Dana 19. kolovoza 2003. godine Sergio Vieira de Mello, posebni predstavnik u Iraku tadašnjeg glavnog tajnika UN-a, te još 21 njegovih kolega ubijeno je u samoubilačkom bombaškom napadu u Bagdadu u Iraku, što je poznato još kao i „Canal Hotel Bombing“. Nakon smrti Sergia Vieira de Mella, istoimena zaklada osnovana u njegovu čast, borila se je da osnuje dan koji bi se obilježavao u čast njemu i svima onima koji su dali svoje život za pomoć drugima. Svjetski humanitarni dan tako je prvi put obilježen 19. kolovoza 2009. godine.

Humanitarna pomoć je vrlo česta u dnevnom redu Europske unije, jer su države članice EU i institucije neke od vodećih donatora humanitarne pomoći širom svijeta. Konkretnije, Europska komisija pruža ovu pomoć od 1992. godine u preko 110 zemalja širom svijeta.

Ova pomoć koja pokriva mnoga područja poput prehrane, skloništa, zdravstvene zaštite, vode i sanitarnih potreba može se pružiti u partnerstvu s agencijama UN-a, nevladinim organizacijama i međunarodnim organizacijama. Najveće krize koje su koristile ovu pomoć posljednjih godina uključuju Sirijski sukob, Jemenski sukob, epidemiju ebole i mnoge druge.

Svjetski humanitarni dan je posebno važan ove godine, jer su mnogi ljudi dali svoje vrijeme, a ponekad i živote, pomažući ljudima u kontekstu epidemije COVID-19. Zapravo, pri ovom jedanaestom obilježavanju, fokus je stavljen na „heroje iz stvarnog života koji su svoj život posvetili pomaganju drugima u najekstremnijim okolnostima širom svijeta“ zahvaljujući 'hashtagu' društvenih medija #RealLifeHeroes.

Pandemija koronavirusa bila je jedna od najvećih izazova s kojim se humanitarno područje ikada suočilo: ograničenja koja su postavile mnoge vlade širom svijeta, koja su, naravno, poslužila za zaštitu stanovništva, istovremeno su druge, ranjivije zajednice, ponekad ostavljale u nedostatku resursa poput skloništa, hrane ili medicinskih potrepština.

Ova kriza i ranjivost koju je prouzrokovala povećali su potrebu za humanitarnom pomoći, uključujući potrebu za angažmanom humanitarnih radnika iz civilnih društava i lokalnih nevladinih organizacija. Vrlo je bitno da pripadnici ranjivijih zajednica koji ionako već trpe socijalnu isključenost, kao što je romska zajednica, prime dodatnu pomoć u ovim teškim vremenima.

Naravno, Romi imaju prava na socijalnu i humanitarnu pomoć, što je u Hrvatskoj osigurano odredbama Zakona o socijalnoj skrbi. Međutim, to dugoročno nije uvijek održivo, jer je važno ne samo pružiti izravnu pomoć, već i ulagati u dugoročna rješenja poput obrazovanja, još jedne važno pitanje humanitarne pomoći, kako bi mogli samostalno djelovati na poboljšanju svoje situacije.

Čak i ako humanitarno pomaganje i doniranje u dobrotvorne ili slične svrhe nisu mogući svima, svi možemo pomoći na svoj način – bilo da pružimo vrijeme osobi koja je u potrebi, informiramo se o nekom problemu ili informiramo nekoga drugog. Svi možemo biti dio ovog procesa na svoj način i ovogodišnji Svjetski humanitarni dan iskoristiti da pomognemo nekome, na bilo koji način.

 

 

 

Every 19th August, the United Nations observes World Humanitarian Day, designed to honour those who have lost their lives while working in the humanitarian field. The aim is to pay tribute but also to help current workers and collect support for people affected by humanitarian crises around the world.

 

On the 19th August 2003, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the special representative to Iraq of the then UN secretary general, and 21 of his colleagues were killed in a suicide truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, known as the Canal Hotel Bombing. After Sergio Vieira de Mello’s death, a foundation of the same name set up in his honour, campaigned to set up a day to honour him and all those who give their lives to helping others. World Humanitarian Day was first commemorated on the 19th August 2009.

Humanitarian aid is very prevalent on the European Agenda, with both EU member states and institutions being some of the leading donors of humanitarian aid worldwide. The European Commission specifically has been providing this help since 1992 in over 110 countries globally.

This aid which covers many fields such as nutrition, shelter, healthcare, water and sanitation can be provided in partnership with UN agencies, NGOs and international organisations. The largest crises which have benefitted from this aid over recent years include the Syria Conflict, the Yemen Conflict, the Ebola epidemic and many more.

World Humanitarian Day is particularly relevant this year, with many people having given their time and sometimes lives to helping people in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. In fact, for this eleventh edition of the event, the focus is put on ‘the real-life heroes who have committed their lives to helping others in the most extreme circumstances throughout the world’ thanks to the social media hashtag #RealLifeHeroes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges that the humanitarian field has ever faced: restrictions put into place by many governments worldwide have of course served to protect the populations, but other, more vulnerable communities, have sometimes found themselves lacking resources such as shelter, food or medical supplies.

This crisis and the vulnerability that it has caused has increased the need for humanitarian aid, with humanitarian workers from civil societies or local NGOs having to step in. It is crucial that those from more vulnerable communities already suffering from social exclusion such as the Roma community benefit from extra help during these difficult times.

Of course, Roma are entitled to rights such as social welfare benefits and humanitarian aid, which in Croatia is assured by the provisions of the law on Social Welfare and Assistance. However, this isn’t always sustainable in the long run, as it is important not only to provide direct aid, but also to invest in long-term solutions such as education, another important topic of humanitarian aid, in order for them to independently work towards bettering their situation.

Even if humanitarian aid and donating to charities or such causes isn’t possible to everyone, we can all help in our own way – be it giving our time to a person in need, getting more informed about an issue, or informing someone else. We can all be part of the process in our own way, and we can use this year’s world Humanitarian Day to help someone, in any way we can.