A Tribute to Andrew Baer
March 17, 2015 will be difficult to forget for the members of the Humanitarian Action Working Group (HAWG) and others at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University. Andrew Baer, a co-founder of the group, passed away after he was involved in a car crash in Dubai while returning to the United States. Andrew will be missed for his contributions to the humanitarian group and the other community groups that he was involved in during his lifetime. The vacuum that his absence has left will be difficult to fill.
I met Andrew for the first time on December 4, 2012, at my first public event as President of the Africa Working Group (AWG). The event, “Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo: History, Status and Future Directions,” was well attended by people from the George Mason campus and the Arlington community. After the event, a young man walked up to me, introduced himself, and said “Please invite me whenever you have any event on Africa.” This was the first day I met Andrew, and we became good friends. Andrew was easy-going, made friends easily, and mixed freely with people from different backgrounds and cultures. After our first meeting, we maintained contact and discussed career plans.
In March 2013, Andrew participated in the Atlantic Hope Humanitarian Simulation Exercise at the Indian River College, Florida as a graduate student. He later became an active member of the Consortium for Humanitarian Services and Education (CHSE). He co-founded the Humanitarian Action Working Group (HAWG), the student-led humanitarian working group at S-CAR. Andrew was also the sole editor of the Humanitarian Action Monthly Newsletter (HAMN), a newsletter he founded to create awareness about the humanitarian field.
In 2014, Andrew again participated in the Atlantic Hope exercise in a volunteer controller/evaluator role. Prior to the exercise, he co-authored a paper for the Consortium for Humanitarian Services and Education on how to restructure the Black Swan Prison component of the Atlantic Hope Exercise. The paper “Simulations for Sustainable Protection of Prisoners of War (PoW) and Detainees: The Atlantic Hope and Black Swan Prison Model” explored the history of protection of prisoners and how a simulation model can enhance understanding about how to protect detainees, from the point of arrest to eventual incarceration. The recommendation of the paper with respect to transportation of detainees rightly captures the causes of the recent crisis in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray after his arrest and transportation in police custody.
In addition, during the 2014 Atlantic Hope exercise, Andrew demonstrated his love for humanitarian affairs by playing different roles ranging from supervising hotwash debriefings to the Black Swan prison guard. Upon returning from this second Atlantic Hope exercise, he went on to co-author an article “Managing Humanitarian Crisis: The Atlantic Hope Experience,” published in SCAR’s Newsletter in May 2014. The article summarized the experience of the Atlantic Hope exercise as a model for teaching humanitarian action.
In addition to Andrew’s active involvement in the Humanitarian Working Group, he was a member of the Nigeria project team at S-CAR whose proposal with the Center for Peace Studies, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria, won the United States Institute for Peace grant for sub-Saharan Africa Universities. The project “Strengthening Graduate Peace and Conflict Studies in Northern Nigeria” would not have been possible without Andrew’s contribution. Andrew also played an active role in many associations and community groups. He was treasurer of the Graduate Student Associaton at S-CAR, and a volunteer with the Buckhall Volunteer Fire Department, Prince William County. Andrew had a humanitarian heart; he can be described as a humanitarian practitioner, always desirous of participating in activities that helped alleviate the plight of vulnerable people.
Andrew was well prepared for his chosen career. He obtained a BA in Government and International Politics; certificate in Prevention, Reconstruction and Stabilization; and an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, all from George Mason University. In 2013-2014 academic year, Andrew was named a Boren Fellow, an award up to $30,000 to graduate students to enable them specialize in areas of study critical to US interest. He worked for the Intelligree Risk Management Company that provides security for the Kajaki Dam Reconstruction Project in Afghanistan, and also served as the Site Security Intelligence Officer, working with the US Military and Afghan Security Forces. These training and experiences were a plus to Andrew's interest and career in humanitarian issues. After his graduation in Spring 2014, he maintained contacts and involvement in Alumni activities and the other group activities that he helped to nurture while he was a student. The Humanitarian Action Working Group is a testimony to this commitment.
The last message I received from Andrew while he was in Afghanistan, on March 6, 2015, said “I will be in Afghanistan until the 17th, landing in DC on the 18th and DC for 4 weeks of break before heading back to Afghanistan." The wish of Andrew did not come true, but the Humanitarian Working Group members will never forget his contributions to the group. The group will honor Andrew by identifying with the fund the at White Sulphur Springs (WSS) that his familiy has established in his honor, and will also ensure that the Humanitarian Action Monthly Newsletter (HAMN) that he founded continues. Adieu, Andrew Eyvan Baer.
### Photo: Ernest Ogbozor and Andrew Baer, Co-founders of the Humanitarian Action Working Group. Photo Ariana Tuchman, Consortium for Humanitarian Services and Education.