Some HRDs are at risk simply because they are physically isolated. In rural areas for example, it is more difficult to send information out – and easier for officials and armed groups to commit crimes with impunity.

"We have great difficulties to communicate: the distances are great. I am here because I have some national links, and [an international human rights activist] met me. But there is violence, many rapes that are not known, because people cannot communicate. And the security of HRDs cannot be protected either.”

HRD South America

But HRDs also become socially isolated, condemned in the media, sometimes rejected by their own communities, and often criticised within their own families for the positions they take or the risks they create for those around them.

“When we talk about violations of human rights, we know they are perpetrated by the political authorities – but also society as a whole is involved. For us, who are trying to claim rights for gays and lesbians, or women, we need to consider how we can influence the attitudes of the public” HRD, Morocco

In some societies, the sense of isolation is extreme, because HRDs are not recognised yet face all the physical dangers, threats to life, and social exclusion described above.

“We are invisible. Like a high wire act in the circus, we must tread extremely carefully. Our country is in a state of terror. You do not know where the threat will come from. You have to sleep in different places every night. You have no choice but to take a different route to work every day.”

HRD, Algeria

“We opened a special hole in my house to allow us to get out, and that is how I escaped a staged attack earlier this year. For the last four years I have never slept for more than four hours on any night when I am in Iraq.”

HRD, Iraq

Faced by the dangers their work attracts, some HRDs said they isolate themselves in order to protect others around them.

“I work in a small radio station. I have seen death twice. My problem was that I interviewed people – so I became the centre of investigation myself, putting my colleagues, children, my family at risk. I was like a contaminating element. It was deeply stressful. I have women in my family, children. My wife wants me to stop. But what if this is what I want to do? I am only 33. And everyone who takes you anywhere falls under suspicion. It becomes better to work on your own.”

HRD, Togo

Social isolation of this kind is psychologically exhausting.

“I am sometimes no longer sure whether I am right, because people are always telling us that we are wrong – that we are traitors. I know of course that I am not wrong. But it is helpful to be able to talk here to others about their experiences, their sense of isolation, their sense of being, perhaps, crazy.”

HRD, Russia

RECOGNISING AND LIVING WITH STRESS

“How do you deal with the stress of your job? For all of us this is one of our main challenges. First I use music, then I love dancing. These are two ways of saying to the merchants of death that the essence of dignity is happiness.”

HRD, Colombia

“I do not want to be so afraid that I cannot think about the future.”

HRD, Thailand

“I never have time for myself. I am always working.”

Previous platforms did not directly address the issue of stress, although the 2003 and 2005 Platforms examined the need for HRDs to give proper attention to their security and discussed why they often do not do so because they find it difficult to consider their own needs, or are unwilling to admit to themselves that they are at risk or because they feel that they can control the risks they face. From this perspective, the discussion on managing stress at this year’s Platform simply took Front Line’s work on personal security a step further.

This would only be part of the truth, however. Many of the testimonies at this year’s Platform not only emphasised the social and political isolation that HRDs experience – their solitude, as voices of conscience that are perpetually being contested politically and personally – but also the acute sense of strain and guilt that many HRDs feel when their activity implicates and puts at risk the lives and safety of colleagues and those whom they love most. HRDs are drawn by conscience and vocation to do the work they do, but by doing that work they knowingly put in danger the people who are closest to them – not least their children, who cannot take responsibility for such decisions.

“What is difficult is that suddenly you realise that you face a real threat and that this will have an impact on your children and your spouse. But you don’t want to talk about your fear because you don’t want to involve other people in your situation. How to cope with this?”

HRD, Argentina

Of course, it is those who commit violence and crimes against the colleagues and friends and relatives of HRDs who are truly responsible. Nevertheless, HRDs face painful moral dilemmas: indeed, this is precisely why indirect intimidation and abuse of relatives of HRDs take place so frequently, and often brutally. The aim is to paralyse the HRD with fear - not fear for him or herself, but for those to whom he or she feels the deepest responsibility.

The 2007 Platform therefore devoted a session to naming and discussing the problem of stress. The session was introduced by Jane Barry, who wrote the report “What’s the Point of Revolution if We Can’t Dance?“ for Urgent Action Fund (UAF). She emphasised the intensely personal nature of human rights defence, alongside its more obvious and public aspect. Many HRDs come to the work they do because they have personally experienced violence, discrimination or homophobia. This work is also personal because of the support that others give – community, family, colleagues, friends. HRDs also put their bodies and their reputations at risk by the actions they take; this too is personal. Yet precisely because these are such personal matters, they are not discussed. Those who oppose human rights understand this very well: it is why they attack the bodies of HRDs, their reputations and those they love.

“As a student activist and then a lawyer, I have seen many things. I have seen my clients tortured. What can we do? We lawyers are reluctant to talk about stress. We think it shows weakness. But stress emerges in other ways – in drinking, or smoking, also you may cease to think clearly, may lose your energy. We therefore need to confront these things.”

HRD, Zimbabwe

Jane Barry suggested that HRDs should allow themselves to become more aware of the importance of the private dimension of human rights work, if only in order to sustain their ability to do it. This implies giving attention not only to reducing the risk of external attack (the subject of Front Line’s programme on security) but to a wider range of more personal needs. Overwork and exhaustion is an obvious issue for many HRDs, already recognised though less often managed. HRDs also need to consider how they can come to terms with grief and loss (“the thoughts that keep them awake, that seep into their dreams”); nourish the quality of their important relationships; think about their personal and spiritual needs (not only the needs of those they defend); relax and have fun and enjoy sex; recognise and learn how to live with fear, rather than deny it.

“We are so energetic all day that at the end of the day we fail to focus on our own needs as Defenders. Deep inside us we are empty, because we are refusing to give attention to ourselves. I think I have to reflect on my own situation, because it is painful to think of being killed, of leaving your family, leaving your children. I am tempted never to look back. We do need to move on, but the only comfort zone in the last resort is in ourselves, in our own minds.”

HRD, Philippines

Thinking about such matters can also be paralysing, of course, and Jane Barry emphasised that despite the enormous pressures and insecurity that many HRDs face, they keep going. This too needs to be understood. People develop personal and group strategies for coping. Some dance, some take strength from their religious faith, some make sure that their loved ones are in safety, some find a source of courage in the support their communities provide. This session was very well received by participants, who welcomed an opportunity to think about these very personal issues. There was a lively discussion, and the participants asked Front Line to develop further work in this area.

“There are two stresses, One is in your head. The other is in your heart. If you face stress, turn to God for help. He will help you. When we ask friends, friends cannot cope with it. But God will help you.” HRD Uzbekistan.

“We are worth a lot. We need to take care of ourselves because who will do the work if we are not here?”

HRD, Azerbaijan

Many HRDs in particular said how valuable and reaffirming it was to share their experiences with others.

“What happens is that we do not give ourselves time to think about our own safety. But all of us are bringing our family into this situation. How do we manage this and organise our own security? We should identify who is threatening us, and what the threats are: this would help us to think clearly. Song and dance helps. But we need time to think – and to share with others.”

HRD, Middle East

“Much of what we share is negative experience. But we have positive experiences to share too. What is clear is that each one of us should remember our successes. We should remember what worked.”

HRD, Egypt

“We know that we women have been excluded and discriminated against in our society and that when we seek to break out of this we are seen to be a threat and we are attacked. One of my sisters was raped and we are still very threatened. We have been living in terror. We need protection – yet the police who were appointed to do this are the same ones who threatened us. Yet, when I look around this room I see that we are not the only ones – we are not alone. After this meeting I see that others are suffering and some suffering more than us, and this is a source of great strength to us”

HRD, Guatemala