Sérgio Vieira de Mello: A Humanitarian Inspiration and Hero
Today is March 15th 2024 and this day is special as it marks the birthday of Sérgio Vieira de Mello. He was born in 1948 and is a Brazillian that was born in the beautiful city of Rio De Janeiro. In September of 2002, he was appointed as the United Nations High Commisioner for Human Rights. He was a devoted humanitarian leader that loved to work closely and respectfully with his target communities. Unfourtanetly, he was later assasinated in August of 2003 while he was stationed at the UN headquarters in Baghdad while he was on a temporary leave of absence from his position. He, along with 21 other United Nations personnel, were killed by a car bomb in the Canal Hotel Bombing. The Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, took credit for the ordering of the bombing and the statement for the motivation was that he had helped East Timor in becoming an independent state which was considered stealing land from the Islamic caliphate by the terrorists.
In my course at the University of Minnesota (Critical Humanitarianism POL 3879 with Helen Kinsella), we touched on the work and life of Sérgio Vieira de Mello. He is prominently known for his humanitarian leadership positoin in numerous places such as Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Mozambique, Sudan, and Bangladesh during conflicts in these areas. What was really highlighted in class was his rather unique fashion of delivering humanitarian aid. He was perhaps one of the biggest advocates for an approach of total neutrality and vulnerability in the effort to get closer to the target community he wanted to serve.
He is celebrated for his huge successes and effectiveness in his humanitarian missions and campaigns and these successes can certainly be tied to his very outgoing approach. He was and still is decorated with awards and recognition for his major success which provides evidence. However, he was such a big advocate for remaining accessible to everyone that threats had access to him, and he ultimately paid the price, as well as all the others that were killed along with him. Additionally, more than 150 aid workers were also injured in the bombing making it one of the most lethal attacks on the UN. The big question that surfaced after covering Sérgio Vieira de Mello though, was how much security must be given up to effectively distribute aid before it becomes dangerous or lethal in the case of de Mello? Obviously, if you die, you can no longer contribute your quality expertise in leading successful humanitarian missions so was his strategy really worth it in the end as it could be considerd counterintuitive? It forced me to think about how I would orient myself in a position where I am one day working in the humanitarian sector. How will I find the perfect logistical balance to the point where I am being as effective as possible, but also as safe as possible?
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