Croatian media interviews former emergency aid worker Paul Bradbury about earthquake response

January 5, 2021 – Some thoughts by a former emergency aid worker on the earthquake response in Petringa, Sisak and Jelena.

After last week’s Petringa earthquake, TCN visited Tringa, Sisak, Glena and Majsky Bolgan to try to paint a picture of the reality on the ground from the devastation and emergency response. You can read more in Majske Poljane, Glina, Petrinja: A Foreign Perspective of Croatia’s Emergency Response (there is also a Croatian version).

I was contacted by Croatian media afterwards for an interview about the earthquake response as a former emergency humanitarian aid worker. Before moving to Croatia in 2003, she worked as an aid worker for CARE International in emergency response in the Urals, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, and Somalia in 2002.

You can see the original article in Croatian here, and the full interview in English below. Please be warned that if you decide to watch the video of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia that killed 25,000 people, that is horrific.

I visited the earthquake area. What are your general impressions? Is it as bad as it looks?

I think earthquake sites are always worse than they appear, as many buildings may still be standing and relatively intact from the outside, but are actually habitable.

I had never covered an earthquake before as a journalist and wasn’t sure where to start. We decided to leave early (five in the morning), in order not to add to the traffic. We decided to start on Majske Poljane, which we have heard is the hardest hit. It was horrific, with every building damaged, and many completely destroyed. One always gets only part of the story on the ground. It was only later that I learned that the destroyed house of 10 puzzled horses was our first stop was the house where four people had tragically died.

After this shocking introduction, Glena and Petringa seemed – on the surface – a lot less harmful. But as I said earlier, a lot of real damage isn’t available to the naked eye. Some officials compared it to the ruins of Hiroshima, which I don’t think was very useful. This impression is also due to the great cleaning done during the night. A friend in Petringa showed me pictures he took shortly after the earthquake struck 24 hours ago – it was a completely different place. My full respect to everyone who responded with such speed and magnificence.

(Gyumri in Armenia after the 1988 earthquake)

The largest earthquake site I visited as an aid worker was the city of Kyomry in Armenia, where a 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed 25,000 people in 1988. Gorbachev promised to rebuild everything, but the Soviet Union soon stopped, and we were providing humanitarian aid to the people who lived. In which. After 5 years. Although I do not expect anything similar to the same situation in Petringa, Jalina and Sisak, it will be encouraging to know that the region will not be forgotten once the initial media interest and emergency response fades away, as it was in 1995.

As a former aid worker, could you tell me from your experience what is most important if you want to help people who have experienced a disaster of some kind?

Organization is above emotion. However, I must say that I do not think Croatia has many lessons to learn from foreigners, or former aid workers like me. Croatia’s emergency response is second to none, and no country is stronger than Croatia in the ordeal.

But the issue of organization is the key. The big motivation is to get in the car and bring food and supplies to help. Without coordination, this can quickly clog the system, as well as neglect lesser known areas. Croatia has experts in emergency response. We interviewed HGSS President Josep Granic while he was in Petringa and asked him what advice he would give to those looking to volunteer. His answer was to call the local Civil Protection headquarters, which is sound advice.

I must note that it is important at times to pay attention to the type of assistance that is being sent. While cash donations are most welcome, sending materials randomly isn’t always beneficial. Not only can it take up valuable storage space and time to document and store it, but it may not be useful either. Perhaps the most extreme example I can provide from my personal experience after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, my project received 20 tons of vegetable seeds from an American seed company. This was enough to cover large parts of Africa, and it turned out to be a tax write-off from the company. But it actually slowed things down, as there was no description for 1.5 million bags of seeds in the container. As a responsible agency, I had to hire 20 local workers for three weeks to document the gift. It was especially frustrating to find that we got a lot of useless things, like 8,000 bags of catnip seeds.

I didn’t follow the response in detail in terms of aid distribution, but a survival package of 200 kn, 400 kuna, etc. with a list of essential items would make things more consistent, and people would know which items were most in demand.

Should humanitarian access be centralized?

Yes sure. In Rwanda, a country the size of Wales, we had 143 NGOs roaming around the country in white SUVs, some with bibles, some with food, and many with agendas.

Croatia shouldn’t be any different, but there is always a sub-plot called politics. I felt overwhelmed again after witnessing such a wonderful early response from the heart. Now the accusations, accusations and distrust have begun. You and your readers will know more about it than me.

But the truth is that the response shows one of the biggest divisions in Croatia today. Distrust of the state, and lots of intimate private initiatives. Back in the days of the aid workers, it was unthinkable to raise doubts about the reputation of the Red Cross, but there was a lot on Index and elsewhere about it. Lots of foreigners asked me where to donate. I recommend guys at Glas Poduzetnika. They are not only honest and transparent, but they are large enough and have enough experience to work within the emergency response system to achieve maximum impact.

What is the problem with the response of the Croatian local and state authorities to this situation? Why is everything moving so slowly but at the same time in a chaotic way?

I am not aware of the details of this and it would probably be better for me to leave it for others to comment.

On the other hand, many citizens and groups are doing an amazing job of helping those affected by the earthquake. Is there a way to better coordinate these efforts?

Reverts to the emotion above regulation. Coordination can always be better, and Croatia has a lot of experience in this field. I think it would be better if there was more confidence in the authorities. I would suggest that people put their natural desire to provide practical help under scrutiny and figure out the most practical way to help.

One of the biggest problems is traffic. Should there be some kind of timetable for using the roads that survived the earthquake?

I was really surprised how little the traffic was when we visited the next day. We left too early to avoid that, but it looks like the police managed things well. There were a few checkpoints around Petranga. We were allowed to proceed with a press release. Traffic control is something that Croatia does well. I’ll never forget how effective we were to confine us to our home cities in March – scary but extremely effective.

For the latest news from the Tringa earthquake, visit the dedicated TCN section.

If you want to donate to earthquake relief efforts, my recommendation is the Glass Podozetnica (Entrepreneur Voice) Fund – full details here.

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