The Heartbeat of the Humanitarian

When she is offered her first job as a Protection Officer with the Directorate of Refugees at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala, Janet cannot help but smile at the opportunity to build a career in humanitarian work. As a qualified lawyer, family and friends consider her career already made for only one thing - legal practice. But Janet had other ideas. Since law school, she harbored a secret desire to work with international development organizations rather than practice law. A particular focus on refugees beckoned. To Janet, protection of refugees' rights that are most often ignored seems the ideal job for her. As she takes up her job, she has no idea how much her legal training has prepared her for this work. Until she digs deep into her work does she find out the 'baggage' that comes with her seemingly easy work. Travel to respond to emergencies is not fun especially when done without much notice and often through difficult and dangerous terrain. Most often she is away from her family and stuck with strangers. Interaction with many frustrated and heartbroken refugees who share their horrific experiences as they flee their conflict ridden and war torn countries in search of help exposes her to a certain ugly side to life she could not imagine! With a feeling of anger at perpetrators of war and violence and the indifference and inaction of many to such situations, Janet starts pondering if she is in the right place and whether her efforts and those of the organizations she works for make any difference. Her work turns out not as simple as she thought it would be but rather traumatizing! Will Janet continue with humanitarian work or run right to court where many expect her to be? She soon realizes her legal training alone cannot help her cope or help her make a decision. In the end, Janet has to draw strength from other sources including her warm, compassionate and yet rebellious childhood.