Download or read book Chasing Chaos written by Jessica Alexander and published by Crown. This book was released on 2013-10-15 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jessica Alexander arrived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide as an idealistic intern, eager to contribute to the work of the international humanitarian aid community. But the world that she encountered in the field was dramatically different than anything she could have imagined. It was messy, chaotic, and difficult—but she was hooked. In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects evidence for the Charles Taylor trial in Sierra Leone, and contributes to the massive aid effort to clean up a shattered Haiti. But we also see the alcohol-fueled parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and self-doubt, and the struggle to do good in places that have long endured suffering. Tracing her personal journey from wide-eyed and naïve newcomer to hardened cynic and, ultimately, to hopeful but critical realist, Alexander transports readers to some of the most troubled locations around the world and shows us not only the seemingly impossible challenges, but also the moments of resilience and recovery.

Download or read book Development Humanitarian Aid and Social Welfare written by Cornelia C. Walther and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-04-27 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how human behavior is shaped by our aspirations, emotions, thoughts and sensations, and conversely, how the experiences that result from our behavior impact ourselves, others and the planet. Based on an analysis of the constant interplay between these four layers, it offers practical solutions to systematically induce sustainable social change dynamics. It shows why change, in addition to economic and political transformation at the macro level, begins with mind-shifts at the micro level. Hereby it establishes the missing link between investments in personal empowerment and collective welfare. A novel theoretical paradigm is the foundation of this book, which is anchored in the perspective of an ongoing ‘body-mind-heart-soul connection.’ Based on the premise that an equitable society is to the benefit of everyone, it is argued that efforts made for others have benefits at three levels – for the individual who acts, the one who has been acted for and for society.

Download or read book Managing Humanitarian Relief 2nd Edition written by Eric James and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Managing Humanitarian Relief is aimed at the relief worker who in the midst of these complex situations is putting together a programme of action to help people in extreme crisis. It provides humanitarian relief managers with a single comprehensive reference for many of the management issues they are likely to encounter in the field.

Download or read book Humanitarian Ethics written by Hugo Slim and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-09 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humanitarians are required to be impartial, independent, professionally competent and focused only on preventing and alleviating human suffering. It can be hard living up to these principles when others do not share them, while persuading political and military authorities and non-state actors to let an agency assist on the ground requires savvy ethical skills. Getting first to a conflict or natural catastrophe is only the beginning, as aid workers are usually and immediately presented with practical and moral questions about what to do next. For example, when does working closely with a warring party or an immoral regime move from practical cooperation to complicity in human rights violations? Should one operate in camps for displaced people and refugees if they are effectively places of internment? Do humanitarian agencies inadvertently encourage ethnic cleansing by always being ready to 'mop-up' the consequences of scorched earth warfare? This book has been written to help humanitarians assess and respond to these and other ethical dilemmas.

Download or read book The Vulnerable Humanitarian written by Gemma Houldey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-27 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vulnerable Humanitarian challenges the prevalence of stress and burnout culture within the aid sector, laying bare the issues of power, agency, security and wellbeing that continue to trouble organisations and staff. Engaging and insightful, this book illustrates the problematic and unrealistic expectations of aid workers through the archetype of the perfect humanitarian, and considers why burnout is so endemic, yet so rarely acknowledged, within aid organisations. The book provides practical means through which staff and managers can reflect upon and discuss damaging organisational cultures and behaviours, and develop a more inclusive and caring work environment. Drawing on original academic research and interviews with national and international aid workers and development experts, the book proposes a feminist, anti-racist and decolonial agenda in challenging oppressive systems and structures within the sector. With extensive professional experience as an aid worker herself, Gemma Houldey also shares her own struggles with mental health and what she has learned from feminist practices for self- and collective care. Proposing new ways of addressing wellbeing that are sensitive to the multi-faceted personalities and lived experiences of people working on aid and development programmes, The Vulnerable Humanitarian is essential reading both for current aid sector employees and for prospective employees and students.

Download or read book The Crisis Caravan written by Linda Polman and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A no-holds-barred, controversial exposé of the financial profiteering and ambiguous ethics that pervade the world of humanitarian aid A vast industry has grown up around humanitarian aid: a cavalcade of organizations—some 37,000—compete for a share of the $160 billion annual prize, with "fact-inflation" sometimes ramping up disaster coverage to draw in more funds. Insurgents and warring governments, meanwhile, have made aid a permanent feature of military strategy: refugee camps serve as base camps for genocidaires, and aid supplies are diverted to feed the troops. Even as humanitarian groups continue to assert the holy principle of impartiality, they have increasingly become participants in aid's abuses. In a narrative that is impassioned, gripping, and even darkly absurd, journalist Linda Polman takes us to war zones around the globe—from the NGO-dense operations in "Afghaniscam" to the floating clinics of Texas Mercy Ships proselytizing off the shores of West Africa—to show the often compromised results of aid workers' best intentions. It is time, Polman argues, to impose ethical boundaries, to question whether doing something is always better than doing nothing, and to hold humanitarians responsible for the consequences of their deeds.

Download or read book Becoming an International Humanitarian Aid Worker written by Chen Reis and published by Butterworth-Heinemann. This book was released on 2016-10-16 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Becoming an International Humanitarian Aid Worker draws on the experiences of those currently working and those hiring people to work in humanitarian aid today, and an analysis of job postings over a 9-month period. It provides relevant information and advice to help jobseekers make more informed decisions about what steps to take. It first pushes prospective job seekers to reflect on whether this is the right career path for them. It then provides tried and tested strategies for preparing for a humanitarian career and being competitive in the humanitarian job market, serving as a comprehensive guide for those thinking about a career in international humanitarian aid. - Features advice drawn from an analysis of humanitarian jobs, a survey of aid workers, and interviews with human resource staff and humanitarian professionals - Written in a conversational style with anecdotes, advice and stories from people working in the industry today - Features useful tips and exercises in every chapter to help you put your best foot forward - Provides links to useful and relevant internet resources through a dedicated web page

Download or read book Humanitarian Economics written by Gilles Carbonnier and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-03 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the booming humanitarian sector faces daunting challenges, humanitarian economics emerges as a new field of study and practice--one that encompasses the economics and political economy of war, disaster, terrorism and humanitarianism. Carbonnier's book is the first to present humanitarian economics to a wide readership, defining its parameters, explaining its utility and convincing us why it matters. Among the issues he discusses are: how are emotions and altruism incorporated within a rational-choice framework? How do the economics of war and terrorism inform humanitarians' negotiations with combatants, and shed light on the role of aid in conflict? What do catastrophe bonds and risk-linked securities hold for disaster response? As more actors enter the humanitarian marketplace (including private firms), Carbonnier's revealing portrayal is especially timely, as is his critique of the transformative power of crises.

Download or read book Health in Humanitarian Emergencies written by David Townes and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive, best practices resource for public health and healthcare practitioners and students interested in humanitarian emergencies.

Download or read book Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers written by Fiona Dunkley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humanitarian aid workers are trying to make a difference in an increasingly dangerous world. Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers: A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical Incident Care highlights the risks of such work, educates professionals responsible for their duty of care, and brings together current thinking to promote collaborative working to support the carers of our world. From the humanitarian aid worker trying to organise support amongst chaos, to the professional offering a safe place for recovery, all of these individuals are at risk of becoming traumatised. Therefore, it is vital that we recognise the psychological risks on these individuals, and that they recognise how they can support themselves, so they can continue to function in the work that they do. This book can be used as a trauma awareness guide for all staff whose work exposes them – directly or indirectly – to trauma, and therefore becomes a risk to their physical or mental wellbeing. Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers will appeal to all those working in the field of humanitarian aid, counsellors and psychotherapists, emergency first responders, as well as those who are looking to support themselves after surviving trauma.

Download or read book Cambodia Calling written by Richard Heinzl and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-12-08 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What’s the matter? A mine? Some kid step on a mine? A blessure?" "No. Not a mine." We walk in and there’s a mother standing by her child. It’s a little girl. She’s a very beautiful girl with straight black hair, maybe six or eight, big eyes, a bit younger than Smiles and just as lovely. But she’s lying too still under a white sheet on the bamboo bed and her mother is talking in a monotone, staring off to the corner asking for help from Buddha. The little girl is staring at me, tracking every move I make. She’s so weak, all she can do is move her eyes. Sok Samuth approaches the bed and takes down the sheets. It’s very sad what we see. The girl is inhumanly thin and her skin is peeling off. He pulls the sheet up over the girl’s body again and the mother keeps up her monotone plea for Buddha while the little girl follows me, eye to eye. She wants me to make her feel better. I’m thinking, no, not this one. The whole thing was about this one. It was always about this one. "What is it?" he asks me. "I don’t know. Is there a fever?" "No, pas de fièvre." She is cool to the tough and there isn’t any shivering, no chills. ...All my ream could tell me was that she’d been sick for a few weeks and that her appetite was poor for a week and that she became worse ... I checked the two pediatric textbooks we had at the Blue House. Nothing. It could be kwashiorhor—protein malnutrition—all by itself, but we weren’t hearing about that out in the countryside. It was still lush and the harvests had been so good. Why would she be starving now? So maybe it is cancer. I think, What would Professor Jim Anderson do? How would my great mentor go after the diagnosis?

Download or read book The History and Practice of Humanitarian Intervention and Aid in Africa written by B. Everill and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-06-24 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of humanitarian intervention has often overlooked Africa. This book brings together perspectives from history, cultural studies, international relations, policy, and non-governmental organizations to analyze the themes, continuities and discontinuities in Western humanitarian engagement with Africa.

Download or read book Disquieting Gifts written by Erica Bornstein and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-30 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[This] artful ethnography . . . challenges us to reconsider both what giving looks like, and the relational possibilities of anthropological practice itself.” —Jocelyn L. Chua, American Ethnologist While most people would not consider sponsoring an orphan’s education to be in the same category as international humanitarian aid, both acts are linked by the desire to give. Many studies focus on the outcomes of humanitarian work, but the impulses that inspire people to engage in the first place receive less attention. Disquieting Gifts takes a close look at people working on humanitarian projects in New Delhi to explore why they engage in philanthropic work, what humanitarianism looks like to them, and the ethical and political tangles they encounter. Motivated by debates surrounding Marcel Mauss’s The Gift, Bornstein investigates specific cases of people engaged in humanitarian work to reveal different perceptions of assistance to strangers versus assistance to kin, how the impulse to give to others in distress is tempered by its regulation, suspicions about recipient suitability, and why the figure of the orphan is so valuable in humanitarian discourse. The book also focuses on vital humanitarian efforts that often go undocumented and ignored and explores the role of empathy in humanitarian work. “Bornstein . . . delineate[s] a ‘global economy of giving’ while questioning Western preconceptions about humanitarianism.” —Jonathan Benthall, Times Literary Supplement “Insightful and beautifully written . . . accessible and engaging.” —Pierre Minn, Social Anthropology “Conveys deep insights into international and intra-Indian charity and volunteering.” —Jonathan Benthall, University College London “Reveals the complexity of the contemporary moral economies of the gift.” —Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study, author of Humanitarian Reason: A Moral History of the Present

Download or read book The Idealist s Survival Kit written by Alessandra Pigni and published by Parallax Press. This book was released on 2016-12-27 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 75 brief self-care reflections that will aid workers, activists, and volunteers prevent burnout, renew their sense of purpose, and achieve fulfillment Heal from over-exhaustion, prevent burnout, and regain your motivation with these short readings from a psychologist who has spent many years in the field working in conflict and disaster areas. Gathered from Alessandra Pigni’s interaction with humanitarian professionals and backed up by cutting–edge research, these concrete tools offer new perspectives and inspiration to anyone whose work is focused on helping others.

Download or read book Condemned to Repeat written by Fiona Terry and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-12 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humanitarian groups have failed, Fiona Terry believes, to face up to the core paradox of their activity: humanitarian action aims to alleviate suffering, but by inadvertently sustaining conflict it potentially prolongs suffering. In Condemned to Repeat?, Terry examines the side-effects of intervention by aid organizations and points out the need to acknowledge the political consequences of the choice to give aid. The author makes the controversial claim that aid agencies act as though the initial decision to supply aid satisfies any need for ethical discussion and are often blind to the moral quandaries of aid. Terry focuses on four historically relevant cases: Rwandan camps in Zaire, Afghan camps in Pakistan, Salvadoran and Nicaraguan camps in Honduras, and Cambodian camps in Thailand. Terry was the head of the French section of Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) when it withdrew from the Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire because aid intended for refugees actually strengthened those responsible for perpetrating genocide. This book contains documents from the former Rwandan army and government that were found in the refugee camps after they were attacked in late 1996. This material illustrates how combatants manipulate humanitarian action to their benefit. Condemned to Repeat? makes clear that the paradox of aid demands immediate attention by organizations and governments around the world. The author stresses that, if international agencies are to meet the needs of populations in crisis, their organizational behavior must adjust to the wider political and socioeconomic contexts in which aid occurs.

Download or read book The Great Haiti Humanitarian Aid Swindle written by Timothy T. Schwartz and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-03-24 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Book Summary Thirsting for sensational stories about hunger, suffering, and violence, the world's most prestigious news agencies-the Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters, CNN, CBS, The Guardian-have for decades uncritically repeated anything NGOs, UN agencies, or pseudo-researchers claim about Haiti. No vetting of data. No critical review. In the wake of January 2010 Haiti earthquake these exaggerations and lies erupted on a scale greater than ever before: apocalyptic disaster, machete wielding gangs with faces hidden behind bandannas battling in the streets for loot, dust covered earthquake survivors resurrected from concrete tombs, two million orphans and lost children, sexual predators and slave traders prowling the rubble-strewn slums of Port-au-Prince hunting the children down, marauding bands of armed men beating and raping women and children at will, and sprawling refugee camps infested with every kind of human affliction. The avalanche of exaggerations and outright lies precipitated a tsunami of sympathy and donations, the latter of which mostly disappeared into the coffers of aid agencies, pockets of consultants, flimflam experts, and the Haitian elite. The Great Haiti Humanitarian Aid Swindle is the inside story of how some of the world's most respected humanitarian aid agencies have deceived and manipulated the overseas public regarding what is really happening in Haiti. Sometimes they've done it knowingly, sometimes through self-delusion, but always with the goal of collecting money from sympathetic donors and always by ignoring or burying data that would contradict their fantastic claims. Their greatest ally has been the mainstream press.

Download or read book Necessary Risks written by Abby Stoddard and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-02 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Attacks on humanitarian aid operations are both a symptom and a weapon of modern warfare, and as armed groups increasingly target aid workers for violence, relief operations are curtailed in places where civilians are most in need. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges to humanitarian action in warzones, the risk management and negotiation strategies that hold the most promise for aid organizations, and an ethical framework from which to tackle the problem. By combining rigorous research findings with structural historical analysis and first-person accounts of armed attacks on aid workers, the author proposes a reframed ethos of humanitarian professionalism, decoupled from organizational or political interests, and centered on optimizing outcomes for the people it serves.