Irish Times, 4th August 2009
By John O'Shea

THE spirit of the volunteer is deep in the Irish psyche. At one time it was synonymous with a struggle for freedom; today there are people who put themselves on the line so others can share in the basic rights of life.

The only weapons they can use in the unequal battle they fight against inequality and injustice are their huge hearts and innate compassion; they must also draw on their courage. Why people volunteer to go to the most desolate and dangerous hotspots in the world is not something one can analyse; but it is something that I have given thanks for every single day over the past 32 years, since GOAL was first founded.

The plight of Sharon Commins (32), from Clontarf, Dublin, and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki (42) who were both seized from a GOAL compound in Kutum, in north Darfur, by a gang of armed men on July 3rd highlights the perils these unsung heroes face every day as they go about the business of helping others. The Irish Government, GOAL and the Sudanese are working around the clock to secure their release which, we pray, will come soon.
Ireland has garnered a reputation as “the caring nation” in the Third World because of the selfless, tireless, and often intensely lonely work done by Irish missionaries. The torch that they lit has been taken up by NGOs.

It is surprising that this tradition is not recognised more at home. Our writers, artists and businessmen are rightly acclaimed and celebrated, but the massive contributions made by those quiet individuals, who work far from the media spotlight, saving life and sacrificing the comfort of their own families to live in strange far off places, scarcely draws notice.
Yet their contributions are enormous to humanity; and without them the suffering and illness of millions would go unattended.

From the time you have finished reading this article until tomorrow, some 26,000 children will have died from preventable illness or hunger. The number is set to rise dramatically according to the UN, due to the impact of the global economic downturn. It is always the case that the poor are the first hit and most hurt by recession.

David Lillie, Disaster Operations Specialist with USAID, singled out the unique character of Irish volunteers saying: “They are special because of a ‘can do’ spirit. They identify needs and adapt accordingly; are creative and innovative. I worked alongside GOAL in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka – when we partner them we know we’ll get the job done.’

There have been so many examples where young Irish women and men have done almost super-human things in meeting disaster head-on and picking up the pieces in an emergency.
During the Hutu regime’s catalogue of carnage in 1994, GOALie Afric McGlade was one of a number of GOALies who witnessed the horrors and helped people attempt to put their shattered lives back together in the massive refugee camps in Goma.

“This was a tragedy that you couldn’t talk up. I will never forget my own introduction. The noises and odours that invaded the senses demanded analysis. The smells of death, rotting corpses,” she explained.

Denis McClean who also spent many years with GOAL before going on to work in the headquarters of the Red Cross in Geneva, was also confronted with scenes straight out of hell but had no choice other than to weigh in and help as best as he could: “The sadness you have to control. You have to learn to live with things that should, in the normal course of events, be unbearable. If you can’t do that you won’t be able to function as an aid worker and you are no longer of any use.”

Ann Bourke another GOAL veteran of many years believes in a one step at a time approach and it is a strategy that has served her well:  “When we get one thing done right, then we can call it a result. Of course there is despondency at watching a country that has emerged from an abyss diving headlong into another one, but if you give up the ghost who is there to step in?”
“The world has to switch from watching and start doing. All we can do is cope as best we can….”
But the coping and the caring would not be possible without the efforts of this silent army of ordinary people, who do extraordinary things every day in the Third World with scant recognition and scarcely any reward. Not only should we keep them in our thoughts, but we should be very proud of them.

Perhaps someday, somewhere in a town or city square in this country, there will be room on a pedestal alongside the statues of politicians and sports stars for a missionary or an aid worker. 


© 2009 The Irish Times