Helen Bamber
Playing to your strengths
Helen Bamber is founder/director of the Medical Foundation
for the Care of Victims of Torture. Born in London,
she worked from a young age with victims of war and
oppression. In 1961 she joined the newly founded Amnesty
International, and it was from their medical group that
the Foundation emerged in 1985, providing medical treatment
and psychological and practical help to survivors of
torture and their families.
'I grew up in the1930s during the rise of fascism,
and later went to Belsen concentration camp to work
with the survivors after the end of the war. I began
to understand a dark side of humanity, and something
about the responsibility of being a witness. Setting
up a foundation for torture victims was a natural extension
of that work.
'Supporting our volunteers is vital.
Some of the material we deal with is horrendous - it
can be difficult to go home at night and put it aside.
We have our own consultants, so there's someone for
us to talk to. For me it's important to see clients
myself, to roll up my sleeves and get
involved.
'The move from being a family, in the best sense, to
being a fully-fledged organisation is a very painful
one. I think it would have been healthier if we'd had
a slower transition and people may accuse me of being
an expansionist, because I do find it difficult to say
we're only going to see so many people. But I understand
that we can't help everybody.
'Often, people in human rights have a strong sense
of justice and question authority - and that can mean
they don't always want to assume authority. But you
have to be able to say 'no' and make firm decisions
even if they're unpleasant ones. I've also found that
people tend to appoint people who are less challenging
than them, and it's important to appoint people who
in some ways are better or more knowledgeable than you
are.
'A leader has to be aware of their skills and weaknesses,
and to be able to supplement those weaknesses. For instance,
I have to accept that I may be able to reach the public
and win them, but I'm not a good manager.
You have to look for those skills in your senior management
team, and our team is very good at those things.'
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