GIFF JOHNSON
Angela Saunders, who will depart RMI at the end of this month, has helped the International Organization for Migration (IOM) grow from a small project-based operation of three short-term staff to a powerhouse organization that is engaged in multiple activities for the urban centers and remote outer islands.
Angela will be moving to Fiji to take up a different position within IOM’s Pacific headquarters. Her new job involves overseeing a project that includes the Marshall Islands, so as she noted to the Journal in an interview, she will still be engaged with the RMI.
After she leaves the Majuro IOM office at the end of January, she will be managing IOM’s Pacific climate change, migration and human mobility project for the region, which is focused on five Pacific countries, including RMI.
She first arrived in Majuro in 2006 as a WorldTeach volunteer teacher and was assigned to teach on Maloelap Atoll. After a one-year teaching stint she left for a couple of years before returning to take take up the title of “co-director” of the WorldTeach program with Annie Himmelsteib for two years.
After completing a master’s degree in Canada, she applied for a short-term position with IOM in Majuro.
She was hired in 2013 on a three-month contract for a project supporting food and other supply deliveries to the outer islands. Her contract was extended.
Angela was part of a three-person team that was managing two projects. As she became more involved in IOM’s work, her interest in non-emergency work programs increased. This led to work on disaster risk management, human trafficking and a host of similar programs that saw IOM’s staff burgeon from the initial handful to 30 by the late 2010s.
At this early period in IOM’s development in RMI, there wasn’t a head of the Majuro sub-office, only project officers. Once this position was established, she applied, was hired for it, and has since that time overseen IOM’s RMI operations for the past seven years.
Angela explained that the large array of projects IOM supports match with IOM’s three core objectives:
- Saving lives.
- Community resilience so communities can “stay in place.”
- Pathways for “regular migration.”
She pointed out that IOM has one of the largest emergency response capabilities of any organization in the world, and many of its disaster-related activities in RMI fall under this first objective.
“Staying in place is about how to help people stay safe (where they are),” she said, which supports IOM focus on women’s economic empowerment, women’s tourism, and the Ridge to Reef program that emphasizes resource management and use. “We are supporting local communities to be more resilient so people can stay in the Marshall Islands,” she said.
IOM’s work, especially as it has been focused on remote outer island communities, has been “building long-term relationships with communities to understand what they want,” Angela said, adding that “all outer islands are different” and a “one size fits all” outlook would not lead to success with programs in the outer islands.
“Building relationships over time (allows IOM) to respond to needs with solutions,” she said.
Angela said IOM’s original approach in RMI was focused on disaster response and resilience in order to support the “stay in place” objective. But the increasing challenge is navigating this goal with the high level of out-migration, she said.
On the “regular migration” theme, IOM has been asked to work with the RMI, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau to develop formal migration policies for each government.
Although there is currently no formal policy on migration, a Cabinet-appointed working group on migration has been meeting regularly to move the process forward for developing a formal policy for the government. “We’re looking at gaps and aligning it with the National Adaptation Plan” and other areas including immigration, labor, health and education, she said.
There are numerous issues in the migration mix: pre-departure orientation to help migrating Marshallese be more prepared for life in the US, reintegration for people returning, labor market mobility which could include non-US countries, rights of migrants, and numerous other issues. Angela expects it to take a year to complete a new policy. This includes the need to talk to people on the outer islands about what they see, need and want in the big picture of migration.
Angela noted an irony in her work on different issues with the RMI government. “People in government meetings sometimes to look to me (for input) because I’ve been on the outer islands a lot,” she said. This comment is reflective of the fact that in contrast to the 1960s and 1970s when most Marshallese were born and raised in the outer islands, many and probably most Marshallese who are now in government decision-making roles were born in the two urban centers, and as a result have little to no experience on the outer islands.
“I’ve been in a unique position to support my team working on outer islands,” she said. “The government trusts IOM because we work well with the outer islands.”
Angela said a key element for most IOM staff is “they like it for the community work.”
Asked what is her favorite project of the dozens she has been involved in, Angela replied it is probably the “Cookhouse Confidential” project that focused on menstrual needs of girls and young women around the RMI, as part of emergency response activities. Through this project, IOM has now provided every girl in public and private schools in grades six-to-12 with a reusable menstrual pad and kit.
Angela sees IOM as taking a lead role in some areas, such as trafficking in persons response work. Then over time, the government takes the lead and IOM moves to a supporting role. “The government has taken over ownership on trafficking,” she said. “I see the institutionalization of things.”
IOM aside, over the years Angela has lived in the RMI, she found ways to devote considerable time and energy to the NGO sector, including the Jambo Arts group that for many years gave local artists a platform to shine at community events.
Angela sees no downside for IOM’s programs as a result of her imminent departure. “When I leave, we will see IOM continuing,” she said. “The staff, they’ve got it.”
When she departs January 27, IOM staffer Simon Kafu will be the officer in charge of the RMI office until a new head of office is named later this year.
For Angela, she is delighted that her new work program with IOM will bring her back to Majuro from time to time for work in areas including “planned relocation” with a focus on staying in place. “I will work with different countries to find solutions to climate change migration and relocation,” she said.