Who saves the saviors?

cal71 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:57:47 -0800

In the field of humanitarian aid, personnel decisions are life and death business. The UN knows all too well the costs of poor oversight, but aid worker and blogger Michael Kleinman makes another observation, far more disturbing. In the multi-billion dollar humanitarian aid business, some lives are worth less than others, and not only among the populations served. Local staff are the lifeblood of international charity organizations, and a lifeline for those they serve, yet they too rarely make the headlines, either to celebrate their work or to acknowledge their sacrifice. Is this a symptom of neo-colonialist attitudes in global aid or the evolution of aid into anything but neutral charity (or ngo-colonialism)? Simple racism? Or are the economic conditions in many of these places so dire that the relatively well-paying jobs for international organizations make the risk seem worthwhile in countries where civil society and the middle class have been destroyed or never existed in the first place?

mapalm — Tue, 09 Oct 2001 08:17:44 -0800

Four UN aid workers killed in attacks on Afghanistan
I am surprised this hasn't posted yet. Has ennui settled in already?

MetaFilter posts tagged with aidworkers

Who saves the saviors?