By Constance Webb
The field of humanitarian aid provides thousands of jobs to people across the globe. The prospect of working in this industry can be daunting and dangerous at times, so what attracts so many to the field? Is it altruism and caring for others? Is it the egotism and recognition for doing something so worthwhile, or is it the escape and challenge presented to do something so monumental yet dangerous? Is it therefore care for others or self-care?
I have not had the chance to work for a development organisation, but always felt it was something I wanted to do, to offer care to those most in need. Through further investigation of the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) it is something that I have become more uncertain about. I have reflected on both the reasons for wanting to and more importantly whose interests I would be promoting if I worked for an NGO. The interest in aid work arose through altruism, for me to do something ‘good’, to help others and make a change, legitimate reasons which to me felt justified. But, after reading discussions of aid work and the motivations behind it, I began to question my seemingly genuine interest in it.
I cared to help others build a better lifestyle, reduce impacts of poverty and suffering, and support those less fortunate than myself. While the motivation behind this wasn’t to reduce my guilt at the disparity across the world, or to gain ‘kudos’, public admiration for achievement, it was to feel a sense of pride and create positive change. While this could be justified through a sense of selflessness, the true gain was causing and witnessing visible benefit to the individuals I would be offering aid to, giving me gratification. Under the guise of helping others through international aid, I realised the motivation for my want to partake in international aid was self-serving and for my own personal contentment, albeit gained through the care of others. I had friends who had carried out international aid work and had seen their experiences plastered over their Instagram and Facebook pages. While this could have come from a motivation like mine, from believed altruism, the recognition through social media, one way that NGOs use celebrities to raise awareness for causes, can actually be seen as egotistic and for the benefit of recognition by others.
Over the years the focus of anthropological studies has been on the recipients of development aid, but more recently there has been a shift to also consider those working for NGOs, and the self interest of NGOs themselves. Professor Roderick Stirrat (2008) classifies development workers into three categories: mercenaries, missionaries and misfits. While he sees these three classifications as different, he argues they are all forms of the same theme of character within the development industry, of those attempting to deal with the ‘white man’s burden’. Mercenaries he sees as those paid a large amount to work as consultants for development companies, interested in the materials gained from development and therefore self-interest. Missionaries are described by Stirrat as being those who are motivated by a sense of duty, obligation and “a sacrifice of self in the pursuit of some greater goal”. Misfits, Stirrat argues, are those stuck in the development sphere, who joined it to escape from being a misfit at home but end up a prisoner to the development world as they cannot face the adjustment of going home. Here we see those seeking egotism, altruism and escapism in the development world. While for everyone there must be self-sacrifice and care for the benefit of others, it goes hand in hand with self-interest, and therefore self-care.
Fundamentally, international development and aid requires the ego. It is needed for the confidence to implement change, for the self-assured decision to relocate for the benefit of the wider community in the face of desperation and extreme poverty, or in war torn communities. The ego protects people from emotional harm, insulating them, but it can also cause issues when working with funding providers as it gets in the way. Balancing between egotism, altruism and escapism is essential to those working within the development sphere. While there needs to be altruism and care for motivation initially to get involved in creating change, egotism, escapism and self-interest go hand-in-hand too, from self-interest of affirmation to keep going and feel a sense of pride in achieving change.
There is a juggle between self-care, in the sense of self-interest, and care for others within the development industry, but how about NGOs themselves? NGOs are often established by individuals moved by the images of suffering and despair shared by the media, for a care for the people affected. However, they often end up being established with little insight into the local area where they wish to develop change, and are subject to the demands of donors to stay in business. Due to lack of local knowledge NGOs recruit government staff, those who are highly educated and knowledgeable about local affairs, but this incites corruption and a decline in civil services. To align aid programmes with the interest of the national and local governments, as well as international donors, is a huge challenge to NGOs. In many instances a lack of ability to connect to the local community and implement maintainable change results in digression, not progression. While NGOs are established from care, there can be conflicts with the interests of donors, so NGOs can result in causing more harm than good, through acting in care for themselves to keep in favour of their donors and maintain business support.
While development and aid organisations are established in order to care for those most in need, there is a self centred element from the pressure of donors to the employees on the ground. It is a struggle to negotiate whether the assistance offered by the development sector is sincerely about care or is overcome by self-interest, and self-care, caused through its business-like nature.
Constance Webb has now completed her third year of study at Oxford Brookes University and is awaiting her result for a BSc in Anthropology. Her dissertation focused on Indian International Students and an understanding of self within what she described as a ‘Liminal Diaspora’. She has been offered a Master of Arts in Philosophy: Mind, Body and Culture at Exeter University.
culture and care 