By Nita Bhalla
NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - A U.N. decision to temporarily relocate more than half its expatriate staff following a deadly attack in Afghanistan has hurt morale among aid groups working there but not enough for any of them to follow suit.
Aid agencies said last month's Taliban attack which killed six U.N. staff in Kabul had forced an extensive security review with many of them considering employing more guards in field
offices or using alternative routes for aid delivery. However, they said they had no intention of pulling out staff.
"We've working in Afghanistan for the past 20 years on meeting humanitarian and development needs and have no plans to discontinue this work or relocate our staff," said Ashley Jackson, communications officer for Oxfam in Afghanistan.
The United Nations announced last Thursday plans to temporarily relocate 600 of its 1,100 expat staff within and outside the country after Taliban suicide bombers hiding explosive vests under police uniforms entered a guesthouse used
by U.N. staff, killing six on Oct. 28.
Afghanistan is trying to emerge from three decades of conflict, but fighting between Islamist Taliban insurgents and Afghan and NATO-led international forces still rages in parts of the country, hampering relief and reconstruction.
The United Nations said its decision would not affect frontline humanitarian services since staff critical to the delivery of aid would remain in place.
Despite such assurances, aid workers and analysts said the U.N. decision would weigh on the aid community and slow down coordination efforts in Afghanistan where hundreds of aid groups are working to deliver everything from food, water and shelter to roads and schools to locals plagued by decades of conflict.
"Obviously, when there is a decision to withdraw certain staff or temporarily relocate them, that does shake the confidence of the aid community," said Sarah Bailey, research officer at the London-based Overseas Development Institute.
"It can have a domino effect, where one leaves and theneveryone else follows, but I don't think that will be the case in this instance."
PLAYING INTO MILITANT HANDS?
With a staff of around 5,600 national and expat staff, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is the main intermediary between the government and international aid agencies, helping to coordinate all relief work.
Aid workers said the U.N. decision to move its staff could mean a setback for their own operations.
"The U.N. holds monthly meetings on the coordination of various types of relief. This could be scaled down or temporarily closed down altogether because the U.N. people are not present," said Lex Kassenberg, country director for CARE International in Kabul.
"Also, the U.N. capacity is obviously drastically reduced, so their internal operations will no doubt be a priority and issues that aid agencies have may become second or third priority."
Kassenberg however noted that it was still unclear which U.N. staff would be relocated, adding it would probably take a few weeks to have a more concrete idea of the impact.
Aid workers in Kabul said the U.N. decision to pull out such a large number of its expat staff -- pending improved security at guesthouses and other sites frequented by them -- was a surprise for many in the aid community.
"Some people feel that it was a bit of a knee-jerk or even an over-reaction and that the move not only plays into the hands of the militants who want exactly this," one foreign aid worker, who did not want to be named, told AlertNet by phone.
"It also leaves us all feeling more vulnerable and puts pressure on the heads of smaller aid agencies to evacuate their own international staff which can be difficult as they don't have
the same resources as the United Nations."
"SOFTER TARGET"
Last month's attack on U.N. staff reflects how militants are increasingly targeting aid workers for kidnappings and killings.
In August, two Afghans working for the U.N., one NATO service member and at least five Afghan civilians were killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a NATO convoy. The Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, ANSO, says there have been more than 114 security-related incidents Â? such as murders, abductions and ambushes Â? involving aid groups so far this year.
Not only are aid workers at risk of attack by militants, but they are also being caught up in NATO-led military operations against the insurgents.
On Friday, NATO-led forces in the southern city of Qalat stormed an Afghan Red Crescent Society office, causing damage to the building and temporarily detaining two staff members.
"With the security situation as it is in Afghanistan, there is certainly a feeling that our humanitarian space is shrinking," said Phillip Charlesworth, head of delegation of the
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Afghanistan.
Other aid workers fear that with the U.N. ramping up its security, it will become a "hard target" for militants leaving aid agencies as softer targets.
When it comes to aid delivery, analysts say organisations whose operations are at risk could make better use of local partners. They also point out the resilience of local populations.
"It is important to acknowledge that local people, who have been dealing with insecurity and do not have predictable lives in terms of assistance, also have other ways of meeting their
basic needs," ODI's Bailey said.
(Editing by Katie Nguyen)
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