What's behind the NGOs?

The principal concerns Polman has raised in The Crisis Caravan are focuses on the actions of NGOs and whether or not those actions actually serve to achieve the NGO’s goals.
She said in her book that "Aid organizations are businesses dressed up like Mother Teresa", she was pointing out that those aid organizations are helping and aiding on the outside. They pretend that they are helping people as their main goal, but they are actually aiming to earn more money, expand and take more funding from the public at the same time.

Amsterdam-based journalist Linda Polman published The Crisis Caravan: What's Wrong with Humanitarian Aid? in 2011. The book showed how aid operations and the humanitarian world have become a feature of military strategy. (Credit: Amazon.com)  

Polman also pointed out that "that's [Aid organizations are businesses dressed up like Mother Teresa] not how reporters see them [aid organizations]". She suggested that journalists reports on what goes on on the surface, and that the journalists do not usually ask questions for aid organizations. Polman thinks that the media is not doing a good job or not critical enough when it comes to organizations "aiding". That made the NGOs to continue operate with benefits for themselves.

In order to make humanitarian aid successful, journalists, the public, governments has to improve their ways for doing their job.

For journalists, they need to report critically on the aiding process by the NGOs. It is good to report the whole process of how and where the money goes after the aid organizations have obtained the money. Journalists should provide the transparency of these process and reassure or even convince the public that the funding are in good hands and doing the right thing. Journalists should not be biased about what they report on, such as the organizations that they were funded by.

The public need to ask questions and do research on the aid organization they will be donating to. Where does the money go? What percentage does the money go to the ones in need, or promotions and programming for these organizations? (Credit: cnn.com)

As for the public, Polman encouraged people should be more informed and educated before acting, such as to ask more questions and do some research before donating money to NGOs. Even for the more renowned NGOs, the public should not follow blindly. The public should understand what the organization do in terms of cultural, political, economical and social aspects.

For the governments, they need to be the administrative role to the NGOs. Even though they are ot funded or have any relations to the government. The government should ensure that the NGO's are doing their jobs ethically and are following guidelines. That is to prevent any corruption or irresponsible actions for the NGOs. The government should be responsible to ensure that the NGOs are strictly aiding and helping people, without any political backing.

Humanitarians

Humanitarians - Costa Rica

According to Linda Polman, “humanitarians carry the integrity of their Red Cross principles – neutrality, independence, and impartiality – before them like a shield and think it is self-evident that the principles more important than their consequences. “ Humanitarians are very sensitive in every country. “Theirs is an ineluctable humanitarian duty, they argue. They have no choice but to ease human suffering, even if the bad guys benefit.” We found that humanitarians are not controlled easily. Humanitarians seemed to be goodness, but the bad guys would also benefit from it.

In Costa Rica, there is a non-profit foundation called the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation that to develop creative and economical solutions to a wide range of social problems.  It mainly focuses on the problem from young people. The organization would provide opportunities to exchange friendship, goods, services, and financial resources for critical needs among different cultures, socio-economic classes, and language groups. We found that the organization would help avoid kinds of the social problem and improve the education level for the young people. However, humanitarian would still lead lots of social problem such as race, class and crime.  I found that I researched Costa Rica humanitarians” in google search, most of articles are the explanation and description about Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. It could show that the government pays lots of attention on the organization; in other words, the government thinks that the taking care to the young people is the main mission for them now. it could also show that the government attaches important to the young people in Costa Rica.

There is an article called 10 Costa Rica stories to watch in 2014 in The Tico Times online. It lists 10 main issues happened in Costa Rica in 2014 which are interesting and some of them are relating to humanitarian. They are tourism’s steady climb, what will become of Costa Rica’s oceans, Costa Rica’s carbon-neutrality goals: myth or reality, Moin Port expansion, is a Costa Rica primavera on the horizon, Border dispute: Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua, can we just balance the budget already, will in vitro fertilization finally become legal, will Costa Rica legalize illicit drugs and Costa Rica heads back to the World Cup. These ten stories included the social issues and environmental issues. The one I really want to point out that relating humanitarian is will in vitro fertilization finally become legal. According to the article, vitro fertilization is only illegal in Costa Rica in the western hemisphere. There is a question that illegalizing for vitro fertilization is protecting humanitarian or harming humanitarian. “The Inter-American Court of Human Rights already has ruled that Costa Rica must grant its citizens access to the procedure as a matter of human rights. The irony is that Costa Rica fought for nearly a decade to headquarter the human rights’ court in San José. President Laura Chinchilla also pushed for its legalization.” Human rights are really important in the situation. Even though the government want to legalize the vitro fertilization as other western countries,  it must grant its citizens access to the procedure to do the voting. However, as Costa Rica is still a traditional country, it’s very difficult for them to legalize the vitro fertilization. For the voting here, we could actually see the humanitarian.

References: 

http://www.crhf.org/

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/01/21/10-costa-rica-stories-to-watch-in-2014

Humanitarian Aid: Helpful or Hurtful?

As we have discovered in the past few weeks the subject of humanitarian aid is a very sensitive one.  Being a donor from half way across the world it is convenient to avoid the negative consequences of humanitarian aid.  It is pretty easy to walk through Speaker's circle and donate to an organization and feel that you have done a good deed.  But for me it has been very eye opening to see the other side of the coin.  It never even crossed my mind to think that in a situation where humanitarian aid is required that the aid is dispersed to both sides of the issue.  In the perfect world that my brain creates I imagine that the aid is given to the "good guys."  But in war-torn areas that could not be further from the truth.  Both sides are helped, but often times at a cost.

(The American Red Cross is one of many

humanitarian aid organizations)

I think that a main issue that Polman observes in her book is how much of the aid is wasted.  It is crazy that humanitarian aid organizations are charged to enter war torn areas.  These aid groups are coming to help!  The war chiefs that are setting the prices to enter must have no regard for human rights, and be incredibly selfish.  A chief is supposed to serve as a leader, and look out for what is best for their people.  A chief should not be charging someone to enter to give help!  Some of the negotiations that Polman mentioned were ridiculous.  Polman mentioned one negotiation where a general wanted a promise for a shopping spree and helicopter ride to the capitol for his wife.  Who thinks of such a thing and expects a humanitarian aid to actually pull through with that?  These men must be out of their mind, and full of greed.

(Huts guard the entrance to an African village)

Another issue that Polman points out in regards to humanitarian aid is that it has created an entire branch of the war economy both for those in the war torn areas and the aid organizations themselves. She mentions landlords jacking up prices in the places where the caravan needs to stay. The housing market is just another way to create avenues for money to travel to the wrong hands.  On the other side of the issue is the aid organizations themselves needing money.  When Polman says, "Aid organizations are businesses dressed up like Mother Teresa" I think that she is making the claim that the organizations are no different from any other business.  Aid organizations are constantly trying to get money so they can fund both the current issue, and the next issue.  They use the same tactics any other business would, and are often successful because of the positive stereotypes that surround them.  Pullman’s quote simply brings this to light.

In order to make Humanitarian Aid successful a lot needs to happen.  For Journalists, they simply need to ask more questions.  If we get aid groups to be more transparent with where the money is going this could get the ball rolling on some regulations for humanitarian aid.  The public needs to become more informed.  I personally had no idea that any of these issues were present until the past few weeks.  I feel this is probably a common theme among the majority of my peers.  Finally, the government needs to put regulations on aid.  Aid should properly be dispersed and be disallowed to countries that will steal aid money.  I think that currently humanitarian aid should be halted until something is done.  It is an easy opinion to have given the current situation, but I think that if aid is halted it will provide a bigger incentive for everyone to pay more attention to the issue. 

Is Humanitarian Aid Doing Its Job?

In Polman’s book, she addresses the ulterior motives of charities and aid operations. She says that these organizations have a commercial interest now. For example, by haphazardly donating aid to persons in need, the Red Cross sustained Hutu extremists as they carried out an extermination campaign against the Rwandan Tutsis. This is a huge issue that many people don't know about. We need to inform ourselves and our peers of these pressing issues. We need to shine the spotlight on them and talk about them. Talking about them is the first step in fixing the problem, we need people to see and understand what is so wrong about this issue. 

(Picture of The American Red Cross volunteer helping out.)

She refers to aid organizations are businesses dressed up like mother Teresa because they aren’t doing their job. She says they’re more worried about their public figure. She says that most of their aid is gone to waste. She focuses on the actions and goals of NGO’s and reflects on whether those actions and goals are actually achieved by these NGO’s. Polman says that these journalists don’t report below surface level. She thinks that the media is not doing its job when it comes to reporting on these organizations and their aiding methods.

(This picture shows the different types of roles NGO's can play. I think this is a great example of how NGO's can explain what they do, they just need to go one step further and put statistics and facts about the money and donations involved in these steps.)

I think journalists need to dig deeper into these organizations, ask the painfully truth staking questions that people have been too scared to ask. They need to ask exactly how much money they are receiving and exactly where that money is divided into going. I think the government needs to intervene as well and become more managerial in these NGO’s in making sure they are actually doing what they are supposed to be doing with all this money they are gathering. Many people of this nation have no idea what is going on behind the scenes, as I’m sure most people in this class and on this campus have no idea. I think it’s important for the government or the NGO’s themselves to educate people as to where the money is going and coming from. That way, people can have a greater trust in them and be more willing to donate money because they know exactly where it’s going to go.

(Cartoon of NGO's portraying how some are corrupt and some are not)

The people also need to be more educated about these NGO’s before donating or helping out these causes. We all think we’re doing a good job by donating, and if we don’t know the corruption behind it then that is what we’ll believe. We need to educate ourselves with this knowledge of how these NGO’s work. Although NGO’s are non-government related, I still think the government has a duty to make sure that at least the people of our nation know what is happening behind the scenes.

Costa Rica – human rights

Costa Rica – human rights

Chuqi Li

Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey discussed how the change of environment affects human rights and human’s daily living through her video Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World. There are still few tribes in the world. People in their tribes still live like an ancient person. Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey used ancient wisdom to talk about how serious the environmental problems are. The environmental problems are not only about the climate change and the pollution, but also affecting the human rights in modern world. Honestly, Costa Rica is a country in the Central America, which is not modern as the United States. To compare to the United States, people in Costa Rica also looks like living in “ancient”. People in Costa Rica enjoy living in nature environment instead of modern city, just like what Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey discussed in the video. Human rights are not working perfect all over the world. Every country has something unfair happens every day.  

Human rights always relate to the politic system. “Costa Rica is a constitutional, multi-party republic governed by a president and a unicameral legislative assembly directly elected in multi-party elections every four years.” Every country’s political has strong decision-making power to control the human rights in the country. “In 2010 voters chose Laura Chinchilla Miranda of the National Liberation Party (PLN), the country’s first female president, in elections generally considered free and fair.” Gender inequality is a social problem that relates directly with human rights. However, the decision for choosing Laura Chinchilla Miranda to be the president of the country helped the human rights be more fair and free. It represented that the human rights policy become more and more important. Costa Rica has strong development recently that may lead the human rights develop quickly.  On the other hand, Costa Rica just chose their first female president in 2010, which is much later than other “modern city”. Environmental problems lead the country Costa Rica to be more “modern” and more developing.  “We now live in a global environment where cultures and civilizations exist and interact closely with one another. In addition to furthering closer contacts, this new phenomenon for the people and nations of the world has also brought tension and conflict in the areas of culture, economics and politics. “ According to the Farish A. Noor’s Beyond Eurocentrism, the interactions between countries would not really a good thing for a country. He used many cases and examples in Europe to explain how many countries in Europe thought they were the best. That would lead the cultural conflicts. If some countries in the United States develops so quickly, it would easy have this kind of phenomenon in the United States.

(Thousands marched for Human Rights in Costa Rica)

Even though it seems that the human rights system integrate in Costa Rica, there are still some human rights abuse cases. Sometimes the development is just apparent; it seems like human systems are developing but deeply they aren’t.  “Principal human rights abuses reported during the year included harsh prison conditions and treatment, delays in the judicial process, and domestic violence against women and children. Other human rights problems included trafficking in persons, including sex trafficking of children, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” It happens because of the cultural differences. Costa Rica is a traditional country; the cultural development could not follow the speed of the development of the economy and politic. Therefore, people in Costa Rica should be more care of the human rights and become more free and fair.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/220644.pdf

Beyond Eurocentrism,  Farish A. Noor