Green Helmets – Dialogue Means Respect
Another day in Kabul. Yet another bomb attack. The constant fighting has made work increasingly difficult for the human aid relief agencies in the capital. The international organisation 'Medicines Sans Frontiers' (Doctors without borders) has even withdrawn completely from Afghanistan, following the killing of five of their workers.
Faraway from the big cities several small teams of Green Helmets are working with the rural population to rebuild houses, schools and workshops for local tradesmen. Staying away from cities is one way to ensure security for the Green Helmets.
The teams also live in the villages they are working in – the best way to stay safe, says Dr Rupert Neudeck, one of the founders of the German Green Helmets.
"We have respect for their religion, their way of life"
Neudeck has travelled Iraq and Afghanistan extensively. The way they were welcomed by a Shiite community in northern Iraq, for instance, was astonishing, says Neudeck.
"The Imam and the members of the community welcomed us very cordially," Neudeck remembers. "And we made similar experiences in western Afghanistan. The people there were extremely hospitable towards us. They realized that we have a certain kind of respect for their culture, their religion and their way of life. And that, in turn, generates open-mindedness for other religions."
One of the volunteers who has dedicated three months of his time to work for the Green Helmets is the German Jens Spilner. He has helped to construct a school in the village Sang Kutan.
"I really enjoy being with the people here. You get to know them, their habits – it's really interesting."
Back home, Jens Spilner works as a renovator. Being a builder or a tradesman is an advantage if you want to become a "Gruenhelm", as they are called in Germany. The Green Helmet volunteers work in small teams of two or three people, so it is easy to move around.
Working with the villagers
They ask the locals to participate in the final planning of any project. And unlike some other aid organisations they do not bring in their own builders but work with the villagers creating a community project.
This sometimes causes trouble as the locals may expect to be paid. The funds for projects are gathered by donations. But the Green Helmets merely supply the building knowledge and raw materials. Only 0.5 percent of the Green helmets budget is spent on administrative costs, says Dr Rupert Neudeck.
"The advantage and the privilege that we have is that we are totally non-bureaucratic. We are, in a way, anti-bureaucratic. We want to get the full freedom and independence of our operations."
Christians and Muslims working together
The Green helmets encourage Christians and Muslims to become volunteers. Working together is meant to foster communication between the religions. Aiman Mazyek is one of the founders of Green Helmets and vice president of the German Central Committee of Muslims. He says the Green Helmets volunteers are often the first Christians the villagers have ever met.
"Suddenly they have a chance to talk, to ask questions about the bible. They learn that 'those others' have feelings, fears and doubts, too and slowly the prejudice that the people in the west are fighting against those in the east and the other way around, begins to fall apart."
So far the Green Helmets volunteers are working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Congo and Palestine. In the school in Sang Kutal, which Jens Spilner helped build, 750 children will learn how to read and write. Hopefully preparing them for a better life.
"The children are so happy to learn, they are quite disciplined," judges Spilner. "I think they are really happy, going to school."
For planned projects in North Korea and Vietnam to go ahead the Green Helmets need more funds – and volunteers like Jens Spilner. But most of all, the organisation needs to stay small and un-bureaucratic.
Stefanie Suren
DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD © 2004