“In 1999 I proudly became a U.S. citizen. On the day of my swearing-in, five of my Red Cross friends accompanied me to the ceremony at the immigration building in Arlington, showing their support and embodying the spirit of Red Cross love.”
Nazik Salih in a sunflower field outside of Bucharest, Romania.
Q: When were you employed at the American Red Cross, and what positions did you hold?
A: I began my tenure at the American Red Cross in 1992. With intermittent breaks it concluded in 2005. Initially I engaged through a temp agency. I joined the Disaster Operation Center to help facilitate the recruitment and deployment of volunteers to Miami, Florida, in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Within six months of this temporary assignment, I transitioned to a full-time position within the NHQ Disaster Department, where I served in multiple positions before moving to the International Services Department as a staffing associate with the newly formed International Disaster Response Unit (IDRU) based in Washington, D.C., in 2001.
Q: What was it like to volunteer with the Ethiopian Red Cross?
A: In July of 2003, I relocated to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, accompanying my husband, who was seconded from the American Red Cross to the Ethiopian Red Cross Society as a water and sanitation manager. During my time in Ethiopia, I volunteered in several events with the Ethiopian Red Cross, including leading the coordination and facilitation of a large group of VIP visitors led by the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), who generously donated vaccines for the American Red Cross measles campaign in Ethiopia.
Q: What work have you done since leaving the Red Cross, and for whom?
A: Since leaving the Red Cross, I have worked with multiple organizations in the field of humanitarian assistance. A few that are important and memorable to me include:
Iraqi Elections
I joined the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on a short term project as a training officer in the first Iraq Out of Country Voting (Iraq-OCV) that was held in five U.S. cities with large Iraqi diaspora communities. Using my Arabic language skills, I was deployed to Dearborn, Michigan, to train hundreds of polling and registration staff who worked in polling centers in the U.S.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami
In April 2005, I returned to the American Red Cross International Services Department/IDRU on a temporary assignment to help support response efforts to the Indian Ocean Tsunami that devastated several countries bordering the Indian Ocean. That was my last assignment with the American Red Cross, concluding in July of 2005.
USAID-Sudan
In August 2005, I joined USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), now the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). My work with USAID/OFDA took me to many countries, including Sudan, my country of birth. In 2006, I was deployed on temporary duty to cover the program officer position in Khartoum for seven months. My role involved managing and monitoring all humanitarian assistance programs funded by OFDA in the north, east, and three Transitional Areas of Sudan.
The majority of these programs focused on aiding Southern Sudanese internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled their homes during the long civil war between the North and South of Sudan, which displaced millions. I had the opportunity to visit several IDP camps around Khartoum and Omdurman, as well as travel to multiple cities to monitor programs and track the reverse migration of IDPs to the south. Additionally, I spoke with dozens of IDPs, men and women of all ages, to learn about the impact of the programs and their individual experiences as IDPs in the north.
The New Country of South Sudan
Little did I know at the time of my work in Sudan that years later I would be involved with the State Department on the referendum that led to the division of Sudan. In 2010, I was detailed by USAID/OFDA to the Department of State, U.S. Offices of the Special Envoy to Sudan (S/USSES), as a humanitarian program officer to work on contingency planning before and after the referendum voting in Sudan. I was tasked with writing a contingency plan on “The Protection of Southern Sudanese in the North."
As the only Sudanese American on the multi-agency government team, I was privileged to create a plan that was both praised and approved by the National Security Council at the White House. This plan served as a roadmap for senior U.S. government officials in further planning during and after the referendum. More than 98% of voters chose independence, leading to the establishment of the Republic of South Sudan on July 9, 2011.
Back in Sudan
In October 2011, I moved to Khartoum, Sudan, to find more IDP camps filled with people from Darfur in the post-referendum smaller Sudan. During my time in Sudan, I worked with AECOM International Development (now DT Global) as a program and technical advisor, managing the Sudan Transition and Conflict Mitigation (STCM) program initiatives with the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) from June 2012 to December 2012. Later, I worked with International Relief & Development (now Blumont) as a Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program specialist, managing the business development and case management teams for the DDR program in the Nuba Mountains from June 2013 to January 2016.
Ukrainian Refugees
In May 2022, I deployed to Krakow, Poland, as a regional communications & information manager on the Ukraine Refugees Response Team with Project HOPE.
The regional team oversaw Project HOPE's comprehensive response to the Ukraine crisis, focusing on refugees in Poland, Moldova and Romania in addition to supporting Project HOPE’s team in Ukraine.
Sudan in the news again
On April 15, 2023, a major war broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. This conflict led to hundreds of thousands of Sudanese fleeing to neighboring countries and displaced millions within the country, including many of my relatives, family members and friends. With the world’s attention focused on the conflict in Ukraine, the war in Sudan did not receive much attention in terms of funding and media coverage.
While still on the Ukraine team based in Poland, I was asked to join Project HOPE’s Sudan response team at headquarters to write a weekly situation report to be shared with potential donors. On a personal level, I reached out to several of my former colleagues at USAID and other organizations to find out about funding plans and responses to the crisis in Sudan, and to share information about the poor conditions experienced by those fleeing to the border towns with Egypt. I also contacted a former USAID colleague now working with Human Rights Watch in D.C., who connected me with one of her colleagues in the HRW Cairo office working on the Sudan crisis. I provided him with information and arranged multiple phone interviews with several of my relatives who had made it to Egypt, which he incorporated into the first HRW report. Additionally, I wrote an article that was shared with several media outlets (with the help of Project HOPE’s Communications team) and was picked up by Newsweek in July 2023.
https://www.newsweek.com/i-am-sudanese-aid-worker-poland-worlds-double-standard-refugee-response-blaring-opinion-1814994
Nazik Salih (left) with Oleksii Yaremenko, Ukraine deputy minister of health, at the World Summit For Ukraine that was held in December 2022 in Rzeszow, Poland.
Nazik Salih (right) with Tatyana, a former lawyer who fled Ukraine with her daughter, niece and mother and works as a child friendly space supervisor with one of Project Hope partners in Poland.
I was also interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for an article by Nicholas Bariyo about severe funding shortfalls across Africa. Unfortunately, with the war in Ukraine and now the war on Gaza, the war in Sudan continues to receive minimal attention.
https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/children-fed-on-grass-no-medication-for-rape-victims-aid-to-african-crises-cut-back-as-needs-soar-d2de51a8?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Q: What are one or two of your most memorable Red Cross experiences, and why?
A: To respond to this question, I would like to mention a personal Red Cross experience that I will always remember very fondly.
In 1999, I proudly became a U.S. citizen. On the day of my swearing-in, five of my Red Cross friends accompanied me to the ceremony at the immigration building in Arlington, showing their support and embodying the spirit of Red Cross love. A few days later, the entire staff at the national Disaster Services Department threw me an unforgettable surprise party to celebrate my new citizenship and welcome me as a new fellow citizen. The celebration was complete with apple pies, ice cream, cakes decorated with the American flag, and many thoughtful gifts. That morning, I received over 60 white roses and numerous cards sent in from various chapters across the country.
These experiences were made truly special by the exceptional Red Cross colleagues I had the privilege to work with, and I cherish those memories to this day. Thank you once again for your incredible support and camaraderie!
Q: What do you do for fun now?
A: Travel! Last year I took advantage of my time in Europe to visit several Western and Eastern European countries, as well as to revisit Istanbul, one of my favorite cities in the world. This coming September I will be returning to London to attend a family wedding. In December I plan to travel to Cairo, Egypt, to visit many of my relatives and friends who sought refuge there after the war in Sudan broke out in April 2023.
Q: What are you looking forward to next?
A: I am currently looking for opportunities that would allow me to help the people of Sudan who continue to suffer from displacement and insecurity.
