STOCKHOLM, (IPS) - Aid organisations perpetuate humanitarian disasters. That is one of the conclusions made by war correspondent Linda Polman in her latest book as she describes the world of humanitarian aid.
When there is a major disaster, large and wealthy aid organisations come pouring into the area, according to Polman who has seen the results in a range of crisis areas. "Should international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) carry on providing relief if warring factions use aid for their own benefit, thus prolonging the war?" she asks.
'With Friends Like These (De crisiskaravaan) -- The untold story of humanitarian aid operations in war zones' investigates the effects of emergency aid on the course of wars and on the crises themselves. She criticises the aid industry's multi-billion dollar operations, which she describes as a business in a market of supply and demand, dressed up as Mother Teresa.
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| Haitians wait to get into a clinic run by an international aid group. AFP |
"Aid has always been a subject of abuse. Money is disappearing into the wrong pockets,'' she says.
Polman talks about "contract fever" and how aid organisations focus on winning and extending contracts and follow the flow of funds. As donors look for other disasters and other countries, the crisis caravan -- international humanitarian organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross -- set off again.
The salaries and the danger-and-discomfort bonuses in the aid sector are said to be fostering an international jet set. "In humanitarian territories, restaurants, squash courts and golf and tennis facilities are often reconstructed sooner than bombed-out schools and clinics," she writes in her book and notes "wherever aid workers go, prostitution soars".
She also describes how aid is used and abused by governments and rebels. "The military regime is making a lot of profit from the aid in Darfur. Aid organisations pour millions of dollars a year into Sudanese government coffers, because they have to pay tax on every morsel they hand out in aid."
According to Polman, over 70 percent of the Sudanese government's money is spent on the army, which sets fire to villages in Darfur and forces people to flee.
She also recalls the situation in a refugee camp in Goma in 1995, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, when Hutu extremists were sustained and nursed by humanitarian aid and therefore could continue the war in Rwanda.
"While the West thought it was helping victims of the genocide, it turned out it was the perpetrators who the aid organisations were looking after so well."
According to her many humanitarian organisations simply ignore the complicated context they are working in -- even when wrongful use is made of their assistance.
However, director general of the Dutch section of MSF, Hans van de Weerd, says his organisation disagrees with the general tone of Polman's book.
"The book lumps all humanitarian aid into one big group. We do not recognise our work at all in the series of incidents mentioned. With our own teams we closely monitor the situation in the field to ensure that aid gets to the most vulnerable people," he told IPS.
He says that MSF is aware that humanitarian assistance can be manipulated. The organisation has carried out several studies to get a better understanding of the diversion of aid in Chad and Darfur, among other places.
"If we notice that our assistance is no longer reaching those most in need, if we can no longer operate in a neutral or impartial manner, we have to revise our activities or even decide to stop providing help," he says.
Last week the World Food Programme, the food aid branch of the United Nations, released a report showing that it is very likely that half of the 250 million dollars spent in Somalia has disappeared into the pockets of war lords, which means a serious injection into the war economy. The report is now in the hands of the United Nations Security Council.
According to a 2005 study by the Centre for Civil Society Studies at John Hopkins University in the U.S., the non-profit sector is an enormous economic force and the fifth largest economy in terms of GDP after the U.S., Japan, Germany and Britain.
"About 37, 000 aid organisations in the world spending 130 billion dollars makes it an industry," Polman says.
She welcomes the possibility of humanitarian organisations being tried by the International Criminal Court. "I would applaud at least the possibility of the option because of the role international aid organisations play in wars.'' |
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