(Reprinted from The Beverly Citizen, 2/14/05)

Beverly grad helps aid the forgotten victims of the world
By Lissa Harris/ LHARRIS@CNC.COM
Friday, February 11, 2005

Long after the TV cameras have gone home, and the attention of the world is on some fresh new emergency, humanitarian aid will still be desperately needed by the victims of the world's worst violence and disaster.
     And so, as communications director of the International Rescue Committee in New York, NY, Melissa Winkler has her work cut out for her.
     "Where there is media attention is not always necessarily where there's the greatest need," she said. "That's my goal: to try, every day, to help different types of audiences understand some of these conflicts that are not on the radar screen of the world."

    Winkler, a 1984 graduate of Beverly High School, left a career in radio journalism to work for the International Rescue Committee five years ago. Since then, she's been helping the organization get the word out about the crises of the world.

     The International Rescue Committee makes a concerted effort to eliminate administrative overhead, and spends about 90 cents on the dollar directly on humanitarian aid. This makes publicizing the organization's work a challenge, said Winkler.
     The result is that the Rescue Committee is not nearly as well known as the other international aid organization that shares its initials, the International Red Cross. But with little fanfare, the organization has been quietly providing relief for some of the world's worst humanitarian crises for since 1933.

     Like many other international aid organizations, the Rescue Committee has been overwhelmed by the tragic aftermath of December's tsunami in Southeast Asia. While the Committee mostly provides assistance to communities fragmented by violence and political conflict, the scope of the tsunami has made it a priority for the organization, which was already providing aid in Indonesia in response to civil strife.

     "It's an organization that normally doesn't respond to natural disasters. We focus on the man-made variety - war, persecution, violent conflict - and our focus is on assisting refugees and other people who have been uprooted by conflict," she said. "We've stayed [in Southeast Asia], and are planning to provide not only emergency assistance, but be there for the long haul and do infrastructure rehabilitation, education."
     The Rescue Committee has redoubled its efforts in Southeast Asia, bringing in 40 new outside staff and recruiting 120 locals to help communities destroyed by the tsunami to rebuild. The organization will have its work cut out for it in the area for years to come, said Winkler.
     "In some of the remote villages where we're providing assistance, every standing structure has been wiped out. In one community, there are no standing schools, and 70 percent of the teachers did not survive," she said. "It's starting from scratch."
     While the tsunami efforts have been a major focus for the organization, the International Rescue Committee has kept up its efforts in some of the less well-known, but equally dire, crises of the world.
     "The tsunami conflict is really on everyone's hearts and minds right now, but at the same time we're very much trying to maintain attention on some of the more forgotten conflicts of the world," said Winkler. "A place like the Democratic Republic of Congo- it's been the deadliest conflict since the second World War. There have been 3.8 million people who have died in Congo as the result of a war that began there in 1998."
     "It's a balance between meeting this real emergency need, band not taking your eye off of these other crises that are not on the radar screen," she said.
     The International Rescue Committee often remains in areas long after the immediate crisis has passed, helping communities do the slow, unglamorous work of repairing their schools, health care systems and basic infrastructure.
     "We have a focus on strengthening a community to the point where it can care for itself. That's a the core of our mission," said Winkler.
     For more information on the International Rescue Committee's work around the globe, visit their Web site at www.theIRC.org.