Tag Archives: for aid non-insiders

All I Wanna Do

16 Nov

Day three of this week’s Tales From the Hood rock ‘n’ roll marathon.

Here’s the third tune in the playlist:

This ain’t no disco
It ain’t no country club either
This is LA!

Articles like this one used to annoy me for reasons that I couldn’t quite pin down and articulate well. Now I’m in touch with my reasons, and articles like this just make me chuckle:

Getting involved in aid and development: Businesses can do much to aid development but approaches should be carefully considered before jumping in.

It’s not than anything harmful is being proposed. It’s not that the suggestions are wrong or bad (they’re actually pretty sensible, mostly). And in this rare instance, it’s not even aid elitism (which, as you know by now, I very cheerfully embrace . This is a profession, not a hobby.. don’t get me started…).

But all I wanna say is, guys, have some fun. It’s good.. great.. awesome, even, that you want to “tune into local realities”, or provide a “retail/charity option that allows consumers to do something positive while going about their daily lives…”

But let’s be very clear: this is not aid. It is not development. You are not alleviating poverty in the third world or mitigating the effects of conflict or natural disaster. You are simply being a responsible citizen. In today’s hyper-aware, cause-marketed, extreme-emotional-need-for-politically-correct-expression world, we’re too often too quick to conflate “not raping the helpless” with “making the world a better place.”

All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I’m not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I’m not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard 

There are many, many good things that you can do. You can recycle. You can learn another language. You can invite your neighbor of another socio-cultural and/or ethno-linguistic demographic over for lunch. You can offer to babysit the child of the single mom next door so she can run errands. You can drink only free-trade coffee. You can give $5.00 to the homeless person you pass in the tube station every day on the way to work. You can own a hybrid car. You can slap a “COEXIST” bumper sticker on your hybrid car. You can ride a bicycle to work. You can eat less meat. You can wear less leather. You can burn your Justin Timberlake CDs and only ever listen to Indie bands.

All good things to do.

But some of you need to relax a little. Relief and development work are actual professions. Don’t try to do them in your spare time. And perhaps even more importantly, don’t feel as if you have to. It’s okay to just live your life in a simply responsible manner without trying to spin a contorted and over-the-top theory of how you’re “supporting aid work” or “making the world more equitable.” Do driving the speed limit, parking legally and not shoplifting make you “part of law enforcement”? Of course not. They simply make you a law-abiding citizen.

Or do you feel the need to spend your summer vacation volunteering at a gynecological clinic? Or at Legal Aid? No? Exactly.

It’s okay to spend your vacation abroad as responsible tourist. And I mean real tourist, not voluntourist. Have fun. Don’t try to play aid worker for two weeks or two months. Just go and have fun. The world is an interesting place, filled with interesting people. Enjoy it. Enjoy it without the burden of feeling like you have to do something that you’re not qualified to do (seriously – you’re not qualified).

All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I’m not the only one

If humanitarian aid or development work are what you really want to do with your life, fine – make the commitments and investments necessary to make this your career, your life. Otherwise, seriously, just go have fun. Responsibly.

I like a good beer buzz early in the morning…

Sheryl Crow is a total aid worker…

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DO something

22 Jul

I know I’m a bit behind the curve on this one, but I could not help but be a bit amused several days ago over the smallish disturbance in the blogosphere force over the fact that someone named Heather Armstrong (I’d never heard of her before) was traveling to Bangladesh to blog from location about her experience. It’s a narrative we’ve all heard before: Send an inexperienced Westerner to an impoverished corner of the planet so the she can have an epiphany about poverty or whatever, and in the process raise awareness and perhaps some cash for a worthy cause. While I don’t particularly agree with the approach it seems that the Bloggers sans Frontieires train has pretty much left the station, and so no real point in ranting about this. Anyway, Brigid Slipka says more or less what I’d say, albeit probably in a more restrained fashion.

On thing that did pique attention, though, was a post by “Liz” over at Mom-101.

[Side note: I only became aware of ‘mom bloggers’ a few months ago, and have come to understand that they are a force of nature. Whereas aid bloggers have their little “tweetups”, mom bloggers have full-on conventions. In places like Las Vegas. And those who think that I’m snarky take note: even at my meanest and most vitriolic I’m still warm and cuddly compared to some of the mom bloggers when they get riled up. Just sayin’.]

And what particularly caught my attention was this comment by “Cara”: “…I haven’t spent my entire career working in a developing country so my knowledge of what is most effective is certainly limited. But, here’s the thing, even if “you’re doing it wrong” YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING! And that’s about a million times better than a lot of people…”

Between the original post and this comment there is plenty that I could rant about right about about now. International relief and development work is a profession, not a hobby. And if a single, childless blogger was to muck about with parenting and childcare, and then blog about it all in simultaneously self-righteous, defensive and authoritative tones, I think we all know what the backlash from, you know, actual parents would be. I have a tough time understanding why aid work should be any different.

There are the poverty tourism and “Whites in Shining Armor” angles, too. Here again, though, I lack the emotional energy to really engage. It’s all been said before. The world is getting smaller. It’s possible for anyone with enough cash to get a tourist visa and ticket to Bangladesh (or wherever), and virtually nothing stopping them from blogging about their encounters with the people who live there. In general I think that more exposure, more knowledge, more contact with those very different from ourselves are all good things. And for at least today – maybe it’s the jet-lag – I don’t feel like trying to be the thought police.

But the one that I really cannot leave alone right now is the far-too-often invoked line of reasoning which says, as Cara wrote, “even if you’re doing it wrong” YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING! And that’s about a million times better than a lot of people…”

I genuinely struggle to understand how, in so many areas of life we are very quick to say, “do it right, or don’t do it at all…” Yet when it comes to the very complex, high stakes endeavor of alleviating poverty in the context of another culture we are too often similarly quick to shrug off misguided attempts to “help” as perfectly acceptable because at least the person did something.

Seriously?

The argument which says “Do something. Just do something. Even if it’s not particularly right, at least you’re doing something, which is more than millions of others can say…” is ultimately a bankrupt argument. Twisted as they may have been, Hitler and Pol Pot both honestly believed they were making the world better. They did something. They took the initiative. And we all know the results. So while I absolutely do not compare Heather or Liz or Cara to Hitler and Pol Pot, I do have to point out the obvious: Being deeply convicted that one “means well” and that “every little bit helps” does not mean that one is actually doing good rather than – you know – harm, and it is in no way a good enough basis for mucking about with the lives and livelihoods of other people.

And just so that we’re clear, this is not professional exclusivity or elitism (although, as you know, I very cheerfully embrace both). This is me reminding you all of the reality that international relief and development are easy to get wrong. The fact that humanitarian practice is still growing as a profession is in no way license for those who don’t know what they’re doing to go off someplace and sort of figure it out on their own in the name of “at least he/she is doing something…” It takes specific knowledge and skill to get this right.

We are messing around with people’s lives, here. Just because you won’t be slapped with a malpractice suit if you get it wrong (although I do actually believe that day is coming) doesn’t mean it’s okay to “just do something” in order to feel good. Very often, and especially if you don’t know what you’re doing, the very best thing to do is…

Nothing.

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Dear Students – 2: Sacrifice

20 Mar

Dear Students,

I know you’re reading. I know that some of you have instructors who make you comment on aid blogs as part of your class work. And so I’m doing a short series of posts just for you. I’m going to take this opportunity to share with you some of the things that no one ever told me in grad school. This is Part 2.

(Part 1)

* * *

I meet many people who think of humanitarian work as a “calling.” Maybe they’re called by God. Maybe they feel guilty for having been born into wealth. Maybe they want to “give something back.” Very often they see the life of a humanitarian as a series of sacrifices that they somehow feel compelled to make.

I’ll be very direct: I find this logic quite troubling. First, in my experience, these are the ones least likely to be honest about their other motivations (adventure, deep conversations with refugees, etc.). Second, they’re typically the least open to the conversation about what “good aid” is. Why? Because to them this is all (or at least primarily) about them and their sacrifices.

In its’ basic form, sacrifice is making a trade-off: You sacrifice this in order to get that. You love Big Macs, but don’t eat them – you sacrifice – in order to stay in shape.

But sacrifice is also much more than simple trade-off. The language of “sacrifice” or “calling” imply moral high ground. Ascetics are called live lives of chastity, poverty and obedience – they sacrifice – in order to secure a better afterlife. Parents remind their grown children of sacrifices made in years past in the attempt to avoid nursing homes. For all of its’ apparent virtue, in human relationships “sacrifice” very often boils down to attempts at control and manipulation. Making sacrifices is a way to accrue social capital. In the humanitarian world it often looks like this:

“I would have been totally justified in staying here in suburbia and living a comfortable life, but I’m making the sacrifice of moving to Costa Rica where things are tougher, just so that I can help the poor and make the world better.”

Making the humanitarian sacrifice makes you better than those who do not. They’re staying home and getting rich off of other people’s misery; You’re taking a low salary (or maybe no salary) and living a life of deprivation for the greater good. Using the language of sacrifice to describe aid work implies that you are somehow entitled to something from those who did not make similar sacrifices. Maybe respect. Maybe appreciation. Maybe a raise. Maybe a break on your check-in luggage fees.

And I can think of few things that are more detrimental than thinking of humanitarian aid work as a “sacrifice.” Few things set the tone for an imbalanced power dynamic between you and “the poor” you say you want to help; few things are more bald attempts at manipulation of your donors and constituents and even colleagues than thinking of your work as a sacrifice.

Further, few things will set you up for disillusionment and burn-out and bitterness in the future. If humanitarian work is choice you’re making out of a sense of “being called” to “sacrifice”, one day you will regret that choice.

* * * * *

You can’t have everything. Making tough choices between two or more things that you really want is simply the reality of being an adult.

I like the way that Meg describes the thought processes around her choice to stay in Battambang.  

“…but when I looked critically at how I was trying to make decisions, I didn’t like what I saw. When I moved to Battambang, it wasn’t as a career move, I came because I loved Battambang, I loved  my friends here, and I saw an opportunity to join the community for some very cool projects.”

I may have made a different choice myself, but there’s an honesty in her description of thinking through exactly what she wants to spend her days doing (not “wearing heels”, apparently :) ). And if I were to give you all, dear students, advice on this point it would be to do as Meg has done (although I don’t mean move to Battambang, necessarily):

Make your decision to pursue humanitarian work based on what you actually want to do. As in, what kinds of activities do you actually want to spend your days doing?

Understand that you cannot have it all, and not because humanitarian work equals a life of deprivation, but because this is simply the way that life is. You most likely not be able to have a humanitarian career and also park a Ferrari in the garage of your summer home in the Hamptons. You have to choose one. Make the most informed choice you can. And understand that it is, in fact, a choice, not a sacrifice. Let this be your response to the disdainful critics and the doe-eyed enthusiasts alike.

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