It doesnt matter if its a military or large scale disaster relief operation, it doesnt take a genius to find everything from the absurd to the downright criminal. The best groups usually have the shittiest PR machines if any at all. That is because they are too busy working and too broke because they spend their money on actual relief work. There is a lot I cannot stand about NGOs but like the military they are a necessary function, especially during large scale disasters. Each has an agenda and a constant need to justify its existence to receive funding. There is no difference between an aid worker jumping from disaster to disaster and a military contractor jumping from gig to gig. They both rely on an unceasing supply of human misery to succeed. Having never been in the military or worked as a contractor I have learned massive amounts from their experience when it comes to logistics, medical training, security, and communications. I have also seen the risk averse, wasteful, and entitled manner in which some operate in the field. On the other hand I have never worked for a large NGO either but on some rare occasions I have met extremely competent and aware individuals who operate at personal risk level equal to or beyond front line military personnel and their local knowledge, connections, and most importantly their understanding that they do not have all the answers makes them an incredible asset. But most of those types dont play well with others so they often get marginalized or ignored all together. It seems that both groups operate with the stated goal of working towards the ultimate obsolescence of their fields but both rely on our natural human reactions to horror to keep themselves viable entities. Considering these two vastly different groups can be tarred with the same brush it might be interesting to see what each can offer to the other in terms experience and advice. Instead of tossing the tired old cliches of poverty pimps and mercenary around the bar they are probably both drinking in. One last thing, if you are a human being with a soul and want to help do a little research. Check out community based organizations in the region. They tend to not use each disaster as a trojan horse to push whatever agenda gets EU or USAID money at the time.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 19:59:41 +0000