Zimbabwe Watch
  About ZW
  Press statements
  Publications
  Column Wilf Mbanga
  Links
  Contact us
 
 
civil society | elections | food security | freedom of expression | government
human rights | labour | land reform | laws | MDC | refugees | ZANU-PF
international agreements | NEPAD | SADC | South Africa
sanctions | Commonwealth | Europe | Great Britain | USA
elections 2005 | Murambatsvina evictions
See also: links


Title   Hard truths and soft solutions: the aid industry's approach to the emergency in Zimbabwe
Author Sayce, Clare; Christian Aid
Edition PDF
Published London: Christian Aid
Year 2004-09-30
Pages 37
Abstract High-profile relief operations have become the lifeblood of the international aid industry. On the back of mass appeals - fronted by wide-eyed, starving children - aid agencies rally attention and gather funds and roll in food-filled trucks to where the hungry people wait. Again and again we feel that we have made a difference, that the rich world has fulfilled its obligation to the poor, and that the rescue missions have been accomplished. But, in reality, no humanitarian emergency is ever quite so simple in its machinations or its solutions. This paper looks at how the aid industry portrays and responds to emergencies, how it interprets and presents people's lives and needs, and how it devises relief operations that too often fail to address the real and difficult causes. In 2002, aid agencies poured into Zimbabwe to avert a famine triggered by bad weather. But the weather was not the issue, many of those who got food did not need it (any more than usual), and the real needs were not addressed.
Bestand Sayce_hard_truths_2004090.pdf (197 Kb)
Country Zimbabwe
Themes
  • International institutions
  • NGO's (Northern)
download AdobeReader to read PDF filesback




Recent documents:
Difficult dialogue: Zimbabwe-South Africa economic relations since 2000
Solidarity Peace Trust, Oct 23, 2007
To what extent is South African business profiting from the crisis in Zimbabwe?
Destructive Engagement: violence, mediation and politics in Zimbabwe
Solidarity Peace Trust, July 10, 2007
Increasing repression, what are the chances for mediation by South African president Mbeki?
Zimbabwe: an end to the stalemate?
International Crisis Group, March 5, 2007
Is Mugabe finally loosing his grip on power?