On the article "Racism in the Humanitarian Sector", these accounts are very infuriating and disheartening. Like so many issues connected with racial justice, the problems described in this article seem to be really widespread and deeply entrenched. This paragraph in particular really impacted me, and has me thinking about what we can do at our shared organization to help bring this about in some form: "There is still a touch of well-meaning, missionary zeal in the attitude of the northern aid workers towards the developing world. We need to see the talent among local workers, not imagine dependency. The ultimate aim must be to hand over control to local agencies. This would involve setting in place exit strategies for ex-pats and implementing transparent career ladders for local workers."
Thanks so much for raising these very important questions, Rachel! Regarding the quiz, I have to admit that while reading Ms. Cousens's statement I was having difficulty finding any fault with it. However, once I read the tweet you posted I immediately realized how very much is indeed missing from her lengthy, eloquent, but really not very substantive statement. I think Mr. Bery, in his tweet, raises excellent points. I believe that in situations of injustice or inequality, often the most effective way to bring about needed and lasting change is for people in the dominant group to, at least mostly, stop talking, start listening, and get out of the way to make space for people whose voices have historically not been heard as much, and who likely have the best ideas to share about how to start fixing the many problems that need to be addressed, with their experience-based wisdom and perspective. Also, it does seem that all too often in the wake of a crisis, many organizations and individuals (and I am definitely including myself in this) express sadness and remorse, but then fail to back up those beautiful words with any concrete actions, including those that would require sacrifice of some sort.
Regarding the article "On Equity in the International Development World", I love the word intravist and the idea that in order for a movement to bring about real and lasting change, it needs to include both activism focused on external efforts to bring about systemic changes in society, and intravism focused on internal efforts to change organizational structures. The points about power and privilege in this article hit especially close to home. Having worked at a number of NGOs both abroad and in the States that have had staff of diverse ethnicities and nationalities, I've seen that leadership positions, promotions, pay, and opportunities to work on exciting projects or attend conferences are all too often unevenly distributed, further concentrating organizational power and privilege with people who already had more of these to begin with. On a personal level, this article has inspired me to advocate for organizational power to be distributed equitably, and to spend my privilege through taking actions that may help colleagues and other contacts to advance in their careers, even if that means sometimes having to relinquish some of my privilege and make difficult sacrifices in order to make more space for others.
On the article "Racism in the Humanitarian Sector", these accounts are very infuriating and disheartening. Like so many issues connected with racial justice, the problems described in this article seem to be really widespread and deeply entrenched. This paragraph in particular really impacted me, and has me thinking about what we can do at our shared organization to help bring this about in some form: "There is still a touch of well-meaning, missionary zeal in the attitude of the northern aid workers towards the developing world. We need to see the talent among local workers, not imagine dependency. The ultimate aim must be to hand over control to local agencies. This would involve setting in place exit strategies for ex-pats and implementing transparent career ladders for local workers."
Thanks so much for raising these very important questions, Rachel! Regarding the quiz, I have to admit that while reading Ms. Cousens's statement I was having difficulty finding any fault with it. However, once I read the tweet you posted I immediately realized how very much is indeed missing from her lengthy, eloquent, but really not very substantive statement. I think Mr. Bery, in his tweet, raises excellent points. I believe that in situations of injustice or inequality, often the most effective way to bring about needed and lasting change is for people in the dominant group to, at least mostly, stop talking, start listening, and get out of the way to make space for people whose voices have historically not been heard as much, and who likely have the best ideas to share about how to start fixing the many problems that need to be addressed, with their experience-based wisdom and perspective. Also, it does seem that all too often in the wake of a crisis, many organizations and individuals (and I am definitely including myself in this) express sadness and remorse, but then fail to back up those beautiful words with any concrete actions, including those that would require sacrifice of some sort.
Regarding the article "On Equity in the International Development World", I love the word intravist and the idea that in order for a movement to bring about real and lasting change, it needs to include both activism focused on external efforts to bring about systemic changes in society, and intravism focused on internal efforts to change organizational structures. The points about power and privilege in this article hit especially close to home. Having worked at a number of NGOs both abroad and in the States that have had staff of diverse ethnicities and nationalities, I've seen that leadership positions, promotions, pay, and opportunities to work on exciting projects or attend conferences are all too often unevenly distributed, further concentrating organizational power and privilege with people who already had more of these to begin with. On a personal level, this article has inspired me to advocate for organizational power to be distributed equitably, and to spend my privilege through taking actions that may help colleagues and other contacts to advance in their careers, even if that means sometimes having to relinquish some of my privilege and make difficult sacrifices in order to make more space for others.