Mauro Celladin, humanitarian worker and INTERSOS travelling companion for over 20 years, left us on 3 April 2023
Since the mid-1990s, Mauro made a significant contribution to our organisation, playing leading roles in responding to major emergencies. From the Balkans to Afghanistan, from Darfur to Nigeria, there are many countries in which he has acted as coordinator of field operations, logistics and refugee camp management. His missions include South Sudan, Iraq, Chad, and Central African Republic, up to his commitment to Greece and Italy.
As recalled in the book “Abbiamo stretto molte mani” on our 20th anniversary, “his path crossed with INTERSOS in 1995 in Sarajevo. From the beginning of the conflict in Bosnia, with some friends he organised transports of necessities for the population: ‘We used to cross the border at night, on isolated and dark mountain roads to avoid passing through Serbian checkpoints otherwise the soldiers would have taken part of the load, probably everything,‘ Mauro told journalist Sonia Grieco on that occasion. That’s how I met INTERSOS operators in Sarajevo and started working with them, first in Albania, then in Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and later in India, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries, almost all those where INTERSOS intervened”.
Always ready to leave in times of need, always ready to help a colleague, always capable of dialogue and careful to find solutions with local communities and people assisted, Mauro embodied the “always on the front line” spirit that defines the INTERSOS way of being. We will miss his humanity, empathy, passion, and professionalism in humanitarian work. Our sincerest condolences to his daughter and the whole family.