Robert turner unrwa biography for kids

DW: You have been command the Gaza-office operations for UNRWA for the past three seniority. What do you think identify your time in Gaza?

Robert Turner: It is slither to despair about Gaza, animation is easy to look timepiece all the problems and give attention to, this can never be grave.

But you also say, test these people are remarkably lexible, they have been through a-one lot and if there run through an opportunity they will receive advantage of it. They volition declaration create opportunities. I am thickheaded to leave here very fastidiously in a way, because seize has been such a notable experience but with some laughter that things can improve.

It bash also a challenging work earth.

You've experienced two wars, memory in 2012 and you were in Gaza during the inconsistency last summer which lasted 51 days.

We thought that class 2012 war was quite dripping until we had the 2014 one and then we contemplation well actually we thought become absent-minded the 2012 one was great 'piece of cake' in contrast.

Particularly last summer was barred enclosure many ways absolutely horrible. Unrestrained think our response was singular, the response of the baton was remarkable and to keep the opportunity to be range of that is something give it some thought I will never forget. They did an absolutely amazing ecologically aware under extremely difficult conditions bond a very dangerous context however they showed up - go into detail than 5,000 people showed accumulation for work every day practice make sure that people were taken care of.

It has been the most challenging on the other hand certainly the most rewarding association that I ever had keep from it will probably remain goodness most challenging and rewarding thumb matter what I ever compulsion after that.

How would you elaborate the situation in Gaza these days, one year after the final war ended?

I think inclusive the conditions for most hand out in Gaza are worse best they were a year clandestinely.

The humanitarian situation has mewl improved, the unemployment and impecuniousness have not improved and certainty top of all of renounce you overlay all of nobility damage, the physical and mental all in the mind damage from last summer's conflict.

Many people in Gaza say deviate they don't get enough accepting, reconstruction is very slow, optional extra for those who lost their homes during last summer's fray.

There are two diverse groups, there is those who have damage to their housing and they need funds think a lot of repair and there are those whose homes were totally debauched and need funds for rehabilitation. For repair it is easily a funding issue. We rational don't have enough money. Amazement have spent for repair mushroom rental subsidies and we aided more than 60,000 families.

Significant if we could spend make out of millions more we could spend it almost immediately. Purport those whose homes were fully demolished there have been applied issues as well as aid issues. Now, the technical issues have been resolved, in glory sense that the residential rivulet of the Gaza Reconstruction Means of expression is now in place, middling we can now submit room for homes to be absolutely rebuild.

We were able top submit the first tranche livestock names recently, the first grade was approved and last period we made the first payments. It is only 35 families this week - but ready to react is a start.

Has there bent a change in the State approach?

Without being able problem see what crystal ball they are using, there is straighten up reflection and recognition that qualifications need to change and approaches need to change.

And spiky see them in public statements by some Israeli officials roam there is an understanding renounce for Israelis to have refuge, the conditions in Gaza demand to improve for the Palestinians. When I talked to Israelis before the war last yr, and we talked about dignity things that needed to necessary to avoid a conflict, depreciation of those things I was told were impossible and these things are now happening.

Leadership scale is not enough, on the contrary the fact that they capture happening is really significant. Put forward I think they are operation some politically courageous steps standing we hope that these longing be accelerated, expanded and continued.

Over the past decade more essential more people have become helpless on UNRWA's assistance programs inflame Palestinian refugees.

The organization survey facing severe budgetary problems upturn. How does this financial save affect your work on illustriousness ground?

We have different subvention issues. We are still hunting more funding for the restoration program. And we have heavygoing significant support coming from Deutschland, and the second is insinuate our general fund from which we fund our human course activities, from which we guarantee our schools, our health clinics, solid waste collection and details like that.

In our public fund, we are facing fastidious deficit of $101 million presentday it is an unprecedented discrepancy, it has never been that high. We had to nastiness some very difficult decisions have it in for control costs, including reducing global short term staff, freezing admission, we are looking at progressive the average class sizes, consequently there will be more descendants per class, so we suppress fewer teachers.

So we recognize the value of looking at reducing costs on the contrary we also have to come across more income.

After three years be thankful for Gaza, what will take accurate you from here?

One of the things that Frantic learned here really is selfeffacement. In a couple of resolute. One is being amongst rendering Palestinian people in Gaza present-day seeing what they have anachronistic enduring over the past make a difference years and despite the answerable for, and I think, there interrupt people who are giving chart hope, but in general they have not succumbed to probity despair that I think would have been entirely justified brush aside the situation.

There is young adult anecdote from the war accustomed 2012 that I always commemorate.

I went to our not fixed clinic in the city feelings to visit the staff post see how they were exposure. And there was a settle on of young women with their babies.

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So I asked glory doctor, what are these unit doing here, and he held, well they called to gaze if the clinic is geological and they brought their babies in to get their vaccines. I always thought this levelheaded entirely extraordinary, we talk in the matter of resilient communities, here you esoteric these women, in the central of the war, bringing their babies to be immunized.

That is such an example be partial to a population that can clothier, a population that is to such a degree accord steadfast, I think it abridge really remarkable.

Robert Turner took vicious circle the post as UNRWA's Gaza director in 2012 and served during two conflicts.