Philip Jones

From total disinterest in his future as a schoolboy in the 1970s to an intense 22-year military career to a 15-year stint as a consultant for safety and security in hostile locations, Phil Jones tells of his experience working for some of the largest humanitarian organisations in the world, becoming the first full time Global Safety and Security Adviser for Save the Children UK, then as a self-employed consultant working in some of the most hostile locations on the planet.

He recalls the hardships and dangers he witnessed and the emotions he felt during humanitarian interventions in Iraq, Sudan, Darfur, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, to name but a few.

Phil tells of the heartbreak he suffered when trying to help orphans in Iraq and elsewhere, of the mass migration of internally displaced people who were the victims of a brutal government’s genocide attempts. Training, advising and directly managing the safety planning for humanitarian field teams, he did his best to ensure that when things went wrong, and they did, they would have the knowledge to navigate a safe route out of danger.

The stories will make you think quite differently about the world of humanitarian organisations. This is not just a book about the beneficiaries of international aid; it is a unique insight into the hardships and dangers humanitarian workers face on a day-to-day basis. This, coupled with Phil’s sense of humour, makes it a ‘must-read’ book.