Episode 05: PLACES OF RISK | PLACES OF SERVICE
What does it mean to live on the edge?
JERRY ROBACK is most comfortable describing himself as a wild man, a humanitarian adventurer, a self appointed, fearless, grass roots citizen of compassionate service. He seeks to create an ‘oasis’ - calm, magic, rescue and sanctuary where need reveals itself in spontaneous encounters. That is his home.
Jerry Roback’s lifelong work has been devoted to humanitarian initiatives. During the Vietnam War, he worked with the US State Department, embedded with the CORDS (Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support), a pacifist program, integrating civilian and military personnel. In Vietnam, he ran numerous, dangerous rescue missions, saving the lives of more than 1000 Cambodian refugees. He later cofounded the SE Asia project to provide humanitarian assistance with bomb, mine and agent orange victim recovery. The organization additionally raised funds to provide support for families recovering from various war related injuries, material needs for orphanages, electricity for indigenous mountain people, and secured opportunities for the disabled, integrating them into mainstream society. In the United States he has worked in community development, the healing arts, mental health, and has fed the poor out of his own kitchen. He cofounded the Wellspring Family Health Center and Guild of Healing Arts Professionals, using a blend of physical, psychological and spiritual care methods. His Oasis project provides safe spaces for political discussions across divides.
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT
“Like I said, Vietnam is my second home. I have a family there. I remember lots of people from the war time. Oh, there are so many amazing stories. I had a lot of love for the people, and I saved a lot of lives. I risked my life to do it. And it was a bond, a big, huge bond to me. You know, I had times when I was driving my international scout into a Hamlet or a village Montagnard, which are the Aboriginal people that most Americans loved so much, the people start ed waving me down. At first. I thought they were just saying, hi, here comes the refugee guy, got some rice, got some tin roofing, hot dog, you know, but then I saw it was stop, stop, stop. And then I stopped. And the few men came over to me and said, don't go in there. They're waiting for you today. That's just the first example that comes to mind, cause we loved each other and we went through a lot together. And, they had seen me, with a capital S, and I had seen them. We were brothers and sisters. It was very beautiful. I have a picture, and it's of me standing, talking with a Montegnard man,this last time when I was in Vietnam. And he's got his old uniform on, and he didn't speak Vietnamese other than a few words. And, I didn't speak his dialect of aboriginal language, but we stood there and talked to each other for 20 minutes about the war, and how much we loved each other. We both knew it. We didn't understand a word, but we were bonded at that level so much.” FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT READ HERE