The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

28 APRIL 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A ngela Merkel, the chancellor of Ger- many, spoke for many recently when she said the humanitarian disaster in Syria left her “not just appalled but horrified.” Right now, millions of people are on the move—fleeing war, disease, famine, oppression and religious intol- erance. As someone who early in my career was a firsthand witness to genocide and the refugee crisis Laura Lane served in the Foreign Service from 1990 to 1997, including postings to Bogota and Kigali, as well as assignments in the State Department Operations Center and the trade policy and programs office in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. During her tour in Kigali, she led the evacuation of American citizens out of Rwanda in April 1994 with the outbreak of civil war and then returned as political adviser to U.S. forces providing humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the conflict. She also served as a U.S. trade negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Lane currently serves as president of global public affairs for United Parcel Service, Inc. Prior to joining UPS, she was the senior vice president of international government affairs at Citigroup and vice president for global public policy at Time Warner. You can view her TED talk here: http://tinyurl.com/jhosm9m. Partnering toMeet Urgent Needs Corporate-government partnerships can make a great difference in times of need, argues this former FSO. BY LAURA LANE FOCUS ON HUMANITARIAN DIPLOMACY it created, I agree we should be horrified with the current events unfolding across Europe and the Middle East. In terms of sheer numbers, nothing like this has been seen since World War II. Our infrastructure, social systems and gov- ernments are being stretched to their limits. But as we see human tragedy play out before our eyes, we need to remember that these migrants aren’t just numbers. They aren’t an issue to resolve. They are people who need and should receive our help. With lives on the line and nearly all the world affected by the current crisis in the Middle East and Europe, now is the time to take a hard look at how governments address the issues sur- rounding mass global migration. Specifically, we must examine how to make government actions more effective by encourag- ing greater partnership with corporations and humanitarian organizations to promote peace, advance freedom and protect fundamental human rights. Admittedly, this challenge is made more complicated by the mood of anxious apprehension affecting much of the Western world. Refugee crises are typically accompanied by episodes of racial, religious and cultural tension, as well as backlash toward “the other.” Quite simply, in times such as these, there is a temptation to “take a stand” or “draw a line,” falling victim to a defensive isolationism aimed at ensuring safety and security. The rhetoric is convincing; it’s much easier to save ourselves than to save others. What is unfortunately lost in that response, however, is our