Blogging and tweeting from the field is encouraged by NGOs,but it is unsafe ground many aid workers are left to navigate aloneSocial media and connectivity is often described as being a godsend for the humanitarian aid worker. Where once we were exiled to a remote field office with no way of communicating with our loved ones for months at a time, now we can FaceTime with our kids when they arrive domestic from school or Skype our partner after a difficult day. We can also buffer our feeling of self-worth by Instagramming last night’s beautiful sunset, and the scorpion we found in our mosquito net,basking in “likes” from our friends back domestic, who oblige with comments like OMG, and you are so brave!”. Publicly we pretend such comments embarrass us,but really they befriend boost us on bad days and accomplish us feel both less useless and less alone.[br] Related: Secret aid worker: Is there life beyond the field? I often wonder what it must feel like to remain in a crisis long after the hashtags have stopped. Related: Secret aid worker: Disposing of tampons in the jungle and other dilemmas Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com