The ceremony, held on June 28 at the Lincoln Center campus, honored the 54th graduating class of Fordham’s International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA), an intensive four-week training program geared toward mid-career professionals in the humanitarian aid sector.

In addition to 22 IDHA graduates, two graduates of the Master of Arts in International Humanitarian Action program, a joint degree offered by the International Institute of Humanitarian Affairs and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, were lauded.

On his last day as Fordham’s vice president for administration, Thomas A. Dunne was also honored for his ongoing work with Fordham Law Schools’ Dilly Pro Bono Project, which assists immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border.

In his address, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, made a point of telling graduates that he schedules his annual year-end retreat so he can attend the ceremony.

“You are built very different. You respond not so much to things and situations as to people. You champion the human dignity of those who live at the edge of human society and the shadowy places of the world,” he said.

“You should really be hailed as masters of compassion, doctors of the human form. That is who you aspire to be, and to become ever more fully, as you begin your professional careers in the field. The field is those parts of the world where human dignity is affronted, and the human heart is tested.”

The graduates hailed from 14 countries, including Sudan, Germany, Australia, and Myanmar. They followed the 53rd IDHA class, whose courses took place in Geneva in October and November.

A Tight Camaraderie Forged

Oscar Lindow, a native of Jordan and programme officer at the World Food Programme, delivered the IDHA student address. He marveled at the friendships that he and his fellow graduates quickly established.

“Months ago, most of us had never met. We then confined ourselves to one building, and we’ve been living together, eating together, studying together. We’ve faced problems together; we’ve solved problems together. … That ties people together,” he said.

“We’ve helped each other and looked after each other. As much as I appreciated some great lectures on children in armed conflict and humanitarian principles, I would also take away with me those ties that were created with people.”

Fadiya Al-Shmailawi Mahadi, a classmate and native of Iraq who works in logistics for the International Committee of the Red Cross, echoed Lindow’s thoughts.

“When you do logistics, you sit in an office, you get orders, and you have to sort them out, so you’re not really into the action. You don’t see things. But when I came here, I listened to what other people are doing, even other students,” she said.

“The stories they told, like when they had to face something in the field, like terrorism, were heartbreaking. But I’m glad I got to know these stories.”

Enormous Challenges Ahead

In his farewell speech, IDHA course director Mark Little, M.D., did not sugarcoat the challenges the graduates face. According to a June 19 report from the United Nations, he noted, 70.8 million people around the world were displaced at the end of 2018.

“The numbers are staggering. When I sat in your seats in 2009, it was less than 30 million people who were displaced,” he said.

He noted that more than 800,000 cases of cholera occurred in three months in 2017 in Yemen; hospitals have been bombed in Syria; and the need for shelter, food, water, and sanitation has grown every year. This makes it even more important to remember the image of a displaced one of the first things students encountered when they were welcome to campus on June 2.

“We’ve heard that the world is losing compassion. I want you to remember the future of that child. As a child of that age, I was displaced by a natural disaster. I remember the fear of water swirling around my classroom,” he said, noting that his family moved to Australia in 1968 as a direct result of flood damage done to his home in Surrey, England.

“Standing on a desk, I remember the fear of the water rising and the policeman coming in, waist deep, and the fear in his eyes. I remember my anxiety being held in a police cell, not knowing anyone. And I remember the kindness of people who cared for me until I returned to my family.”

A Calling of the Highest Order

For reasons that are known to God alone, Father McShane said, these graduates’ hearts are attuned to the longing for creating the world spoken of in the Bible’s Book of Revelations 21:4.

“Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and first earth had passed away. There shall be no more mourning, nor crying out, nor pain, for the former things have passed away,” he said, referencing the scripture. “My friends, this is the vision for your lives. This is the vision to which you will give yourselves to from now until the day you are dead.

“Use your gifts and your mastery of the art of compassion to bring about the realization of this sacred, noble, and divine vision. Glory in being different from others, and realize the dream of a more just society, in which every tear will be wiped away and every heart will sing.”

The ceremony, held on June 29 at the Lincoln Center campus, honored 32 IDHA graduates and two graduates of the Master of Arts in International Humanitarian Action program, a joint degree offered by the International Institute of Humanitarian Affairs and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The students hailed from 24 countries, including Senegal, Dublin, Kuala Lumpur, and Nairobi. They followed the 51st IDHA class, whose course took place in Geneva in November and December.

An Uncertain Future

“It’s the best of times because you leave this gold standard education establishment prepared for your role,” Nason said.

“It’s the worst of times because you will now be called on to bring aid to the needy, rescue the desperate, and protect and save lives in the most unstable and fragile international environment we’ve seen in a very long time.”

She noted that cascading conflicts last year plunged 350 million children and young people into situations where they require humanitarian aid, and that today nearly one person is forcibly removed from their home every two seconds.

“As a diplomat, I regret that we haven’t turned the dial. I regret that we seem to appear to step back and at times and seem paralyzed in the face of profound humanitarian suffering,” she said. But she added that the graduates should take to heart Robert Kennedy’s instructions to send forth that “tiny ripple of hope.”

“That’s what changes the world—that one act gives us hope. Please keep yourself ready for that moment. We need it badly,” she said.

Savoring Bonds Forged

Liwliwa Agbayni, who delivered the IDHA student address, reflected on the deep bonds that she formed with fellow members of her “syndicate,” one of several teams formed among her cohort when they began the monthlong program on June 3.

She and her classmates had a lot in common, she said, with the eggs that they dropped from 16 feet up during an exercise in their engineering course on their second day.

“Thirty days later, [we are]cracked, wounded, bruised, and badly in need of a good night’s sleep, nevertheless, unbroken and still standing strong. Bravo.” she said.

In his farewell speech, IDHA course director Mark Little, M.D., harkened back to his native Australia, where Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog left behind a pewter plaque upon his arrival on the county’s western shore in October 1616.

“He landed in a dry, dusty, hot desolate area, which is where many of you go to look after many of the people that have been displaced around the world,” he said.

Yes We Must

Humanitarian issues aren’t solved purely by humanitarians though; ultimately, they’re solved by politicians, and Little noted that graduates and audience members should not hesitate to speak out to them.

The case of Ali, a 63-year-old Afghani refugee that Australia had been holding in detention on the Micronesian island nation of Nauru, illustrates this perfectly, he said. Ali has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and is in need of palliative care that cannot be provided on Nauru. Australia offered only to send him to Taiwan for hospice care—an option he rejected because no one there speaks his language or is able to perform Shia Muslim rituals and ceremonies on his body. Fortunately, Australian citizens recently got wind of their government’s actions.

“In 48 hours, two and a half thousand Australian doctors and 25,000 members of the Australian public signed a petition and campaigned to have this dying man moved to Australia. He moved on Sunday,” Little said.

“It is up to all of us to speak out. It’s not, ‘Yes we can!’ but, ‘Yes we must!’ Be like Hartog 400 years ago. Leave your mark as a humanitarian and an IIHA graduate. And wherever you go, may your god go with you and keep you.”