Crisis Caravan audiobook cover - What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid?

Crisis Caravan

What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid?

Linda Polman

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Economics

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Crisis Caravan
Commercialization & Lost Principles+
Exploitation by Warring Factions+
The Aid Lottery & Media+
Unqualified Aid (MONGOs)+
Failure in Afghanistan+
Reform & Accountability+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why did aid organizations fail to uphold the principle of neutrality in the Goma refugee camps during the Rwandan genocide?
  • A. They were mandated by the United Nations to exclusively support the Hutu government in exile.
  • B. They lacked the medical supplies needed to treat Tutsi refugees, forcing them to rely on Hutu forces.
  • C. They acted as competing commercial enterprises, setting aside humanitarian principles to secure donor contracts.
  • D. They believed that providing aid to the armed forces would convince them to surrender to international courts.
Question 2 of 8
How do 'refugee warriors' exploit humanitarian aid in conflict zones?
  • A. They use refugee camps to regroup, hide out, and use civilians as 'aid bait' to attract more supplies.
  • B. They infiltrate the leadership boards of Western NGOs to legally divert funds to their military campaigns.
  • C. They sell stolen international aid on the black market to fund global public relations campaigns.
  • D. They kidnap international journalists from the camps to demand ransom money from Western governments.
Question 3 of 8
According to the text, how do humanitarian organizations typically decide which global crises to focus on?
  • A. They follow a strict mandate from the United Nations based on the severity of the human death toll.
  • B. They conduct a cost-benefit analysis and choose crises that attract the most media attention and donations.
  • C. They draw lots in a system established by the Red Cross to ensure all global crises receive equal attention.
  • D. They focus exclusively on regions where Western military forces are already present to ensure worker safety.
Question 4 of 8
Why did aid organizations exaggerate the cholera death toll in Goma during the Rwandan genocide?
  • A. To pressure the international community into sending military reinforcements to stop the genocide.
  • B. To cover up the fact that many refugees were actually dying from starvation rather than cholera.
  • C. Because extremist Hutus had infiltrated the UN press offices and altered the official data.
  • D. Because a higher reported death toll generated more media attention, which resulted in more profitable donations.
Question 5 of 8
What is a major problem associated with 'MONGOs' (My Own NGOs) as described in the book?
  • A. They are highly bureaucratic and take too long to deliver urgent aid to crisis zones.
  • B. They refuse to accept funding from larger, traditional NGOs, making them financially unstable.
  • C. They are often run by unqualified amateurs whose unregulated actions can inadvertently cause harm or cultural tension.
  • D. They are strictly controlled by the military, which compromises their independence in conflict zones.
Question 6 of 8
What was one of the primary reasons humanitarian aid projects, such as road building by USAID, failed in post-9/11 Afghanistan?
  • A. The Afghan government heavily taxed all imported building materials, making construction financially impossible.
  • B. Funds were heavily depleted as they were passed down through multiple layers of subcontracted intermediaries.
  • C. Aid organizations refused to operate in the country because it violated their core principle of neutrality.
  • D. Local civilians boycotted the projects because they were not consulted during the planning phases.
Question 7 of 8
How did the blurring of lines between Western military strategy and humanitarian aid affect NGOs in Afghanistan?
  • A. NGOs were expected to act as 'force multipliers' for the military, causing enemies like the Taliban to view aid workers as legitimate targets.
  • B. The military completely took over the administration of NGOs, turning civilian aid workers into enlisted soldiers.
  • C. NGOs successfully negotiated peace treaties by acting as neutral mediators between the Taliban and Western forces.
  • D. The military banned NGOs from operating in combat zones, drastically reducing the amount of aid delivered to civilians.
Question 8 of 8
The book argues that the principle of 'giving aid at any cost' should be questioned. Which historical event is cited as a 'tragic mistake' resulting from this mindset?
  • A. The United Nations' failure to intervene during the Rwandan genocide.
  • B. Caritas International's decision to pay taxes to the Tamil Tigers after the 2004 tsunami.
  • C. The Red Cross remaining silent about the Holocaust during WWII to maintain access to Nazi territory.
  • D. The founding of ALNAP to monitor the accountability of humanitarian missions.

Crisis Caravan — Full Chapter Overview

Crisis Caravan Summary & Overview

The Crisis Caravan (2011) is about the complexities and pitfalls that come with delivering humanitarian aid to conflict zones. Though aid is usually provided with nothing but good intentions, there are political, social and economic obstacles that can cause it to do more harm than good. These blinks outline the reasons aid work often fails, and offer advice on how we can improve it.

Who Should Listen to Crisis Caravan?

  • Students of politics or conflict studies
  • Anyone who has donated money to a humanitarian organization
  • People thinking of working in humanitarian aid

About the Author: Linda Polman

Linda Polman is a journalist with over fifteen years of experience reporting from war zones. She is the author of We Did Nothing: Why The Truth Doesn’t Always Come Out When The UN Goes In, which was shortlisted for the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage.

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