Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General, Member of Concord Italia and Concord Europe.
Although I am not directly involved in the scandal erupted on the Haiti case, I want to express that I am close to Oxfam, which I know – and we know – well both at Italian level and at European level. ALDA is a member of Concord Italia, through its Italian office, and also of Concord Europe, through its European work, as well as Oxfam is. Therefore, we attend and often collaborate with our colleagues.
What happened in Haiti and the total responsibility of the staff in the field is an alarm bell for all the associations that recruit workers who work in difficult and distant conditions. The speed of humanitarian intervention increases the risk of making mistakes. We need to be more vigilant and double check the people we hire. This concerns possibilities of behavior that may damage the dignity and health of the person, but also ethical issues (corruption and other harmful and illegal behaviors). We all need to know how to do better and more.
However, Oxfam is an organization that – as far as I know it – has been able to do a lot, and with a strong ethical sense. It is a huge reality that manages large resources, but this should not be considered an “evil” aspect. Their resources represent public and private funding, like for many of us. Relationships are built on long paths of trust and permanent controls by the institutions that finance us.
This media attack against Oxfam and, together with them, against the associations that make programs for development and humanitarian aid seems to me a witch hunt, a piece of meat to be bitten at all costs. The BBC journalist who insistently asked the director of Oxfam “if you can quantify how many risky people you have in your structure” makes no sense. The scandal has not been recurrent and I have no memory of a similar case. If you knew how many risky people you have in your team, they would have already been expelled. Certainly a higher level of transparency on the removal of personnel for illegal and unethical behavior is desirable, so that the staff in question would not be “recycled” in other positions of cooperation. At the same time, I hope that in the face of greater transparency, media and institutions would not stigmatize the association that dismisses the staff.
On one hand, we all agree that using public resources and working with vulnerable people implies a greater responsibility. But I believe that Oxfam is up to the challenge, like we try to be as well, every day. Public money, on the other hand, also funds national structures and institutions in which, unfortunately, there are real black holes …
Although it is right and necessary to improve, always and continuously, we should be able to recognize the added value work when it is in front of us.
Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General, Member of Concord Italia and Concord Europe.
Although I am not directly involved in the scandal that erupted on the Haiti case, I want to express that I am close to Oxfam, which I know – and we know – well both at Italian level and at European level. ALDA is a member of Concord Italia, through its Italian office, and also of Concord Europe, through its European work, as well as Oxfam is. Therefore, we attend and often collaborate with our colleagues.
What happened in Haiti and the total responsibility of the staff in the field is an alarm bell for all the associations that recruit workers who work in difficult and distant conditions. The speed of humanitarian intervention increases the risk of making mistakes. We need to be more vigilant and double check the people we hire. This concerns possibilities of behavior that may damage the dignity and health of the person, but also ethical issues (corruption and other harmful and illegal behaviors). We all need to know how to do better and more.
However, Oxfam is an organization that – as far as I know it – has been able to do a lot, and with a strong ethical sense. It is a huge reality that manages large resources, but this should not be considered an “evil” aspect. Their resources represent public and private funding, like for many of us. Relationships are built on long paths of trust and permanent controls by the institutions that finance us.
This media attack against Oxfam and, together with them, against the associations that make programs for development and humanitarian aid seems to me a witch hunt, a piece of meat to be bitten at all costs. The BBC journalist who insistently asked the director of Oxfam “if you can quantify how many risky people you have in your structure” makes no sense. The scandal has not been recurrent and I have no memory of a similar case. If you knew how many risky people you have in your team, they would have already been expelled. Certainly a higher level of transparency on the removal of personnel for illegal and unethical behavior is desirable, so that the staff in question would not be “recycled” in other positions of cooperation. At the same time, I hope that in the face of greater transparency, media and institutions would not stigmatize the association that dismisses the staff.
On one hand, we all agree that using public resources and working with vulnerable people implies a greater responsibility. But I believe that Oxfam is up to the challenge, like we try to be as well, every day. Public money, on the other hand, also funds national structures and institutions in which, unfortunately, there are real black holes …
Although it is right and necessary to improve, always and continuously, we should be able to recognize the added value work when it is in front of us.