Cross Border: A Fictional Memoir

Cross Border, by J, was my favorite book that we read in our class. That may be partly because it is fiction and therefore told in story form, and in the third person so it provided insight into the characters and their thinking; that is not possible using any other writing form. The author clearly had extensive experience and knowledge of the world of humanitarian aid and NGOs from both the field perspective and the headquarters perspective. By contrasting these two worlds and showing the challenges faced by the workers in each of them, as well as the citizens of Syria, J told the story of the unique world of humanitarian aid in the 21^stcentury.

The story is told through the experiences of several characters each with a specific perspective on the world of humanitarian aid. It begins with locals at the border between Syria and Jordan, trying to get a truckload of medical supplies to a humanitarian relief organization – World Aid Corps. The workers are told by the border guard, “To pass this point, you need to pay a tax of ten percent of everything on the load.” The truck pulls over and the guards steal 10 percent of the contents of the truck – for who is never made clear, and it hardly matters. This scene sets up the reality of trying to provide humanitarian aid in a war torn country like Syria.

The perspective of the aid workers is told principally through two characters. Larry Smith is a by-the-book professional do-gooder. He got into development work after a stint in the Army followed by business school. He is a true believer in the value of humanitarian aid but he feels strongly that planning, protocol and following all procedures is the key to success. As such, he has disdain for many of the field workers who he feels act like cowboys, and put the success of the aid programs at risk with their reckless disregard for proper procedures.

Aksel is the head of WAC’s Syria crisis response and he works in the field based in Amman, Jordan. He is the rugged, golden boy who everyone but Larry puts up on a pedestal. As Larry reflects in the book, “Askel seemed to embody the ‘aid worker’ stereotype that everyone at WAC HQ idolized.” “Askel lived a life of high-adventure and charmed deprivation out on the leading edge of chaos and mayhem.” (J 72). Askel has little patience for bureaucracy and paperwork and does whatever he thinks he needs to do to get the job done. This includes bribing people across Syria and Jordan to overcome obstacles, to getting the aid where it needs to go. He has good intentions, but his lack of attention to procedures causes enormous problems for the organization and ultimately dooms the aid program he runs.

While there are several other important characters in the book, these two embody the central theme of the book: what is the best way to provide humanitarian aid in in war torn country where it is almost never clear who is in charge, what the proper procedures are and exactly where the biggest needs exists.

As the plot develops, it is clear there are problems with Aksel’s program in Syria and that he is under-spending the money provided by the donors. This is an enormous problem for the company because it is, at its core, a business and if they don’t meet expectations they will face serious consequences. The book presents all the ins and outs of how the Syria program goes off the rails, but ultimately it comes under scrutiny from investigators at the US Agency for International Development. In a meeting with the lead investigator, the company is accused of passing money to what are called “restricted entities,” which includes known terrorist organizations and enemies of the US Government. Aksel offers multiple explanations and excuses, each lamer than the last. Finally, Larry speaks up and risks his job by telling the USAID investigator: “What you’re looking at is a combination of executive negligence and field leadership incompetence. The executives of this organization [his boss] were negligent in that they did not adequately supervise and manage senior staff in the field. Staff like Aksel.” (J Location1949 and 1950)

Larry has finally exposed Aksel for the incompetent fool that he is and pointed out the importance of the work he (Larry) does as a headquarters aid worker. But then Larry goes on to use his expertise to save the company. He tells the investigator that he has thoroughly reviewed every file related to USAID grants and that the company has not committed the violations of which they are accused. “Let me skip straight to the big reveal. There’s no evidence that World Aid Corp directly or indirectly supported a terrorist organization. The best you are going to find, Ms. Boothby, is evidence of negligence and incompetence. Go on. Look all you want,” Larry tells her in front of both Aksel and his boss.

It seems from this scene that Larry has emerged victorious and that he has proven his position: “Humanitarian assistance getting into the hands of those who need it most depends on systems that work, policies that make sense – in other words – bureaucracy matters.” (J  Location 2178) While it’s true that Aksel’s mistakes and lax procedures in Syria have caused enormous problems, there still don’t seem to be any answers for the suffering people in Syria. The book ends with characters we have followed throughout the book, a young Syrian mother who is just trying to find a way to keep herself and her two children safe and fed and cared for. In the end, we see her trying to cross the border with her two little daughters. The narrator states: “Ahead in the light of a sinking afternoon sun Ranim could see the border fence, the guard towers, the light blue banner with ‘UNHCR’ on it in big white letters. And beyond that, the clean open desert of Jordan.” Ranim then turns to her oldest daughter and says, “Com on, hyati. We’re almost there!” The narrator concludes, “Inshallah [God Willing] they would be across the border before dark.” (J – Location 2183)

While J seems to take the position, that following proper procedures, is critical to the success, of any humanitarian aid program, he also has an understanding of the problems, faced by field workers, like Aksel, in trying to provide aid in a country, that has fallen into chaos while faced by the, “Iron Cage of Rationality.” J’s larger point is that providing aid is enormously complicated and that aid workers must avoid infighting and do their best to work together to provide desperately needed help to the victims of war and conflict.