INTHEBLACK December - January 2022 - Magazine - Page 39
“Play the long game. While timing is, of course, always
critical, don’t be rushed when making your decision. Stop,
think and reflect. Ask yourself, what is able to be achieved?”
JENIFER AUSTIN FCPA, UNRWA
refugee camps and provides food relief
to 1.2 million refugees, with an annual
cost base of about US$500 million
(A$778 million). In the aftermath of the
May 2021 tensions, there was an influx of
additional donor funds to assist with the
reconstruction and post-conflict needs.
The pandemic brought significant health
risks for the people of Gaza, who live in one
of the most densely populated areas in the
world. The global health crisis had financial
ramifications for UNRWA and required
modifications to the delivery of its programs.
“Working through COVID-19 lockdown
was not easy,” says Austin. “National staff
generally don’t have access to regular
electricity, sometimes only for a few hours
a day, so working remotely is not an option
for everyone and can be problematic for
those who do.”
Food deliveries have been made compliant
with pandemic safety measures, vaccination
clinics have been set up and new efficiencies,
such as telemedicine for health consultations,
have been introduced.
There is a fine balancing act between
closing schools and keeping them open.
Students rarely have access to laptops and
may only have one smartphone in their
household, so printed learning materials
have to be distributed.
During the height of the pandemic, there
were the challenges of having to backfill for
staff away due to the pandemic, the need
for increased numbers of nursing staff in
the health clinics, along with the additional
social issues that arise in a pandemic.
On top of all this, it has been Austin’s
responsibility to organise the medical
evacuations of severe COVID-19-affected
UN staff to Israel, a complex logistical
and time-critical feat, involving multiple
stakeholders at any hour of the day or night.
Expecting the unexpected is part of the
job. Austin says 40 schools, four hospitals
and 19 health centres have been among the
UN services that sustained damage during
the outbreak of violence in May 2021,
and more than 200 Palestinians, including
more than 60 children, were killed – 19
of them students of UNRWA schools.
Balancing the competing demands
within her role requires Austin to trust her
instincts, as well as rely on her experience.
Strategic thinking, she says, requires
patience. “Play the long game,” advises
Austin. “While timing is, of course, always
critical, don’t be rushed when making
your decision. Stop, think and reflect. Ask
yourself, what is able to be achieved?”
Austin acknowledges that saying
“No” is a difficult skill to learn, but, as a
leader, it is about determining what the
priorities are.
Good leadership, says Austin, is
having genuine communication and
an ability to listen, as well as knowing
how to empower a team.
No matter what she sees and deals
with on the ground, Austin must remain
apolitical. Distancing herself from the
politics is a necessary and important
part of operating in a conflict zone.
“We are there to support the refugees
by providing humanitarian assistance
until a political resolution is found. That
[resolution] happens in another arena.”
What keeps her returning to overseas
relief work is knowing she is having
a direct impact on people’s lives and
wellbeing. In her current role, Austin has
had the opportunity to visit schools, meet
refugee children, learn about their school
parliaments and see first-hand how the
money is being spent. She says being out
on the ground is when you really see the
impact you are having on people’s lives.
“One of the things I’ve learned over
the years is, it doesn’t matter where you
are in the world, or what level you are
in your organisation – everybody just
wants the same thing,” says Austin.
“We all want our children and our
families to have a settled life. We want
them to have educational opportunities
and to be successful in whatever pursuits
they aspire to. We are all the same,
wherever we live in the world.”
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DEC 2022
JAN 2023
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