Executive Director & CEO, USA for UNHCR. Growing support for refugees, and fighting for everyone’s right to have a home where they find safety and belonging.
Day Two of my travels in #bangladesh for USA for UNHCR. In keeping with tradition, our theme for the day-- #logistics and #transportation-- and a reminder that Rohingya refugees fled unimaginable violence in Myanmar in 2017, and nearly a million remain in camps led by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Bangladesh. The distance between #coxsbazar and #chittagong is about 140 km, or 85 miles. The trip took the better part of 9 hours. Do the math-- that's very slow going. (E.g., I recently traveled 300 miles to/from the OBX in 5 hours.) The rains were torrential and we were forced to turn back from a road that had been flooded. Traffic was brutal, and the scene in every small urban center we passed was a mix of chaos-- water rushing, sand bags stacked-- and normal as the daily life of shops, pedestrians and honking horns carried on. I share these details because, in the end, the work must continue. We traveled with a UNHCR medical staff who had been unable to reach Bhasan Char (next post!) earlier due to weather conditions. Essential supplies are at the mercy of available transport. Even the best-laid logistics plans can only prepare for so much in the face of extreme weather and volatile conditions. I am here to #listen, #observe and #learn, so my time is inconsequential when compared to those who are in need of care and services. These are the backbone needs of a strong agency, maybe the less "exciting" stuff to support but the strong foundation for delivery that helps make the impact.
Keep doing the good work.
Operations, Research, Administration's and Procurement
1yI can imagine, served there for 2 years.