On 29th March 2023, the BPP Human Rights Unit welcomed Alexandra Holker, Humanitarian Policy Officer at the International Directorate of the British Red Cross to discuss the British Red Cross’s response to humanitarian emergencies, including the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria as well as her work on Climate Policy with a focus on the intersection between protecting the environment and human rights. The event was chaired by HRU Events Student Directors, Aisha Shiza Tariq and Angella Marzola-Browne. Dashaiyani Jeyakumar reports.
On 29th March 2023, students attended the BPP Human Rights Unit’s online speaker event with guest Alexandra Holker. Alexandra Holker has worked for the British Red Cross since 2020 and is currently working as Humanitarian Policy Officer at the International Directorate. She has extensive experience working in India, the US, the UK and Tanzania for organisations such as the UN, ICRC and IPPPF. She has worked in policy, advocacy and research in areas such as climate policy, displacement, UK parliament policy and gender.
Angella asked Alexandra for a brief introduction of the British Red Cross and its work. Alexandra explained that the British Red Cross is one of the oldest national societies within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the largest humanitarian network in the world. It is governed by a Board of Trustees and the Royal Charter. The organisation was founded in 1870 and provides crisis support to anyone, anywhere in the world. Its priorities include disasters and emergencies, health and social welfare, as well as migration and displacement.
Alexandra joined the British Red Cross three weeks after finishing her Masters thesis in November 2020. She started as a Public Affairs Coordinator in the UK Policy team before moving into the International Directorate as a Humanitarian Policy Coordinator. She was also promoted to Humanitarian Policy Officer last year. As a Policy Officer, 75% of her work focuses on climate policy. Her role is varied as it is a mixture of writing internal and external briefings, speaking at events, organising round tables, and working with the government, development offices, and other NGO and movement societies like ICRC, and IFRC. She has had multiple roles in the British Red Cross. She also founded and runs the Neurodiversity network at the British Red Cross. Her work is very diverse, especially at the early stages of her career.
Along with that, Alexandra has a varied academic background as she graduated from St. Andrews University in 2019 with a degree in Art History specialising in women’s representation in South Asia and she also holds her Masters degree from SOAS in Development Studies achieved in 2020. She explained how studying at these two institutions helped her realise that she wanted the role of humanitarian policy officer in this sector. Her first experience was at the House of Parliament when she was 17 years old and that experience sparked her passion for policy change. After her first year at Universty, working in Tanzania as a volunteer on a UK government scheme taught her a lot about the potential harmful effects of aid work, white saviours, and volunteerism in this sector. She also gained an understanding of the ethical implications of government volunteering. Throughout the rest of her time, she ran numerous gender equality initiatives, such as with an organisation devoted to getting women into the workplace and more jobs, speakers events and UN initiatives. She spent much time doing feminist work.
Discussing how to find a job in this sector and dealing with the challenges of this, Alexandra advises that the best thing to do is email and message people on LinkedIn, ask for a call, ask for internships despite it being paid or unpaid. As a student, she used every summer and holiday to gain experience, such as through internships. This could combine her passion for travelling. She explained that emailing speakers or people who are involved in the development sector would help in getting an opportunity as it is more about communicating and contacting a lot of people for voluntary experiences. She further added that it is really important and impressive compared to the fact that one could afford to get to New York which is a more privileged experience. She added rejection is a normal part of seeking a job. If one wants to work and get experience in this sector, one should be open-minded about the organisations that one chooses to work for as working in this sector is always unpredictable.
Angella also asked about Alexandra’s social media use and how she uses Twitter in her work. Alexandra explained that she uses Twitter extensively to follow up on her talks and attend panels. As it is a formal and institutional approach to working with the public and governments, she can use it in her activism work rather than in her policy work. She also spoke of founding the “Spare Ribs Club” as a passion outside of the Red Cross. This can be found on Instagram and is a community of young feminists explore radical feminism and radical activism.
Moving on to the specifics of the Syria-Turkiye earthquake and how the British Red Cross has contributed to the aid effort; the Red Cross Movement is on the ground in both countries aiding rescue efforts and providing emergency medical treatment, shelter, food, warm blankets and winter kits. The Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent help people on the ground. Both National Societies have roots already in the communities they serve providing unique access to the hardest areas. The IFRC is also bringing in international support efforts and the British Red Cross use cash assistance and cash programming. It is a way of providing humanitarian and early recovery assistance using cash vouchers. It can be used in various crises, and it is flexible for individual needs. Concerning the recent Syrian-Turkiye cash assistance, this provides cash to cover basic needs for two months, and other cash voucher systems for long-term needs. As a result, the cash will be distributed elsewhere through the remittance company. Families will have full access to their identified needs. A rapid market assessment is carried out before this comprehensive response to ensure that basic commodities are available in sufficient quantity and quality on local markets. As a result of the February earthquake, continuous market monitoring has been conducted throughout this implementation.
Using these systems within the national societies of each country and according to the circumstances before, during and after the crisis, cash can be used as a mode of delivering humanitarian assistance making it versatile, dignified and capable of meeting a wide range of needs determined by the people themselves. The British Red Cross has specific expertise in this area. They have a cash hub and have invested in building the capacities and systems so that the Syrian Red Crescent could be ready to set up a cash programme such as this one which has really helped in response to the earthquake.
Alexandra discussed how climate policy would alter our society if it became a human right and what that entails. She explained that the British Red Cross is not a human rights-based organisation and spoke of climate justice and human rights from her own knowledge. Climate policy and human rights refer to the recognition that all individuals have the right to a healthy environment and a stable climate. In addition, governments have a duty to protect and preserve these rights. Climate policy should respect and uphold basic human rights. These rights include life, health, food, water, and shelter. Taking into account the differential impact of change on differential populations, it should involve the meaningful participation of those affected by climate policies. Alexandra answered the question of what are the key obstacles to making this a universal right for everyone. The first concern was the lack of political leadership to prioritise climate policy and recognise it as a fundamental human right. One of the challenges is that balancing the interests of different stakeholders and the need to protect human rights. For example, social industries, climate activists, and government leaders are unable to make a decision and cannot agree on how to move forward with the climate crisis. Also, there may be economic and technological barriers to climate policy. In the UK, many people do not think climate change and global warming are a reality.
Alexandra further continued that enshrining human rights with climate policy means that governments and other stakeholders have a legal obligation to protect and promote the rights to a healthy environment and a stable climate. It would also ensure that current policies are designed and implemented in a way that respects the fundamental human rights. This could involve developing legal frameworks that prioritise human rights and environmental protection. Enshrining climate policy in human rights would require a holistic approach that integrates social economic and environmental factors into policymaking and implementation. It is imperative to remember the Red Cross Movement principles, especially neutrality and independence.
Angella asked Alexandra about the emotional and toll of working with people who have been through traumatic events. Alexandra believes it is necessary to devote life to humanitarianism and politics. The barrier between what is happening in other people’s lives and what is happening during the day is a grey area. It is imperative to be empathic but not emotional about what one hears. There are some strategies and resources available as well as training to help you improve your well-being and there is also something called trauma-informed working. To understand humanitarian work and trauma or the people you are helping, the British Red Cross focuses on trauma-informed leadership. One thing you should know when working in this sector is that as much as you devote your life to this field of work, having a personal life outside is crucial.
Students were also encouraged to ask questions. Alexandra was asked about the British Red Cross’s support to people with disabilities. Alexandra explained that a lot of work needs to be done on diversity in the humanitarian sector in general. Currently, the British Red Cross encourages its staff to work from home and in the office. They are willing to do as much as they can to help. Alexandra spoke about how to work for the British Red Cross and concluded by saying that there are other ways to support the organisation. Apart from donations, everyone is welcome to participate or volunteer online or in -person. This includes organising a fundraising event or sharing a message on social media.
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