OASIS

Crisis debriefing

The loss of respect for international humanitarian law has led to increased violent attacks on aid workers and other peacebuilding personnel. Human-induced incidents like kidnapping, rape, murder of a team member, and other violence suffered are increasingly common. Natural disasters, political instability, and evacuations of all sorts add further upheaval to work that is already difficult.

The irony is that the same places where crisis incidents are most likely to occur are the same places where people building peace are most needed.  Each and every trauma or secondary trauma suffered through these critical incidents leaves peacebuilders vulnerable.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
— Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-American artist and author

A safe place to heal

Oasis is a systematic debriefing program designed by Petra's trained professional staff. Designed to be a safe haven to help people in crisis to process in the midst of physical and psychological chaos, it also includes an individually tailored action plan for the next steps following a life-changing critical incident.

Oasis is available to individuals, couples, families, and teams of up to eight people. This program can also join together cross-organizational individuals who have experienced the same event in the same location (political crisis, natural disaster).

Critical incident debriefing is advisable as soon as 72 hours after an incident and up to 18 months afterward.

“Competence in trauma and resilience is seminal to the efficacy of peacebuilders, who confront darkness both within and without as they continually wrestle with the aftermath of their own experiences and the living nightmares of the world. The inclusion of resilience training and support is essential for the long-term sustainability of both peacebuilders and their work.
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— Jenn Weidman, CEO Space, Bangkok (Thailand)
 

  • "Debriefing" is originally a military term, where participants went through a debriefing after a mission. They exchanged information on what happened, broadened their experience by viewing it from the perspective of their teammates, discussed how effective the mission was, and came to terms with any problems or emotional issues related to the task.

  • Courageous people who have risked their health, safety and mental well-being to serve vulnerable populations in dangerous places deserve and absolutely must have a safe, professional place to come heal when danger strikes. At Petra we see crisis debriefing as a non-negotiable service in light of the all-too-common critical incidents that occur in the field.

  • Ideally, Oasis is held over 3-5 days and can be conducted year-round. Oasis participants can choose to come to Malaga, Spain to a private Petra-run facility.

    Options also exist for Petra to deploy Oasis debriefing staff to meet clients in the field or in a safe alternate location.