When is a risk too great?

Citation

Wilson, H.C. (2003), "When is a risk too great?", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 12 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2003.07312caa.001

When is a risk too great?

When is a risk too great?

Hopefully, as you read this, the situation within Iraq will have been resolved.

It is not for the editor of this journal to express an opinion on the rights and wrongs of the situation. That is for politicians and historians to argue out as time goes by.

During that time the situation with regard to the plight of the millions of Iraqis needs to be addressed. Before the outbreak of war, millions of Iraqis were dependent on the aid agencies and NGOs for their sustenance and fresh water and with the threat of war they were withdrawn. This was regrettable but necessary as exposing helpers to the risk of death or injury during an active war scenario is not an option.

Although the coalition forces expressed a desire to bring with them the supplies so desperately needed to the "liberated" areas, this was slow to happen. The natural suspicion of the people of southern Iraq of the invading forces is understandable given the aftermath of the Gulf War. The suspicion of the coalition forces in attempting to direct the aid to the civilian population given that elements of the Iraqi army will cloak themselves in civilian clothes is also understandable.

The media pressure to add haste to the aid delivery is also understandable, although some of the reportage had a tendency to ignore the facts and history of the area.

The pressure by the aid agencies and NGOs to be allowed into Iraq is also understandable as the expected mass migration of refugees did not happen – people stayed at home – despite lack of food and fresh water supplies. The fears of the Iraqi people who had experienced the tyrannical regime kept them in the villages, towns and cities. The supplies will have to be taken to them.

The aid is available a short distance away but, with the levels of suspicion that surround the situation, it might as well be on the other side of the moon.

It appears that, as everyone is suspicious of everyone else, nobody is willing to take that first risky chance and make that move that everyone wants to happen.

Risk can be expressed as the chance that a hazardous situation will occur. Situations with a high risk factor can go sour, and this is a high risk situation, but if doing nothing further increases that risk and innocent people are harmed by that inactivity then, where is the humanity?

Humans are humans because we care. We take risks that no other animal on this planet will attempt. Despite our supposedly high intelligence we take enormous risks to help others who need our help for their survival. We do this on an individual basis, we do this on a group basis, we do it on a national basis, we step forward and take that risk. We need to step forward now. The people in Iraq cannot wait until the situation is normalised. How and by whom this is achieved is immaterial as long as it is achieved as soon as possible. People may die in taking this risk, but people die taking risks to help others – this is not uncommon in the history of this earth. This is our humanity.

I hope, by the time you read this, humanity will have prevailed over suspicion.

Henry C. Wilson