A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity

This is a wonderful insider's look at how things work and don't work politically in disaster relief. As one who is frustrated with the quality of information we receive in the news, I find this book very enlightening. Awareness brings change, this book brings awareness.

This is my second biography of a top level United Nations humanitarian official (after Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World) and the subject matter makes for surprisingly riveting reading. Unlike the image of a desk-bound UN bureaucrat, some of these guys put their lives on the line, out in the field in remote jungles, working with some of the worlds most recluse and violent groups, and dealing with massive crisis at the center of a global event like the Indian ocean tsunami. If there is a single hero that saves the world, probably the closes the world has is the UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, or the UN Emergency Relief Chair (these boring titles don't do the job justice). Jan Egeland, a Norwegian, worked at the UN from 2003 to 2006 and this is an eyewitness account of the disasters and problems he dealt with during that period. Egeland is probably most familiar to American readers as the man who called the US "stingy" after the 2004 Tsunami when the US pledged only $15 million in aid - the details of this incident are fully revealed in the book but suffice it to say he was mis-characterized by right-wing fanatics. Other conflicts Egeland discusses include: Ivory Coast, Iraq, Columbia, Darfur, Lebanon, Zimbabwe and Uganda. These are very personal accounts and in some cases Egeland is the first person to meet with rebel groups, it's fascinating and revealing how they live and operate. At the same time Egeland does not fully explain the historical context of the conflicts so it can be taxing to read minutia detail - I often found myself wading through areas of specialized knowledge to the more riveting human interest stories. The title refers to the bottom 1 billion of the world who are often ignored and bear the brunt of problems. Despite the litany of death and disaster, Egeland is optimistic that the world is improving, it is better now than it was 30 years ago and so on back in time. People like Egeland, those who devote their lives to humanitarian work, are really among the worlds heroes. NOTE: If you have already read Chasing the Flame, this book makes a fantastic coda as Jan Egeland started his job at the UN the very day Sergio was killed, at the Canal Hotel bombing, so he brings much of the recent history of the UN up to the present from where `Chasing the Flame` left off.

I read the book in the last week and thought it was excellent. Am looking to go into a humanitarian career, and Egeland has pointed me in the right direction. Highly recommend it.

The title of this book's first chapter, "Always Speak the Truth," sums up Jan Egeland's ethos. A call for transparency, an area where leaders often fail their citizens and the world, is what awakened me to Egeland's gift as a humanitarian worker following the Indian Ocean Tsunami in late December of 2004. Never in speeches or his writing, do I sense that Egeland equivocates to cover up hidden political agendas. He operates on equal terms for multifaceted conflicts by assessing visible damage and engaging in discussion, basing his formal opinion upon first-hand accounts of victimization and statistics offered to him by his advisors. This book is called, after all, A Billion Lives--"lives" being the operative word. Suffering human beings do not care about percentages and figures, they want their voices to be heard. Action, of course, must follow all talk, and this is where Egeland urges the world to help, since funding, assistance, and active participation by all countries are crucial elements in facilitating the United Nation's mission. But this book is about much more than monetary pleas. If success is garnered first through listening and understanding, then empathy is the most crucial element of mediation--an element Egeland proves he has. We see empathy weaved throughout ten engaging chapters of life-experience, which, with a very human touch, cover a sometimes surprising gamut of topics filled with reason and emotion. We empathize with Egeland as a human who falls ill from stress or a bad experience with food, who waits in excruciatingly long airport lines, who travels on public airplanes, and who catches a tragic CNN headline flashing across a public television set, announcing the death of a close friend and colleague, Sergio Vieira de Mello. We share the backlash and emotional roller coaster following the Indian Ocean Tsunami, where Egeland is first misquoted as saying the US, specifically, is "stingy" in its efforts to fund world humanitarian aid. We join his frustration in unsuccessfully communicating with a belligerent President Robert Mugabe who would rather engage in name-calling than negotiate for peace. Most surprisingly, through it all, Egeland maintains a keen sense of humor and a positive outlook. Yet the main focus of this book is not on him, but on the people he strives to help. Egeland recounts the many personal stories of those he meets throughout his journey, as well as the scenery and politics surrounding any given situation. In chapter seven, he explains his role in the hopeful signing of the Oslo Accord. In chapter nine, on page 210, Egeland relates a gruesome tale told to him by a former LRA child soldier from Gulu, Uganda. In this same chapter, on page 214, he explains his deep sentiments when a survivor names her baby after his wife, and he is asked to support the child's preschooling. At times, the photos, especially to those who were fortunate enough to attend his book tour lecture (captivating

I heard Mr. Egeland give an address in Minneapolis on public radio and was so impressed I went out and bought the book. I was not disappointed. It is a down in the trenches account of dealing with disaster, tragedy, injustice, conflict and poverty all over the world. It is also one man's account seen from his perspective, with all of the advantages and biases that entails. It is, however, an enthralling read and I found myself marveling at the courage he's displayed while dealing with some of the world's most violent and despicable thugs. I was particularly heartened by the attention he paid to the Palestinian dilemma since I've worked with humanitarian groups in Gaza and the West Bank and this is an area of interest to me. When he says this is a conflict that worries him, we should all be worried. Despite the catalog of human misery the book recounts, I found it generally an optimistic read. As Mr. Egeland says, we now have mechanisms for dealing with disasters such as the 2006 tsunami that didn't exist a generation ago and he relates the successes in minimizing human loss in his accounts of various earthquakes and hurricanes. One of the messages is that the UN does good work and, despite its imperfections, it would be a much poorer and more dangerous world without it. He offers a number of solutions to help improve its function and effectiveness. This is a necessary and important book because it offers a much deeper insight into the world of international relief than we see on CNN or in the disappearing international coverage in our newspapers. It's also a necessary counterpoint to the know-nothing anti-UN crowd, one of whom was recently our ambassador to the organization. Endelig, sier jeg takk for ditt arbeid and bra gjordt, Herr Egeland.