The development industry has necessarily changed over the decades since its inception, as global trends in poverty, policy, social norms, and conflict evolve. Recently, these transformations have been especially dramatic, as sustainable development has seen notable setbacks thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic and the emergence of other global crises. There is now greater importance placed on measuring and showing impact, on do-no-harm and, and, in recent years, on decolonizing aid. This evolution in how development is done has changed what it means to be a development practitioner.
In this blog series, we speak with development veterans, each with notable experience working in humanitarian assistance, economic growth, health systems, democracy and governance, stabilization, agriculture resilience, sustainability, education and youth, and infrastructure to learn how the International Development industry has evolved during their career.
The second Development Practitioner we talk to is Ali Dhahir. In his long career in development, he worked (and continues to work) on peace and reconciliation as well as conflict management in Iraq and Syria.
Ali Dhahir is based in Iraq and has more than twenty years of work experience in development and humanitarian assistance projects. He earned his Master of Arts from Coventry University in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution and currently works as Chief of Party for the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop in Iraq.
How long have you been in the International Development Industry? How did you come to this industry in the first place?
I have been in this industry since 1999, so almost 24 years, even though I did not plan to work in development. My ambition was to complete my higher education. But because of the racist policies of the previous regime and the successive conflicts, I could not go to university, and thus had no other choice than to find a job. After several attempts and interviews, I was accepted into an international organisation. This was my first job, and since then I’m continuing to work in development, and I don’t regret it. So, in the end, it was a good thing that they didn’t accept me for higher education studies.
What is your industry specialization, and how did you become an expert in that specialization?
There were different types of conflicts in Iraq when I started to work, so most of the organizations were looking for people in conflict management and stabilization, especially after 2003. I found that interesting and became very involved in themes around peace and reconciliation as well as conflict management. Almost 80 to 90 percent I learnt was on the job training. The examples that you experience are totally different from what you read in books. The experience that I got from working was really rich and also proved helpful during my master’s studies, which I did in Coventry on peace and reconciliation. Since completing my masters, I'm continuing to do that type of work on peace, reconciliation and conflict management directly or indirectly through the different organizations that I joined.
How would you describe your early career?
I started working with the UN agency FAO, the Food and Agricultural Organization. My supervisor helped me a lot in many ways, for example to learn English and develop computer literacy, because most of the locals at that time did not have the skills to use a computer. I started with that and then I said yes to a lot of chances and new tasks that took me from one level to the next.
When I started working in development, I didn’t have a specific dream of who I would become. But since I didn’t have the opportunity to receive higher education, I felt that this will be my career and that I need to invest in myself. At first, I just worked because of the need to feed myself, but later it became more about how I can develop myself and my career.
How have you seen the industry change throughout your career?
Of course, a lot of changes happened. Many good changes, but also many bad changes. On the positive side, we saw an increase in the support for the locals. When I started, 90 percent of the staff in most organizations were internationals. Communication between the international experts and locals was difficult, because of the different languages and technical skills. Now, the organizations rely more on local staff, thus also improving communication between the organization and the people that benefit from them. That is a very good change.
However, we now also have more barriers in the field of development. Before, it was easy for the organization to apply for funds and there was trust between the donors and implementers. Now there is a lot of questioning. It is understandable that due diligence is important for the organizations and the implementers, but it makes it difficult for the beneficiaries. The beneficiary cannot understand why people repeatedly come and ask whether they received this assistance or not. The mistrust started, because many fraud cases were identified, so I don’t blame the organizations or the donors. But the problem is that the reaction is generalized to everyone, even the ones who were loyal and transparent. These are the main changes happening nowadays.
What about the future of development?
One thing that I would like to see is that development becomes more sustainable. There is no way that I can succeed to fix a problem with a community that faced a bloody conflict in one year. That is impossible. Maybe I can fix it temporarily, but this doesn’t fix the mindsets of the people. Hence, I hope to see more emphasis on sustainable development. Another good thing that I would like to see even more is the coordination between the different donors of the organizations. Before, no one knew who is doing what, and we were targeting the same type of beneficiaries. Now we have a better understanding who does which work. I like this kind of coordination and hopefully this level of coordination will be increased more and more in a way that benefits the entire community equally and transparently.
What excites you about your career?
I really enjoy when I get things fixed. This tells me that there was a problem, and we used the best methodology to address it. All my career was in Iraq and in Syria, so from time to time I meet people who were beneficiaries in an area that I targeted, and I feel really proud and happy to see what happened during a period of time when I was there in that specific city. This encourages me to work more on a similar type of projects and with different communities.
What advice do you have for young development practitioners as they enter the industry?
Like for any other job, they should like the job that they’re doing, otherwise it will be difficult to be creative and innovative. Second, when they get the job: It is not an easy job. Don’t look at the manager sitting most of the time at their desks, because 90 percent of the managers’ work is communicating, so you don’t necessarily understand what they do at your first job. You have the feeling that because you are new, you are getting all the hard work. This is not the case. You need to work hard on yourself, you need to invest in yourself, you need to learn not only the work that you do, but what the people around you are doing. You need to understand the organization, you need to understand the country, especially when you are from a different background. It is important that you understand the community, so you need to seek help from the locals. The more that you get involved, the more you learn, the more you can develop on how to speak in front of the community and how to convince the stakeholders.