Humanitarian Assistance For Humanitarian Relief

Over the recent years the military has had a greater involvement with aid programs, this was most notable from her experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Militarization of aid politicizes it for something that shouldn't be political. As the author believes humanitarian aid needs to exist in a neutral humanitarian space in order to remain its legitimacy and maintain close ties to the community level. From one example mentioned in Damned Nations, during the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, international aid agencies that worked closely with communities showed greater progress and effectiveness (Nutt, 92). In essence this administered a positive attitude towards westerners, and symbolized progress within hostile nations. Aid that is not militarized allows civilians to feel safe access to services and without the fear in putting themselves or their families at risk (Nutt, 92). In comparison military administered aid has proven to lack the same level of trust because civilians inherently become worried about being targeted as collaborators (Nutt, 92). In addition the militarization of aid proves to bring further danger towards humanitarian workers. “Over the past decade, attacks against aid workers have increased 177 percent, with reports of rape, violence, extortion, abduction, and killings” (Nutt, 94). The author states this was reflected from a misjudgment that involving armed militants into

In the Case Study “Who Cares About Haiti Anyway” by Louis Jannsens there are clear indications of moral goodness, moral badness, moral rightness, and moral wrongness. In the Case Study about Haiti, and the 2010 earthquake that ravaged the country there are examples of premoral values and premoral disvalues that were involved in the decisions made in the Case Study. After the earthquake, the wealthiest countries, NGOs, and various charitable organizations pledged to help Haiti recover. People were concerned with the lives of the Haitians, their physical health, helping to rediscover their joy, and being good friends to those who needed it, they were concerned with their premoral values. We can call these people morally good and right. Days following the earthquake people from all over came to Haiti with food, water, clothing, medicine, and monetary donations to help a country that had just lost it’s citizens, homes, schools, and hospitals, among other things. Those in this Case Study who had good intentions were all of those who helped in whatever way they could, they were all morally good and right, and their premoral values were right. They include: Pierre, Professor Mensah, IHRC, NGOs, the United States, the UN, the Nepalese, and the media. Some of those whose intentions were to help, and premoral values were in the right place ended up doing morally wrong things that were regrettable, harmful, and in the end only added more to the reality of hunger thirst, pain, illness,

An Imperfect Offering is a powerful personal memoir from a James Orbinski, a Canadian who has spent most of his adult life in front-line humanitarian work in the world's worst conflict zones. Despite its dark chapters, it is also a hopeful story about the emergence of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as a new and independent agent of civil society, and the possibilities of making the world a better place. In “An Imperfect Offering”, James Orbinski tells the story of people who have been harmed by war, and humanitarian workers who have come to heal them when possible. He engages in deep reflection on the nature of humanitarian response and the many threats to this most human activity. He has sharp criticism for governments who act to cause

When natural disasters hit an area, the only way to relieve major suffering is with the help of foreign aid. Major suffering from lack of food, shelter, and medical aid in developing countries is an easily avoidable dilemma. I will present you with Peter Singers’ Basic Argument regarding our moral obligation to relieve suffering that he presents in his paper “Famine, Affluence and Mortality”. There are two problems of spatial distance and shared obligations that help to show the universality of Singer’s Prevention-Principle. Then there are three questions Kekes asks Singer in his paper “On the Supposed Obligation to Relieve Famine” regarding the Prevention-Principle. He displays potential problems for the current principle as described by Singer. The revised version of the principle, after considering the problems, does not support Singer’s original conclusion. In Affluent Countries we should drastically change our moral conceptual schemes and give up luxuries to provide aid to those in developing nations.

Before enrolling in Ethics and Society at Texas State University, I considered myself to be educated about my own decisions and my reasoning for why I think the way I do. Although I assumed I had my morals figured out, I never reflected on the aspect of whether or not it was moral to help one in need. I always understood if someone needed help, it was best to assist in whatever way I could. But after reading John Kekes “On the Supposed Obligation to Relieve Famine,” I now think that it should be reconsidered, depending on the given circumstance, if the person deserves to receive the help. I will explain why John Kekes article changed my perspective on the issue of famine relief throughout the following paper.

Humanitarian aide is constantly being picked apart due to their (at times) inability to complete responsibilities. Moreover, basic communication from one organization to another is seen as extraneous. If we were to look upon discrepancies within the international humanitarian system, the lack of uniformity between organizations should be priority. Inconsistencies such as implementing agencies, dependency germane to financial but also political disparity, and little to no accountability upheld on behalf of the aide.

Humanitarian action is what the world turns to in case there is a crisis in any part of the world. But as David Rieff suggests in his book, “A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis,” there is a crisis in the humanitarian world and space. He draws from first personal experience in places like Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo to tell how some of the challenges humanitarian organizations face; including their struggle to be neutral and apolitical.

Humanitarian intervention has brought as much help and support to the world as it has brought unrest. The nature of intervention involves another actor intervening in another state. Therefore, sovereignty becomes conditional. When and how to intervene is one challenge. Many countries deploy military forces into conflict zones or diplomatic tools. The UN deploys Peacekeepers, unarmed forces. Timing still remains a contested issue, when to arrive and when to leave. In addition, many interventions lack a consensus from regional or international actors, for example, the recent US-led intervention in Libya. The African Union was against it; but, the Arab League was for it. International organizations and states should create an in-depth comprehension of the situation and a coherent, concise plan, including a timeline, objectives, and exit strategy, when conducting a humanitarian intervention.

However, he outlines four possible negative outcomes of state-led humanitarian action in linear thinking or not adapting to feedback or changes over time. The first negative outcome is the possible increase of corruption in the recipient relying on aid, so no real changes are being made to improve the condition of much needed infrastructure. A few examples are through “bribery, nepotism, embezzlement, extortion, or graft and so aid then is redirected away from those it intended on helping.” (Pg. 167) Haiti is guilty of this because their government lacked the resources to allocate the aid coming in, so they began to use aid money for corrupt practices. The second outcome is the recipient becoming dependent on foreign aid and thus, masking the problem. Because people are accustomed to receiving assistance, they no longer will seek to seek investments in business or even maintaining or building infrastructure which are necessary for long term development. The third outcome is that sometimes aid may end up in the wrong hands, and actually benefit the ones who are at the main culprits of the conflict. This occurs when humanitarians respond too quickly to provide assistance, not realizing that those who are receiving the aid are also a part of the cause of conflict. Armed groups also sometimes steal from those who receive the aid, so the citizens are left worse off. Lastly, there have been cases when those who are sent to provide aid actually take advantage of the vulnerability of the citizens and commit sex crimes as well as other things like “assault, fraud, smuggling, theft and torture.” (Pg 172-173) The UN is aware of this but sadly, those guilty are usually immune from punishment due to international law. In order to combat these negative outcomes, adaptability

The United State’s aid agencies played a tremendous role in Humanitarian services in crisis areas. Most of the time, the United States aid agencies get involved in areas which have been destroyed either by natural or man made disasters. After a devastating earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, causing death of hundreds of thousands and displacing almost the same number, the United States military and aid agencies were at the Frontline to provide emergency supplies for the people. In Libya the United States involved to protect civilians after the being targeted by the Libyan president at that time Muammar al-Qaddafi militias. But at the end of the day it became military intervention, “military intervention has created a de-stabilized (some say failed)

The United Nations and other major humanitarian relief organizations have recently come under fire as many victims have spoken up about being raped or being sexually assaulted in any way. Civil servants, humanitarian workers, peacekeepers, and contractors may seem like the peaceful do-gooders, yet reports by victims have shown otherwise. <= Clear and well articulated thesis

Humanitarian aid is care that is given to those that are victims of natural disasters or those that are located in places where war is occurring or has occurred. This care can include anything from food and water, to medical supplies and shelter, such as tents. A lot of people may not be aware of the problems that can arise as a result of humanitarian aid, since many only hear the positive outcomes of aid. There are both disadvantages and advantages to humanitarian aid during violent times, and there is a question about whether or not the negative aspects may actually outweigh the good.

Humanitarianism is the act of doing good for the benefit of others. Many people think that doing charity work is for personal gain only, while others believe that there is no ulterior motive for charity, and it is only based on a person’s moral qualities. Often, it is very difficult to interpret the motive behind charitable acts. There is also belief that no matter if there is a motive or not, charity work is still valuable and beneficial to the person acting and the person receiving. I believe that charitable acts are acceptable if there are honest intentions, but can also be viewed as selfish if there are wrong motives.

This illustrates that as long as we are not in calamitous jeopardy of being harmed or threatened, we have a moral obligation to help out others. The essay question contains the word “morality”; defined by the Black’s Law Dictionary as “pertaining or relating to the conscience or moral sense or to the general principles of right conduct”. Morals may be based on each perspective and their conscience, thus one may argue that their state of mind and their moral upbringing does not conform to those of others thus they see it as no moral obligation to assist other human beings; whether in the same country or not. But it should be realized that we live in a world that contains so many life threatening circumstances and other events that require assistance from others; therefore as human beings, we cannot sit back and watch as these negative circumstances continue to rapidly unfold.

In the post-Cold War era, the nature of conflicts and events that give rise to the need for humanitarian assistance have significantly evolved. For those caught in the middle of the “war on terror” in the Middle East, or unprecedented violence in Africa, the need to build relationships with the spectator in order to motivate donations is ever present. The relationship between the spectator and the suffering has significantly changed in the past few decades and NGOs and individuals seeking to motivate people to donate must find new ways to motivate this charitable action. In the post-humanitarian era, relationship between the individual donating and the cause has into one that is decoupled from grand emotions and based on moral agency.