Caravanserai

Beyond the daily commute and the crowds of people who work every day in all of our cities and towns, there exists a vast sea of invisible aid workers out there who work under adverse conditions and often risk their safety to help people in the US and in developing countries and who are the victims of war and natural disasters. The American Red Cross, the Peace Corps, the International Red Cross, Partners In Health, Flying Kites Global, Doctors Without Borders, Catholic Relief Services, Amnesty International, UNICEF, AMREF and thousands of other relief organizations help hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people recieving little or no thanks and often laboring for years in obscurity.

Recently, one of these organizations has decided to give something back to the volunteers and relief workers. This organization has decided to set aside a plot of land and build a retreat for their own aid workers and have offered this service to workers from other organizations. I hear that in the woods of New Hampshire a small farm or community will be developed solely to create a place of respite and a place to heal for the men and women who have given so much to others. Post traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, depression and family discord are often the reward these workers recieve for months and years of living among the poorest and most desparate people in the world. These workers often surrender any hope of living a normal life after some of their experiences and need a place to meet and regroup before heading out to live and work among the poor again.

A 'caravanserai' is a designated place where generations of Asian and African nomadic traders and travellers would stop and restock their stores, trade goods and share news of the road ahead. While we all need some type of place to go when the stress gets to be too much, those tens of thousands of invisible samaritans who live and work to bring hope, food and medicine to the refugees, victims of war, political instability and the economic hardship need a place of their own more than any of us. These workers see things and experience a level of human tragedy that we in America can only imagine. I for one am glad to hear about this type of resource to help support aid workers and I hope that this effort on their behalf leads to more support for their important work abroad.

Photo: S. Butler: Beersheva, Israel 1980