UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator Kag visits the Nasser medical centre in Khan Younis, Gaza.
Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands took up his duties in January as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza. She recently arrived in Gaza for the fourth time and was interviewed by UN News.
Kag shared his experience of visiting Gaza and expressed his support for all the humanitarian workers who are giving their selfless lives in Gaza. At the same time, she spoke of the importance of rebuilding Gaza, noting the urgent need to strengthen conflict resolution mechanisms in the face of humanitarian crises. She also referred to reflections on the people of Gaza rebuilding their lives and the need to provide them with time and space to heal their wounds. Finally, she shared with reporters the experience of meeting with Palestinian NGOs, praised their courage and determination, and highlighted the important role of Palestinian civil society in the reconstruction process.
She said the visit was not only to gain an in-depth understanding of the current situation in Gaza, but also to convey hope to the people of Gaza, and called on the international community to work together to support the reconstruction effort.
UN News: Can you tell us a little bit about what you saw and heard in Gaza and the purpose of your trip?
SIGRID KAG: The purpose of this trip to Gaza is, of course, to have in-depth meetings and conversations and to learn as much as possible about the challenges and problems that Gaza is facing and how we can make progress. At the same time, it is also to support all the humanitarian workers who are working in Gaza day in and day out. This is my fourth arrival in Gaza, and what I have seen in different parts of Gaza is widespread destruction. I talk to people and hear them talk about the impact they have suffered, the loss and trauma they have suffered, and how they have struggled to survive in extremely harsh, almost inhuman conditions. The visit focused on the sanitary conditions in Gaza, which I accompanied with a WHO team.
We visited the Nasser Medical Center, which has been completely razed to the ground. But the medical director is already trying to figure out how to get the hospital back up and running, at least in a very rudimentary form. I also visited the IMC Medical Field Hospital, where many seriously wounded and malnourished children are treated. I talk not only to patients, but also to doctors. Once again, I am deeply moved, and certainly deeply ashamed, by the collective responsibility that we all have on our shoulders to alleviate suffering, and that we need to work as hard as we can to get humanitarian assistance to the affected areas and to continue to reach the affected people, but also to look beyond the current crisis.
UN News: Resolution 2720 not only creates your position, but also calls for a mechanism to increase humanitarian access to Gaza. What is the position of the United Nations in this regard and what are the challenges in establishing such a mechanism?
SIGRID KAG: I think there are two most important aspects of this resolution: one is to facilitate and accelerate humanitarian access to Gaza, and the other is to establish a mechanism to support all of this, and ultimately, to support the collective efforts of the United Nations, global NGOs, Palestinian NGOs and the wider international community. Over the past few months, we have built a comprehensive database. We negotiated the so-called Jordanian route.
We've been working with others on the maritime corridor and, of course, using the importance of the Egyptian route through Rafah to make sure that we have access points, that we can increase the numbers, that we can actually track, inform and better understand what supplies are going to Gaza in support of the priorities identified by the humanitarian country team. In Gaza, we want to make sure that supplies reach people and are distributed in the best possible way. You see, a mechanism is not a sacred entity, it's a platform that has visibility, helps prioritize, and provides data. Ultimately, it should make the entire humanitarian relief process smoother. As a result, we eliminate all unnecessary delays and know what is happening. Finally, this mechanism also provides much-needed transparency.
UN News: You talked about the possibility of a maritime corridor, and there's been a lot of discussion on that today. What is the position of the United Nations and what is the latest development?
Sigrid Karg: At the moment, this work is still actively underway. As you may recall, in February this year, on behalf of the United Nations, I joined the Foreign Ministers of other countries that had made the commitment, as well as the Government of Cyprus, to pledge that we value the added value that the maritime corridors bring. We are trying to figure out how to make it work and involve the United Nations and humanitarian workers in Gaza. We have been exploring the conditions under which the United Nations could be involved in the receipt and distribution of humanitarian relief throughout Gaza. We do it for security reasons. Clearly, this is not only about the safety and security of distribution, but also about the safety and security of civilians. At the moment we are working on a number of issues.
On the part of the United Nations, under the Mechanism and in the context of my mandate, we are chairing the Secretariat to support Member States wishing to send goods through Cyprus, and monitoring points have been deployed in Cyprus. It can be said that we have supported this process from the beginning and hopefully to the end. This is an important route, but it is not a substitute for the arrival of future rehabilitation and reconstruction supplies in the Gaza Strip, as I have repeatedly stressed. It's all about the land, and that's our ultimate focus. But the extravagance is welcome. Given the complexity of the situation and the comprehensiveness of the needs, we need to focus not only on the present, but also on the future.
联合国人道协调厅/ Mustafa Al-Halabi
UN News: There is growing concern about the safety of humanitarians in Gaza, and they themselves have expressed concern for their own safety. What measures are being taken to strengthen conflict resolution mechanisms and ensure that they are able to fulfil their responsibilities?
SIGRID KAG: Of course, this is a terrible situation, and many humanitarian workers have lost their lives, most of them Palestinians. This is true in any war and conflict situation, and the stakes are always high. It is the highest sacrifice of all for people to risk their lives to serve others, but we should not be in this situation. Conflict resolution is therefore a long-standing requirement and an ongoing and important topic that stimulates active discussion. Conflict resolution is a very sensitive and complex process, but it requires a clear understanding of the role of communication and respect for humanitarian workers, as well as a common understanding of how to do it. This affects the operation of aid convoys, the distribution sites and the clear and concrete agreements that we have negotiated with the Israeli authorities, in particular the agreement in which the IDF will play a key role.
UN News: All eyes are now focused on the humanitarian crisis at hand. The war continues, and what we see has reached an incomprehensible level. Is it possible for us to rebuild our homes at this time?
SIGRID KAG: I think it's a rhetorical question, and maybe only we have the privilege to ask that. I believe that we have an obligation, a responsibility to care for the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, and we have a duty to work closely with the Palestinian Authority. We hope that they will return to Gaza quickly so that the Palestinian Authority can lead the process, as the Secretary-General has made clear on many occasions. The Palestinian Authority has prepared a reform plan for Gaza. They've obviously done a lot of research. I think that this plan, if it is actually implemented, will be a very difficult task.
You can see how difficult the task is when you look at the extent of the damage, even if it is just to remove the rubble, and the need to rebuild homes as quickly as possible to get children back to school, or at least places to learn. But as long as we do so, we will not leave a generation without school or proper education, especially for Palestinians. It has always been their pride and joy to be educated, and they have learned how to improve themselves, which is an important aspect of us as human beings. Therefore, I think the question you are asking should be a rhetorical question. We have an obligation and a responsibility to ensure that we begin our efforts towards early recovery, considering reconstruction and financing. Of course, I am well aware that this is intrinsically linked to progress on the political front, to the two-state solution. But we cannot ask civilians to wait in vain. Life goes on and people suffer a lot.
UN News: Speaking of people who are suffering, I would now like to turn to the issue of rebuilding lives. Because like you said, we have a responsibility to rebuild Gaza, but how can the people who have experienced these horrors have hope and continue to live?
Sigrid Karg: Soul healing is essentially a personal thing. I think it's hard for us to understand what people are going through, even in the outside world of safety. Think of children who have lost loved ones suddenly, children who have had to have their limbs amputated without anesthesia, people who have lost their children and their homes, people who have been displaced many times in Gaza...... We need to give them immediate attention. Healing is not only physical, but also spiritual, and we need to somehow give time and space to heal our wounds. These traumas are a burden that people are asked to carry for the rest of their lives. But in my opinion, this is exactly what psychosocial support and mental health support, or mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), are important focuses on in crisis situations. When I was working in the Dutch government, we pioneered a lot of this work internationally, and I have been asking many of my colleagues to see this work as as important as food, shelter, water, and all the other basic elements we need to survive. There is no one who does not need this element at all.
The psychological aspect will require special attention for many years to come. While the Palestinians in Gaza ultimately showed themselves to be very tenacious, they needed a lot of psychological support. We need specialists, including psychologists and psychiatrists. We need to train our trainers. But the situation is very different because all Palestinians have been traumatized. This requires those of us with a lot of expertise in the field to think and work differently. From now on, we need to make a plan for this. But if you ask many Palestinians what they want, as I said on my first visit to Gaza, it is "give me dignity". Of course, this is a very complex issue, but we need to proceed from reality and never forget the soul, the person, the dignity of the person. It doesn't matter who we are, no matter where we are, it's the same for all of us.
UN News: I have one last question. The people you have met in your local area say to you, "Give me dignity." Are there any stories that have touched you particularly during this visit to Gaza?
SIGRID KAG: Honestly, I'm ashamed, I'm going to be moved by all the different stories of suffering and, at some point, pretty helpless. I will give speeches and I will work, but I want to contribute on the ground as I do now. But we all have different roles and responsibilities. I want to tell you a different story, this is not a personal story. I met with a number of Palestinian non-governmental organizations, some of which have been working in different political and military situations for decades. They are so determined that they can be said to be almost unwavering. I was inspired: everything we do, Palestinian civil society needs to be at the forefront, fighting side by side with the Palestinian Authority, because they know their people, they have always been there, they have the expertise, they are already thinking, and they already have a plan to start over. I don't think a lot of people have that kind of energy or physical strength. So I want to not only pay tribute to them, but also to say that we must not forget their great courage and determination. We need to cultivate that spirit.
联合国人道协调厅 / Olga Cherevko