Conversation with humanitarian analyst Thomas Byrnes, considers if the humanitarian emperor has any clothes on.
In this episode of the Fading Causes Podcast , I ask the gimlet-eyed Thomas Byrnes who has seen it all inside and out , here, there, and everywhere, to lift the seven veils obscuring the humanitarian enterprise. Why and how does the international humanitarian system manage to deceive itself and others? Our conversations ranges over questions such as:
– Is there a right to humanitarian assistance?
– What is humanitarian need and how is this definition shifting?
– Who do we consider worthy of our humanitarian compassion, and who not?
– Are humanitarians really deciding “who to kill” rather than “who to save”?
– What happens to the people-in-need we won’t, don’t or can’t help?
– Have big humanitarian agencies got zombified?
– Who is really at the coalface saving lives, but who gets the credit?
– What is the real deal (not defunct Grand Bargain) betw donors & agencies?
– How much does the world spend overall on humanitarian aid?
– How much should it spend, and can we afford it?
– Why can’t we have a globally equitable humanitarian financing arrangement?
– How many cents in the humanitarian dollar get to the beneficiary (and why is this kept secret)?
– Why are humanitarians allowed to mark their own homework ?
It is not correct to say that the humanitarian system is broken. On the contrary, it is working very well – for itself – exactly as designed. The real honesty would be to acknowledge that and see if we can muster enough courage to change. Do we want?
Meanwhile, the Global Humanitarian Overview of United Nations OCHA, is anything but.. And so this footnote for the world’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, author of “The Naked Diplomat”. He must be collecting enough material now for his next oeuvre, “The Naked Humanitarian”. Cant wait to read it.
With thanks to Impact Newswire Faustine Ngila, 4IR,
Listen on Spotify here or watch on YouTube
