Social workers and Their role in armed political and military
conflicts: the unheard discussion
By Joseph Frankel
‘War is not healthy for
children and other living things’
(Schneider, 1967).
(Schneider, 1967).
When considering
war, generally the concern is with military involvement and not about the
civilians who are often left most vulnerable to the effects of war. This paper
will critically evaluate the role of social workers working in the context of
military and political conflict and examine an organization working with the
survivors of war. Civilians in the
context of war have many horrific experiences which can cause issues that are
related to complex trauma. Both
the (AASW) Australian Association of Social workers and (IFSW) International
Federation of Social workers point out that social work is about empowerment,
liberation and enhancing people’s wellbeing. Despite the work of international aid organizations, this
topic is still largely unexplored by academia. This essay aims to further
investigate this issue.
There are a
variety of settings that social workers can practice in during military or
political conflict. These include refugee camps, schools and hospitals. It is important that social workers are
involved in political and military conflicts as there are issues such as grief
and loss and severe psychosocial trauma that can be detrimental to a person’s
long term mental health and wellbeing (Joint Conference on Social Work and Social
Development Action and Impact, 2012).
The main areas of social work practice in the context of military and
political conflict appear to be classified into three main areas. These are
primary health care, including physical and mental health; international
humanitarian law responses and the front line delivery of aid in conflict
zones.
The first role social
worker play in primary health care is that of a ‘psychiatric social worker’. The role of these social workers is to
specialize in mental health and generally try to support positive mental health
outcomes for people affected by war. Another such role a social worker can take
on in relation to hospitals is that of ‘medical
social worker’. Their role here is primarily conducted in the context of hospitals
and it is to support those who have been affected by war to achieve better
outcomes. An example of this is in the case of a person sustaining an injury
such a limb loss. In this instance it would be the role of a medical social
worker to facilitate better health outcome for that person in relation to
psychological trauma and readjustment issues (Daley, 1999).
Another role of
social workers in conflict is to know about various international conventions
to bind conflict to a basic standard of humanity. In the absence of these
conventions, international disaster response law may offer basic protection to
humanitarian relief in the context of military conflict (Hoffman, 2000). According to Rogers (2008) social
workers have certain rights, roles and responsibilities under IHL
(International Humanitarian Law) but tend to be largely uninformed. These are not explicitly stated in IHL
documents however a search of documents such as the Geneva convention (1949)
and its additional protocols will produce a picture of what a social worker’s
role is in armed political & military conflict (Rodger, 2007). This is because the role of
social workers is about empowerment, liberation and enhancing people’s
wellbeing (IFSW, 2013). This shows the importance of knowing various IHL such
as Geneva Convention, and how having a working knowledge of these can provide a
framework to advocate on behalf of victims of military and political
conflict. Documents like the
Geneva Convention are useful to social work because they provides a basis of
what is acceptable treatment within conflicts however application is sometimes
tenuous due to the nature of political and military conflicts (Rodgers, 2007).
The reason that social workers are concerned with IHL is that part of our roles
is to work with highly vulnerable people and advocating for their dignity and
basic human needs (Rodgers, 2007; AASW, 2010; IFSW, 2012). These values are reflected in IHL such
as the Geneva Convention (1949). This shows the connection between what is
stated in IHL and what is practiced by social workers as professionals who have
a role in engaging with people who are having difficulties as a result of armed
political and military conflict (Rogers, 2007). In addition IHL also has connections to the delivery of
aid to places suffering because of armed political and military conflict. IHL
documents like the Geneva Convention (1949) and other IHL documents highlight
the needs of people living within context of armed political and military
conflicts (Rogers, 2007).
The third role
that social workers can play in the context of military and political conflict
is the delivery of basic essentials to people caught in the cross fire. This
aspect of social work is important because it can deliver people their basic
needs for survival (Healy & Link, 2012). As already discussed this can be influenced by
principles set out in various IHL documents (Rogers, 2007). The definition of what a social worker
does is outlined by (AASW, 2010; IFSW, 2013). This is in line with the role
that aid workers perform when delivering aid but rather than treating the trauma
of victims of war and looking at IHL, delivering aid is about delivering basic
essentials that people need for survival.
Whilst it is linked and influenced by basic health care and
international policy it differs because it is about meeting immediate needs
(Healy & Link, 2012).
The delivery of aid is usually carried out by charities and non-for
profit agencies such as the Red Cross, which have had a long history of
delivering aid in different disaster settings to different countries (Australian
Red Cross, 2013). Even though IHL
is supposed to protect the rights of aid workers there have been numerous
attacks on aid workers, healthcare workers and healthcare facilities in places
that are currently in some kind of armed military or political conflict
including Libya, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Gaza and Democratic Republic of the
Congo (International Red Cross,
2011). Therefore the delivering of
aid to countries suffering armed political or military conflict can be a
dangerous profession (International Red Cross, 2011). Even though delivering
aid to countries suffering the impacts of war is a challenging and some times
difficult task this does not take away from its importance. Delivering basic
needs such as food, clean drinking water can be an effective way of alleviating
some stress in the lives of the people suffering however the extreme trauma
these people have suffered simply because they live in this context of war
should not be downplayed (Lischer, 2006).
The danger with
humanitarian aid and humanitarian aid organizations is that things such as food
and water need to be directed and prioritized to those who are most in need. The
difficulty when it comes to countries that are in political/military conflict
is identifying those who are most in need of assistance (Lischer, 2006).
The roles that
social workers play in the context of political and military conflict is
important however it is also important when working as a social worker in these
contexts to not forget about your cultural lens (Assan, 2011). When working
within this area it is important to remember that the context may not necessarily
be from a western cultural paradigm, therefore it is important to ensure that the
practices undertaken are culturally safe, sensitive and appropriate as this can
dictate the effectiveness of the work (Hassan, 2011). He states that it is essential to observe and think about
all culture not just ethnic culture because this could have impact on how we
engage with other stakeholders such as military personnel but also most
importantly it could also hinder engagement with clients in this context (Hassan,
2011).
One of the reasons
that appropriate communication skills are necessary for social workers in the context
of war is that war can often be a direct cause of complex trauma issues for
civilians living or having lived in these sorts of conditions. As already
mentioned a social worker in this context has a role to play with helping
people with there complex trauma needs (Daley, 1999). One aspect of complex trauma related issues such as PTSD
(Post traumatic stress disorder) is it can hinder the way people communicate. It
is important that we get to know individual situations rather than assuming we
know what’s going on for them as this can potentially disempower clients
(Denvno, 2010). When working with clients from these backgrounds it is
essential to take on anti oppressive, ethno-sensitive and empowerment
frameworks to assist the clients wellbeing (Deveno, 2010). A skill that social workers should utilize
within a macro level context is the need to advocate and engage in public
debate around the issues that social workers face when working in this context.
It seems that social workers in the context of war seem to be absent or hidden
as it is not widely debated in the public domain or in the social work
literature (Deveno, 2010).
This paper thus
far has discussed roles of social workers, the context they work in, the
challenges faced by social workers and the principles that they can base there
practice on. This next section will discuss the role of social workers in
relation to a specific case study in the Gaza Community Mental Health Program
and discuss its relevance to social work.
In December 1987 a
mass movement of civil disobedience occurred in Gaza due to ongoing deaths of
citizens by traffic accidents involving Israeli armed forces which caused
intense conflict (Jong, 2002). Civilians were subjected to beatings, long
exposure to heat/cold, forced to watch or subjected torture and were subjected
to food deprivation (Jong 2002).
This resulted in many issues relating to the horrific treatment of these
people refer to (appendix 1). As a result
this prompted a psychiatrist to set up a non-for profit non-
governmental mental health service to help those effected by war trauma. It has
three main objectives
·
Enabling Gazans to cope with
their traumatic experiences through public awareness, social support and individual treatment
·
Strengthen professional
expertise in areas of mental health and human rights that are relevant to
people of Gaza. This is done
through professional training in the areas of health, education and social
services
·
Preventing further abuse from occurring by working towards an atmosphere of
respect and openness
(Jong, 2002).
The goals seem to
have a very similar focus to what the IFSW outlines social workers to be
orientated to do (IFSW, 2013). The
main areas the IFSW seem to be in common with the Gaza community mental health
program (GCMHP) is that they both talk about improving the mental health and
human rights for vulnerable people.
The GCMHP discusses the promotion of democratic change in the region
based on respect for human rights and human dignity that take into account
community needs and the local culture (Jong, 2002). The IFSW’s specific policy on international peace and
conflict values around democratic change are very much situated in the same
arena. It asserts commitment to peace and non-violence and believes that social
justice can only be achieved through non-violent methods (IFSW, 2012). Trauma and counseling is one of the
areas that social workers work within the GCMHP . This comprises of teams
specializing in trauma work. The main aim of this project is to connect with
people who are victims of Israeli aggression. The main goal of this program is to strengthen effected
persons’ mental health and to protect effected persons from further
psychological harm (Arabpsynet Journal, 2004). The unique aspect of this
program is it looks at psychological trauma and the causes through a social
lens and also tries to combine a medical and social view of mental health
recovery, by connecting sufferers with their culture and community (Arabpsynet
Journal, 2004).
This case study also considers another aspect relevant to social work practice in an context of international armed conflict and that is international human rights laws (Jong, 2002) Israel is a signatory to the United Nations convention against torture and also the Israeli high court prohibits the maltreatment of prisoners and the use of torture to extract confessions from prisoners (Jong, 2002; UN Convention against Torture, 1997). Despite these instruments in place the official line of the Israeli government is that they use moderate physical pressure on prisoners if they believe they have information on a terrorist attack (Jong, 2002). There have been long standing criticisms of the treatment of Palestinians who are seen to be ‘secuirty suspects’ this is despite the fact that people who are subject to this kind of torture are rarely ever charged with anything (Imseis, 2001). These criticisms call into question the seriousness of Israel’s commitment to international human rights laws that they ratified (Imeis, 2001). International human rights laws and local common law which outlaws the practice of torture and provides a legal framework for social workers to advocate of behalf of their clients (Grosso, 2001). These frameworks can help social workers to advocate on behalf of clients from a macro level context as documents such as the Geneva convention, UN convention against torture and the decision by the Israeli high court make it clear what obligations Israel has when integrating people who are believed to be connected with terrorism (Grosso, 2001).
Even though GCMHP is run mainly my internal staff it is financially supported by different aid charities. One of those charities is Grass Roots International which is a US charity that takes donations and sends them to support various international causes one being GCMHP (Grass Roots International, 2012). It is important that financial aid is delivered to where it is needed (Grass roots International, 2012). The funding need increased significantly in late 2008 because on December 30 2008 an Israeli F16 launched an airstrike on a Palestinian police station 70m away from the GCMHP offices. As a result there was massive damage done to the GCMHP office causing this important services to cease its operations (Gaza Community Mental Health Programe, 2008). As a result of the bombings of 2008 an initiative was launched by Grassroots International and its international partners which was a community garden. It was more of a symbolic gesture that Gazans are rebuilding their lives and are still suffering as result of Israeli occupation but the reality is that getting international aid into Gaza is still highly controlled and often restricted by Israeli blockades (Grass Roots International, 2012). In this context when social workers practice in the context of international aid delivery, they have to weigh up idealism with what is realistic. In this situation it may not be possible to get international aid in as the political & religious tensions around Gaza are an ongoing problem (Austcare World Humanitarian Aid, 2008). In this situation social workers may take on a role advocating political change from a world view context to call on Israel to abide by the international law it has ratified and also abide by civil law that has been created by its own legal system (Ki-moon, 2012).
This paper has analysed
social worker practice in military and political conflicts and identified three
critical roles. These were as workers in primary health care, including
physical and mental health; international humanitarian law responses and the
front line delivery of aid in conflict zones. These are in accordance with the
themes identified at the 2012 Joint World Conference on Social Work and
Development. They relate also to the principles of the (AASW) Australian
Association of Social workers and (IFSW) International Federation of Social
workers which are empowerment, liberation and enhancing people’s wellbeing.
Although the three role were discussed as discrete it was recognized that they
are not always distinct but often interface. The paper also analysed a specific
case study which highlighted the importance of these three roles within social
work practice. Finally this essay highlighted gaps in the knowledge base and
demonstrated the future need of social workers to engage in critical debate
regarding their roles in political and military conflicts.
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