LinkedtoAsia has worked diligently to create relationships abroad in Asia for those adventurous and courageous enough to explore their passions. At times those passions intersect giving more than they receive and that is why we have chosen to highlight some of the amazing people that we have the great honor of knowing that live the real example of unification through action.
Angus Lambkin has not lived an existence thus far that is for the faint of heart. Growing up in Belfast, Ireland his roots are watered with a diversity of local challenges that could have kept him in his home state, but instead decided to branch out and give to the world a heart and mind of adaptability and devotion. We asked for a small portion of his time to speak candidly about his life in 10 questions and he blessed us with his insights. We hope you learn even more than we did about how getting involved today can make all the difference in the world to just one life!
When did you start your career in humanitarian work? What were the opportunities that led you to humanitarian work?
I had worked initially in Belfast with Victim Support and Healing Through Remembering, a conflict transformation organization, in the early nineties but got my first start in the humanitarian world proper in 2007 when I started interning with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Beijing, China. They liked my experience in writing funding applications as they were looking for someone to help with refugee resettlement applications. The fact that I was willing to work for free, would take care of my own visa, and spoke native English were also contributing factors.
I taught English at night to pay the bills and mooched like a bad man off my well-paid friends. There I researched opportunities to get into the world proper. I applied to be a UN Volunteer, got a bursary for an online master’s program, volunteered on other issues (conflict at home in Belfast and sexual health) and four years later was accepted by the Peacekeeping Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo to be a reporting officer on sexual violence in conflict.
Do you think your family had a big influence on the work you do now?
Very much so. My parents didn’t grow up in Belfast. They moved there from England in the late seventies at a time when the conflict was affecting heavily. English accents were not highly appreciated by a significant portion of the population and they ran the risk of being taken for spies. They both got involved in conflict related issues.
My mother taught Open University classes for imprisoned paramilitary combatants and my dad helped set up and run the first school where Catholics and Protestants would be educated together. They both navigated a city with a heavy security presence, numerous risks, and no doubt felt the anger of people traumatized, hurt, and frustrated by conflict. No doubt this had an influence on me. Interestingly, it gives me a fairly effective retort when they express concern about me going into war zones.
What are some of the humanitarian topics that concern you most?
We are going to see climate change impacting more and more of what are already very challenging situations of conflict and vulnerability. Competition for the declining and already scarce resources of land and water will grow as populations grow. Conflicts are likely to become more challenging to resolve, and practical solutions to lingering displacement likely to decline. The opportunities in technological innovation such as smart communication and cash programming do offer important opportunities to engage on these issues but cannot be considered as sufficient to address them.
You have provided humanitarian relief work in many African countries. what do you think are the difficulties you face in your work and what are the needs of these countries in your opinion?
The greatest need is opportunity. We see throughout the world that development has come when opportunities have been offered, and throughout Africa we see this taking place. While I have tended to work in the poorest countries – Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan – I have had the opportunity to visit the thriving economies of Nairobi, Addis Abbaba, and Lagos. They remind me of Asian cities. Conflict, corruption, structural poverty, and exploitation limit opportunity. Leaders need to reconcile differences, think longer term, and use their resources to invest at home to create opportunities for others.
What are some experiences that have been most impactful in your work?
The stoic patience of communities who have often waited a long time for aid. In my work I have often been part of the first UN mission into an area following a conflict, sometimes the first ever. As the initial assessment team, we brought no tangible support for affected communities – that would come after, based on needs, but not necessarily immediately, due to what can only be described as systemic challenges.
Communicating that the suffering is acknowledged while not having immediate redress has the potential to be quite difficult as expectations of support have already risen. Seeing how community leaders encourage patience and acceptance of our approach never ceases to amaze me when considered against the gravity of the issues they face.
The UN has been providing humanitarian relief for a long time, but many countries are still in dire straits, what do you think are the reasons?
A key challenge for humanitarian interventions is that they indirectly become part of the conflict cycle. In resource poor environments, aid is often critical for the local economy. Aid operations rent warehouses, offices, vehicles, etc. and often the only suppliers of these services are indirectly (and at times directly) connected to hostile factions. They therefore have an interest in seeing the needs stay high so that the interventions continue.
Cynicism and corruption are therefore key challenges. More needs to be done to support pacification of affected areas so that opposing positions are reconciled, and the aid can be used to support early recovery and development. If the cycle of conflict is not addressed needs will remain high.
What qualities do you think young people of today should possess in order to be considered a true global citizen?
If we take sustaining life on earth as being a minimum rather than a lofty aspiration, then we consider all actions that pursue a wider agenda to make that possible as valid. This is opposed to a narrow agenda that pursues self-interest. Once we have taken care of ourselves, to what extent can we use the power and privilege that we have to support our fellow human beings and the environment in which we live.
This can happen at all levels from the local to the global. The wealthier we are the more we should think about what we actually ‘need’, and we should use the remainder for the greater good. It’s not to promote self-restraint, I am not shy in spending on having good times. But perhaps the key quality is genuine personal reconciliation in terms of how we use our resources – time and money – to take care of ourselves and the globe. Mine is but a work in progress.
What qualities do you think the UN looks for when selecting interns and what kind of preparation should students who want to apply for an internship at the UN do?
Sadly, I think that they are looking principally for those who have already been privileged by quality education, parents who enjoy above average wealth, and the ability to work without pay. There are paid schemes, but the unpaid internship is all too common. It is simply harder without the support and advantages that come with privilege. I have no doubt I would not have come through without my background of privilege. That being said, some at least make it through.
It is important to read, as widely around the issues as possible. There are numerous courses available online that are free, and these offer an entry point for those with the luxury of internet access. There are scholarships and bursaries. Getting involved with social and environmental issues locally and volunteering for relevant organizations is definitely useful. Essentially if you are supporting yourself you need to do this above and beyond the time you spend earning. The privileged have the luxury to focus only on this and this is what makes life in general so unfair.
What do you think is the difference between the young people in the countries where you work and the young people in other countries?
It comes down to opportunity. Are young people being provided structures through which they can progress their lives in terms of education and employment opportunity? If young people are engaged in violence and etc. it’s because the best opportunities available to them are in that vein. Watching my hometown of Belfast being again affected by violence, this time linked to the numerous problems around Brexit, it is all too clear those involved feel that this is the best avenue available to them. At the fundamental level, there is no difference between their behavior and the youth in the countries where I have worked of late.
What do you think of young people who are passionate and dedicated to the development of human society and do you have any advice for them?
I think it’s great. There is so much individualism that it is great to see the passion and drive. But we must remember that much of humanitarian development and environmental work is a professional sector in itself. We should recognize the difference between passion and personal ambition. Many of the leaders now who might be seen as apologists rather than true advocates of a particular cause were once passionate young people. They may well have chosen personal status over impact of their work.
This is normal rather than bad but acknowledging this very human trait in our leaders of tomorrow should give us a better sense of who might be true reformers of our collapsing system and who might prefer status and pay as these challenges (climate, conflict, etc.) overwhelm life as we know it. Find a path through which you can have a fun, fulfilling life that contributes to the wider agenda. Rise through whatever structures you engage with. Understand that compromise is part of life but be truthful with yourself when you do it.
What will you do today to impact the world?
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Disclaimer: The statements answered above are the direct sentiments of the interviewee and LinkedtoAsia has no stated position on the information expressed by the interviewee.
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