6. It’s Not About Us: Addressing the Security Dilemma with the Ethics of Professionalism

There is perhaps no more dangerous humanitarian work than that done by the “White Helmets” in Syria. As described through the experience of Mustafa Haj Yousef, a former businessman who gave up his career to pull people out of the rubble of bombed buildings, he and other members of Syria Civil Defence are under continual threat not only of becoming collateral damage but also of direct targeting by airstrikes. The altruistic impulse that brings people to humanitarian work may be indisputable, but as Haj Yousef’s and every other first-person account featured in this book show, a professionalist approach to the work, including significant investment in practical skills training, stands the best chance of extending aid into the most dangerous places while maximizing the security of aid providers. An ethos that views humanitarianism as a profession rather than a personal calling or a job for a particular organization is needed in current civil conflicts, where the risks to humanitarian actors have never been higher.