. They also enable him to maintain a healthy sense of humour. Many extended whānau and friends have visited the family’s various homes over the years and that too has been a real source of encouragement and strength. As John shares his story his good humour is never far from the surface; neither is his self-effacing nature. Despite deflecting attention away from himself and on to those he works with, what is very clear as he talks, is his innate commitment to his work and genuine concern for the communities he serves.
John has learned that you need to take regular breaks to recharge, and the support of family and friends is vital.