INDEPTH: A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
Searching for my place in Development
By Aly-Khan Rajani, CARE Canada | February 13, 2004
Aly-Khan Rajani
It was the best party I'd attended since my arrival in Afghanistan two months earlier to work for the UN.
Hot homemade pizzas were served, music blared, the company was a fascinating mix of people - mostly other development professionals from around the world. This was my first war zone and my first real job in my field after completing my degree in International Development Studies at the University of Toronto. I was 23 years old.
The festivities ended abruptly as three horrendous loud booms shook us to the bone. The soldiers in the crowd ran towards the sound while the rest of us dispersed rapidly into our vehicles.
"The first thing you do when entering a new space is investigate the place -look for escape routes and places to hide in case of a bomb or rocket, " I recalled from my UN security briefing on the first day I arrived.
In this case, I really hadn't looked around the garden party - so, I just followed the crowd. The noises we heard were later identified as three rockets that were targeted at the U.S. Embassy just down the road. That was a close call - too close for comfort.
I stayed in Afghanistan for four months, and then accepted a CARE job in Ottawa. Packing, unpacking and repacking had always been the story of my life.
I was born in Vancouver but raised in Edmonton - my family moved there when I was five years old. In Edmonton, my mother sold real estate. Every time she saw a house she liked for our family, she would call my dad and before we knew it, we were moving again.
This was great practice for my chosen profession. I moved to Toronto for university and thereafter to Zambia for my co-op placement. Following eight months in Canada to complete my coursework and thesis, I was in Afghanistan and then moved again, this time to Ottawa.
My parents thought the Afghanistan stint would get the travel bug out of my system. Little did they know my adventures were just beginning. Communications work with CARE took me across parts of Canada as well as abroad, including going back to Zambia with MuchMusic's George Stromboulopoulus and Swollen Members' Prevail to shoot a documentary on HIV/AIDS.
The most exhilarating voyage began when CARE's president, John Watson, called me to his desk one day in late January last year. "Aly-Khan," he said, "I want you to go to Jordan and Iraq." My response was just as simple. "Okay, John."
I think he was worried by my lack of expression, so he clarified: "You know what this means, right? If Baghdad is under siege, you may have to stay."
"When do you want me to go?" I replied. Of course, family and friends were worried. As if Afghanistan wasn't enough of an adventure to keep me amused, they thought.
They didn't get it. This wasn't about going on an adventure. This was my work. What I studied to do. What I have identified to be my niche, my contribution to the world, as small as it may seem in the grand scheme of things.
This is a challenge I thrive on - learning more, understanding more, and developing as a person and professional to be able to give more back to the people who need it most. This is what strangers did for my family when they had to flee as political refugees from Uganda in 1972.
Canada opened its doors to people it didn't know. A generation later, my parents have settled well in Canada and I have the great good fortune to live here. Now it's time for me to give something back.
People have sometimes asked me why I chose a career in development. I think it stemmed from childhood influences, including my family's history. We are of Indian descent, five generations back. My forefathers were Muslims in India at a time when being a religious minority was difficult. Thus, they took the plunge and moved by tiny boats on a journey that wiped out thousands, from India to East Africa in search of a better life.
When I was young I visited family in India and East Africa. Seeing the poverty in every nook and cranny of India made me realize how lucky I was that my family left when they could - and were successful at doing so.
Canadians are good at development work. With multiculturalism and diversity two pillars of our society, we are good at listening and learning in the field. My work in media and public relations allows me the opportunity to share what I see by reporting to the media and public the real stories from the ground, from the true frontline workers in the developing world.
People I have worked with have also helped me understand my role. One such person is Doras Chirwa. She is the HIV/AIDS co-ordinator in CARE Zambia. She is also the mother of four orphans plus her own three children. Those orphans are her sisters' children and her sisters have died of AIDS.
Doras is one of the strongest women I know. She is my inspiration and hope. Furthermore, she has helped me understand that Zambia, like every country, is full of capable people who are best positioned to define their needs and design ways to meet them.
One of the key lessons I learned early on is that international development staff, like me, must rely on local staff and experience. People like Doras know what needs to be done and do it every day. The Canadian approach isn't to assume we have the answer and apply it – instead we learn from local people about how best to solve problems, and we provide suggestions and expertise when asked.
Whether it be Afghanistan, Jordan, Zambia or places yet unknown, I know that together we can improve conditions of life for poor people, and make the world a better place for all of us.