Another day at the office

Imagine you are sitting in a meeting in your company conference room. You're discussing the annual budget, or new performance targets, or when you're going to have the going away party for Frank. Suddenly, the window to your left explodes into shards of glass, and a steaming chunk of metal lands near the conference table. It's a rocket propelled grenade. Your eyes fixate on it and you wait for what seems like an eternity for it to explode and end your life. Eventually, you realise you've drawn another breath, and another one after that. You're going to live.

Sound outlandish? This happened to my colleagues in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, yesterday. The RPG didn't detonate, alhamdullilah, although one of my colleagues was deeply cut by the flying glass. They fled to the fifth floor and hunkered down as the gunfire and mortars thundered. They called our operations centre at HQ, advising them of the danger and asking what they should do. My inbox filled with messages from colleagues all over -- in HQ, the regional office, the sub-offices, from Kinshasa itself -- as everyone tried to sort out who was where and who needed help. MONUC -- the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo -- rang us to say they were extracting our people in Armoured Personnel Carriers as soon as the firing subsided. (It didn't subside for several hours.) Meanwhile, the Blue Helmets evacuated schools and embassies, waiting for the opportune moment to "extract" my colleagues from the buildings and shipping containers where they'd sheltered. The messages from my friends in Kin were calm, but clearly under massive strain. Our security folks tried to assure them help was on the way. Personally, there was nothing I could do but wring my hands and ask for news. That, and sit in the Situation Centre of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and listen to them try tp piece together what the hell was going on.

I've been having a bad week, feeling fed up with HQ BS. But things like this remind me that my work complaints are nothing. There are about 9,000 of my colleagues out there in the field, many of whom put their lives on the line every day. I've said it before, but aid workers are the bravest people on earth. I am just in awe of their courage.