‘Imagine Dublin and large parts of the south of the city levelled’

Kells man Mark Mullan was one of three people nominated for the Irish Red Cross's highest honour, the inaugural Humanitarian of the Year Award, for his work in Syria, where he was part of the first delegation allowed to visit eastern Ghouta by the Syrian authorities, earlier this year.

Mark is the Regional Director in the Middle East for the Swiss organisation HEKS/EPER and was shortlisted for the prestigious award along with the late Emma Mhic Mhathúna and homeless campaigner Alice Leahy who won the award.
Mark's primary achievement in 2018 was working alongside his Syrian NGO partner GOPA-DERD on the ground to successfully negotiate with the Syrian authorities for the delivery of lifesaving emergency humanitarian assistance to 30,000 people in eastern Ghouta. Mark was one of only three foreign members of the first delegation allowed by the Syrian authorities to visit eastern Ghouta to evaluate the conditions of the population.
Mark's office is based in Amman, Jordan from where he travels frequently to other countries in the region as part of his regional humanitarian role including Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Yemen and Lebanon but regularly returns to Meath to his home in Headfort, Kells.
Working in the humanitarian aid area for the past 25 years, Mark recalled how he was first moved to volunteer abroad after hearing Mary Robinson speak passionately about conditions in Somalia in the 1990s.
“I was playing rugby in France in the first division and got injured and wasn't sure what to do. I saw Mary Robinson break down about her experiences in Mogadishu, I suppose she inspired me to do my bit and three weeks later I was volunteering in Somalia.”
Mark spent six months volunteering before securing a job with the UN working for two years in Somalia. He later moved to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) where he headed up missions in Rwanda, Burundai and the Congo, spending ten years with the organisation.

 

Mark Mullan during a visit to a distribution centre, East Ghouta, Syria, in May.

Recalling his time working in Rwanda, he says he feels the world failed Rwanda. “About a million people were murdered in Rwanda in 100 days. People think this type of genocide only happened in the Second World War but something similar happened in the nineties.” 
After working with ECHO, Mark took a break from his humanitarian roles and started a sports technology firm, outdoorsie.com in San Francisco. “That was very interesting, I spent three years earning no money and built up a platform but it didn't really fly.”
He joined Swiss organisation HEKS a year and a half ago and travels across the Middle East from his base in Jordan. HEKS was founded in 1946 borne out of Europe's massive refugee crisis and is operational in 20 countries involved in a mix of humanitarian and development work. In the Middle East, Mark explained their work is purely humanitarian, focused on Syria and Iraq and they are about to go into Yemen.
While many organisations operate cross border, Mark explained that HEKS has offices in each country and are currently in negotiations to open an office in Damascus and are looking to work inside government controlled area.
It is estimated that around 70 per cent of the population in need are in government controlled areas though Mark says that data is controversial. 
While Mark has worked in many different conflict zones in his years in humanitarian work, he said he has “never seen the level of destruction seen in East Ghouta.”
“Imagine Dublin and large parts of the south of the city levelled. In East Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, miles and miles have been flattened by the conflict. Buildings have literally been flattened. It has been likened to Dresden or Stalingard. Normally you wouldn't see wholesale destruction like it.
In April/May, he was part of the first foreign delegation allowed into Syria and explained this was only possible through their partner Gopa Derd. “Access inside Syria is not easy and remains a problem. Most of the Irish organisations like Concern and Goal cross-border.”
He said the needs in Syria are “through the roof” and they are taking it day by day and step by step there.
He added that Syria is a “difficult nut to crack” and “the view is that until a durable political solution is found, that the next step of recovery can't happen.”

 

Mark with Mr Hboubati, President of the Syrian Arab Red Cresent (SARC), Damascus, Syria.

Mark travels a lot with his role, not just within the Middle East but also liaising with their donors in the EU and the US.
Although Mark regularly finds himself in conflict areas and situations are often fraught, he said he has never felt that he was a target, and said he takes a lot of precautions. “There is always a sense that the community will take care of you. Being Irish and being neutral carries a lot of weight in this part of the world. The Irish are well liked, even loved.”
Apart from talking about football, he said the next thing they ask him about is the North of Ireland and they find it very interesting and feel we can identify with their issues 
and have empathy for their situations.
“The Syrian people are among the most highly educated and highly motivated and very entrepreneurial and will make a go of things wherever they go.”
He feels that the vast majority will be able to return home safely and ultimately that is where they want to go but he doesn't have a crystal ball to see what that will happen and until a durable political solution is found, there will be very little repatriation. 

Distribution of humanitarian assistance, East Ghouta, Syria.