When Gaza was pummeled by airstrikes this year, international agencies evacuated staff and sent them back to headquarters or to their offices in Jerusalem — an oft-repeated course of action for nongovernmental organizations working in conflict-affected areas.
Early this year, a number of international NGOs left the Central African Republic when violence began to escalate. A few months after that, some organizations in the coastal areas of Kenya suspended staff travel and pulled out foreign volunteers, following a spate of attacks in the area.
Evacuating staff is certainly understandable, but it often comes at a cost. Programs don’t stop running when expatriates are pulled out from conflict zones; national staff and local partners are often left to continue operations — and fend for themselves, because of a widespread belief that their background and local knowledge make them less susceptible to danger.