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The Crisis Caravan: What's Wrong With Humanitarian Aid? (2008)

by Linda Polman(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0805092900 (ISBN13: 9780805092905)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Metropolitan Books

review 1: A really interesting book. It's a criticism of how aid is done (but not of giving aid). It asks question, provides lots of facts and experiences, and tries to start a discussion. It gave me background on a bunch of different things I've seen. She wasn't trying to provide a balanced piece but rather make a case for the world having an open and honest discussion on aid in general -- how it's done, what the principles should be, how it can be more positive, who should be allowed to do it, etc. I don't necessarily agree with everything Polman said but I didn't find it antagonistic or even bitter but just frustrated and passionate. I also would like more of a discussion on aid.
review 2: This is the kind of journalism we can't afford to lose. Polman looks at al... morel the humanitarian aid that pours into civil war zones like Rwanda and Sudan and examines the uncomfortable reality that much of it has actually supported the oppressors in the conflict. The worst example was what happened right after the genocide in Rwanda in the 90s. Hutus left the country to settle in refugee camps in the Congolese city of Goma. That's where all the aid went. But the Hutus were actually the perpetrators of the violence. The real victims were back in Rwanda. Polman claims that aid agencies feel pressure to use donor funds to distribute aid even if it is being appropriated by the wrong people. This stuff can really drive you crazy. Western generosity can be so stupid. less

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