Fieldwork can pose some unique challenges. Learn more about how PEJ staff drove through a wadi – a raging seasonal flood – to reach survivors, witnesses, and partners.
Fieldwork is unpredictable. Even in the best circumstances, it can entail harsh weather and difficult terrain. In the human rights field, other perils abound – threats of violence and retaliation are never far. PEJ staff are willing to brave these hazards to record the testimonies of survivors and build justice with partners.
PEJ keeps the do-no-harm principle at the forefront of its efforts. We strictly prepare and implement safety and contingency plans for every evidence-gathering mission. No matter how carefully we plan, however, our indomitable field staff often furnish us with incredible stories.
Recently, a PEJ team in the field in Central Africa encountered a unique geographic barrier: that of a wadi. Wadis are usually valleys, ravines, or channels. They are dry except for during the rainy season. Then, due to desert run-offs, even light rains can turn wadis into raging rivers, causing flash floods that can sweep away anyone or anything, including vehicles, in their paths.
A wadi came between team members desperate to reach survivors and secure their testimonies – but fortunately, this time, the wadi did not prevail.
During this mission, PEJ staff collected evidence from dozens of survivors and witnesses of atrocity crimes that we are using to seek justice. We are grateful for their intrepidness and determination, but PEJ has nonetheless created a strict no-driving-through-wadi policy for future fieldwork.
Your support will help PEJ create a world free of human rights abuses. For more information, contact us at media@projectexpeditejustice.org.
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