Humanitarian Groups Rethink Operations After Apparent Death of Iraq Worker

Last week’s news of the apparent killing of Margaret Hassan, a CARE official in Iraq, left many humanitarian workers not only mourning her death but also pondering its implications for how they must operate in the future.

Mrs. Hassan, 59, was abducted last month from the office where she worked as director of CARE’s operations in Iraq.

She had been a relief worker in Iraq for 25 years, and had worked with CARE since 1991. Mrs. Hassan was married to an Iraqi, and held British, Irish, and Iraqi citizenship.

After examining a videotape provided by the Al-Jazeera television network, the British government concluded that Mrs. Hassan had probably been killed.

In a statement, CARE International responded to the apparent killing by saying: “We are shocked and appalled that this has been the apparent outcome of her abduction. We want to express our deepest sympathy to Mrs. Hassan’s husband, Tahseen, and to her family. Mrs. Hassan was an extraordinary woman who dedicated her life to the poor and disadvantaged in Iraq, particularly the children. The whole of CARE is in mourning.”

Last month, in the wake of Mrs. Hassan’s kidnapping, CARE International closed down all operations in Iraq. Doctors Without Borders closed its operations in Iraq this month.

Thomas Tighe, president of Direct Relief International, in Santa Barbara, Calif., said Mrs. Hassan’s apparent death was a tragic loss and a chilling reminder of the new dangers international relief workers face. “When you cross that threshold of abducting and killing people who are there without a political agenda, just trying to help people, it puts us all back on our heels,” he said.

The recent violence against aid workers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan marks the beginning of a new era for relief organizations, said Anisya Thomas, managing director of the Fritz Institute, a San Francisco nonprofit group that studies how to strengthen relief organizations.

“The humanitarian space, which was sacred before, is being impinged upon by the political context,” said Ms. Thomas. “So American or Western humanitarian aid workers are Americans or Westerners first and aid workers second.”