I think my biggest issue with humanitarian aid is the dependency it creates. I'm sure folks who read this may disagree and that's ok, it's their opinion and I have mine and since this is my blog I can share my opinion freely. Lately I have been really critical of humanitarian aid that has no end. Every organization and every government should have at least some plan when they say their work is finished and it up to the individuals in that country or area to take over. I was talking to one of my closest friends here about it the other night. I, as an American, should not be coming into a country and telling the people how they should live their lives. I think the role of humanitarian aid should be informative and providing resources when they are not available and only after all ways of utilizing resources in the community are exhausted. I should not tell people that the ways in which I live, the culture which I am a part of, should be theirs.
I get tired of seeing western ex-pats capitalizing off the suffering of people. Yes, I said it and yes it's true. I have my philosophy toward development, it may not be the best philosophy but it works for me. In any position I have, whether stateside or abroad, it is my goal to ensure that those i'm working for, on behalf of, are given the skills, knowledge and access to resources or knowledge of where to get those resources so that they don't have to depend on me to do it. I would like to work myself out of a job. I have seen project after project haphazardly thrown together, to ensure that the expat workers have jobs, when instead a comprehensive program can be carried out that addresses all the issues that are present and makes the way forward, without the dependency, much easier. For example, the building of health clinics. I have a hard time understanding why health clinics are built but there is no water point nearby or adequate amount of latrines/toilets for use. Now if there are not adequate hygiene facilities, how to do you ensure that people are not picking up or sharing germs. In the states do our health centers not have access to a clean water source? No! So why is it ok for us to build health centers in countries where the need for is more evident.
Or what about schools. We build schools. We want kids to learn in these schools. We think they should be in these schools, but we don't build completed or adequate schools. We build a school but don't provide furnishing, so even if a student has a nice school building, it is not a comfortable learning environment. Schools with tin roofs, yes they're nice, but if the school was built correctly, when it rains there would be a barrier that keeps the loud rain noise out. Have you ever heard rain on tin? It's loud. When I would teach in Malawi, because I just had tin, it would be too loud for my students to hear me and so even though the students and teacher are present, learning does not take place because it's simply too loud. Now don't get me started on toilets and water...
Whatever happened to integrity? I believe that I would not do something for you or would not treat something differently then I would treat it if it were my own.
Ok. I can continue on this rant, but i'm going to step off my soapbox.
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