Blogged by: Glenda Cooper
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author’s alone.
International aid workers disembark at a jetty in Trincomalee in August 2006. File photo by REUTERS/Buddhika Weerasinghe
There is a joke that goes round about aid agencies in Colombo. Try saying the acronym NGO in a Sri Lankan accent; it sounds very much like the word “enjoy” – and that, say many journalists, is the attitude aid workers have taken to their work in the country. Certainly that’s how many Sri Lankan newspapers have portrayed NGOs: as fat cats enjoying their dollar salaries, riding round in big cars and staying in the best hotels. Of course this is not an unfamiliar criticism: It’s one that agencies come across in many different countries. But the attacks on NGOs have been so sustained in Sri Lanka that agencies in Colombo are now coming together to talk about how to deal with this, thinking up imaginative solutions to build bridges with the press and get their message across to the Sri Lankan people. Simon Harris, who has worked as a senior manager and consultant with international NGOs in Sri Lanka for over 15 years, says the local media took a hostile attitude to aid groups fairly early on. “They began to refer to the NGO congestion of humanitarian space that was occurring as a ‘second tsunami’ – that was a catchphrase that was used quite a lot,” he says. “People started to ask what were all these people doing, what were the benefits of having them here? Added to that, Colombo hotels were at 100 percent capacity, restaurants were full of white faces and people started to ask questions.” Was that criticism justified? Ranga Kalansooriya of the Sri Lankan Press Institute says: “The media is no different from the rest of society; it reflects it… There is still an island mentality attacking international institutions.” And Harris believes that while the rapid proliferation of international post-tsunami NGOs undoubtedly complicated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, it also provided a convenient scapegoat for a politically partisan national media to distract domestic public focus from the shortcomings of the governments’ own relief efforts and the break-down of the peace process. But it didn’t help that the hundreds of new international NGOs on the ground required staff – and often lured them with higher salaries from local NGOs, the military and government. And aid agencies didn’t always prove their own best ambassadors. Journalists in Colombo complain about the fact that agencies have offices on Gregory’s Road (one of the smartest roads in Colombo), and as one journalist who works for an international media organisation puts it: “Why are all the aid workers in the Gallery Cafe (one of the best restaurants) at lunchtime?” The familiar white sports utility vehicles came in for particular criticism as a symbol of NGOs’ high living. But as one aid worker in Batticaloa says in exasperation: “Why do NGOs have to travel in these kind of big vehicles? It’s because of the security issues – and the government also impose rules and regulations. NGOs can’t simply use a commuter van to get around in – otherwise they are not immediately identifiable.” While many of the international NGOs worked hard after the tsunami to ensure their efforts in Sri Lanka were recognised back home, and media departments organised trips, footage and photographs to show donors that money was well spent, they did not always focus on explaining themselves so well to the Sri Lankan media, something that some NGOs now privately admit they need to do. The consequences of bad publicity in the Sri Lankan media are not just irritating – they can be dangerous, provoking riots or causing staff to come under attack. In January, after Dutch agency ZOA was accused of providing support to Tamil Tiger rebels (an allegation it strongly denies), an angry mob stormed its office. Then in February this year, diplomats from a dozen countries as well as UN agencies held a media conference to rebut these kind of allegations and warned that international NGOs were willing to quit the country if these kind of “irresponsible” stories persisted. But agencies have also turned to other ways to connect with the Sri Lankan people. Displeased with what the media is doing, they have turned to creating their own media. Television production company YATV (Young Asian Television) has formed partnerships with different agencies such as Norwegian Church Aid, CARE Sri Lanka and Plan International. Concerned that tsunami stories in the press focused on aid efforts that were behind schedule or where things had gone wrong, the U.S. Agency for International Development helped fund a series of programmes that began this March called “Coastal Rising”. It looked for unashamedly upbeat positive stories – what U.S. Ambassador Robert O’ Blake called at its launch “the other side of the story – stories of hope, courage and success”. The series, filmed in different parts of Sri Lanka, was made in Sinhalese, Tamil and English, and as well as TV programmes there were also radio programmes and articles in local newspapers to try to redress the balance. USAID also helped support a trilingual YATV soap-opera style drama, “The East is Calling”. Set in the aftermath of the tsunami, it shows Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims seeking refuge from the wave in a Buddhist temple. The director, Sri Lanka filmmaker Asoka Handagama, said the idea was to plant, deliberately and subtly, “culturally sensitive ideas” into the drama. Plan International produced a video with YATV called “After the Big Wave”, which was specifically designed to explain the science behind the tsunami to the children who had suffered from it. More conventionally, the Sri Lankan Press Complaints Commission has made it clear to NGOs that if they feel stories in the press are unfair they can complain to the independent body, which will then attempt to resolve the dispute. The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, an umbrella group for NGOs, has formed a media working group and earlier in the year an evening was organised in which journalists were invited to meet members of NGOs in an attempt to help both sides understand each other better. But there is still a long way to go. Those who attended that evening said there were lots of NGOs talking over the snacks and soft drinks, but – perhaps predictably – very few journalists turned up.Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.
There is a joke that goes round about aid agencies in Colombo. Try saying the acronym NGO in a Sri Lankan accent; it sounds very much like the word “enjoy” – and that, say many journalists, is the attitude aid workers have taken to their work in the country. Certainly that’s how many Sri Lankan newspapers have portrayed NGOs: as fat cats enjoying their dollar salaries, riding round in big cars and staying in the best hotels. Of course this is not an unfamiliar criticism: It’s one that agencies come across in many different countries. But the attacks on NGOs have been so sustained in Sri Lanka that agencies in Colombo are now coming together to talk about how to deal with this, thinking up imaginative solutions to build bridges with the press and get their message across to the Sri Lankan people. Simon Harris, who has worked as a senior manager and consultant with international NGOs in Sri Lanka for over 15 years, says the local media took a hostile attitude to aid groups fairly early on. “They began to refer to the NGO congestion of humanitarian space that was occurring as a ‘second tsunami’ – that was a catchphrase that was used quite a lot,” he says. “People started to ask what were all these people doing, what were the benefits of having them here? Added to that, Colombo hotels were at 100 percent capacity, restaurants were full of white faces and people started to ask questions.” Was that criticism justified? Ranga Kalansooriya of the Sri Lankan Press Institute says: “The media is no different from the rest of society; it reflects it… There is still an island mentality attacking international institutions.” And Harris believes that while the rapid proliferation of international post-tsunami NGOs undoubtedly complicated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, it also provided a convenient scapegoat for a politically partisan national media to distract domestic public focus from the shortcomings of the governments’ own relief efforts and the break-down of the peace process. But it didn’t help that the hundreds of new international NGOs on the ground required staff – and often lured them with higher salaries from local NGOs, the military and government. And aid agencies didn’t always prove their own best ambassadors. Journalists in Colombo complain about the fact that agencies have offices on Gregory’s Road (one of the smartest roads in Colombo), and as one journalist who works for an international media organisation puts it: “Why are all the aid workers in the Gallery Cafe (one of the best restaurants) at lunchtime?” The familiar white sports utility vehicles came in for particular criticism as a symbol of NGOs’ high living. But as one aid worker in Batticaloa says in exasperation: “Why do NGOs have to travel in these kind of big vehicles? It’s because of the security issues – and the government also impose rules and regulations. NGOs can’t simply use a commuter van to get around in – otherwise they are not immediately identifiable.” While many of the international NGOs worked hard after the tsunami to ensure their efforts in Sri Lanka were recognised back home, and media departments organised trips, footage and photographs to show donors that money was well spent, they did not always focus on explaining themselves so well to the Sri Lankan media, something that some NGOs now privately admit they need to do. The consequences of bad publicity in the Sri Lankan media are not just irritating – they can be dangerous, provoking riots or causing staff to come under attack. In January, after Dutch agency ZOA was accused of providing support to Tamil Tiger rebels (an allegation it strongly denies), an angry mob stormed its office. Then in February this year, diplomats from a dozen countries as well as UN agencies held a media conference to rebut these kind of allegations and warned that international NGOs were willing to quit the country if these kind of “irresponsible” stories persisted. But agencies have also turned to other ways to connect with the Sri Lankan people. Displeased with what the media is doing, they have turned to creating their own media. Television production company YATV (Young Asian Television) has formed partnerships with different agencies such as Norwegian Church Aid, CARE Sri Lanka and Plan International. Concerned that tsunami stories in the press focused on aid efforts that were behind schedule or where things had gone wrong, the U.S. Agency for International Development helped fund a series of programmes that began this March called “Coastal Rising”. It looked for unashamedly upbeat positive stories – what U.S. Ambassador Robert O’ Blake called at its launch “the other side of the story – stories of hope, courage and success”. The series, filmed in different parts of Sri Lanka, was made in Sinhalese, Tamil and English, and as well as TV programmes there were also radio programmes and articles in local newspapers to try to redress the balance. USAID also helped support a trilingual YATV soap-opera style drama, “The East is Calling”. Set in the aftermath of the tsunami, it shows Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims seeking refuge from the wave in a Buddhist temple. The director, Sri Lanka filmmaker Asoka Handagama, said the idea was to plant, deliberately and subtly, “culturally sensitive ideas” into the drama. Plan International produced a video with YATV called “After the Big Wave”, which was specifically designed to explain the science behind the tsunami to the children who had suffered from it. More conventionally, the Sri Lankan Press Complaints Commission has made it clear to NGOs that if they feel stories in the press are unfair they can complain to the independent body, which will then attempt to resolve the dispute. The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, an umbrella group for NGOs, has formed a media working group and earlier in the year an evening was organised in which journalists were invited to meet members of NGOs in an attempt to help both sides understand each other better. But there is still a long way to go. Those who attended that evening said there were lots of NGOs talking over the snacks and soft drinks, but – perhaps predictably – very few journalists turned up.Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.
source:
http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/30708/2007/04/29-115751-1.htm
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31 May 2007 08:10:31 GMT Thanks very much for the interesting Blog. However, I am bemused by your choice of photo which actually shows the ICRC’s evacuation of some 150 stranded people – including a few aid workers – from Jaffna peninsula which was almost entirely cut off at the time the photo was taken. In what way is the photo connected to the subject of the story?Florian Westphal ICRC
31 May 2007 11:43:53 GMT Thanks for your note, Florian. The picture was not meant to imply a connection between the ICRC’s evacuation of stranded people from Jaffna and the subject of the blog. The intention was simply to show international aid workers in action in Sri Lanka, purely for illustrative purposes.
Order sinequan side 31 May 2007 14:35:29 GMT The blog has reminded me of something about NGOs in my own country, Ethiopia. Here many Ethiopians, including me, appreciate being employee of NGOs in general and the international ones in particular. It is not that much tough to guess why. The big salary is the major cause.Regarding the activites being accomplished by NGos here, many have different views. Some comments NGOs are working to meet their respective hidden objectives besides the ones they are stating openly. According to these people, no country has so far achieved sustainable development through NGos. They quote the renowned book, ‘Lords of Poverty’ in supporting their arguments. The other argument these groups put forward as weakness is that NGOs use their fund to employ citizens of the country where that NGO is originated. If the NGO is from Britain, it is inevitable that there will be British employees at higher positions. The NGOs do not care whether they can find local professinals that can do with lower salary what the foreigners do. They solely stick to their ‘principle’ of employing foreigners with huge salary. Moreover, according to their ‘principle’, the vehicles, and other materials should be imported from that country where the NGO is originated. For instance, Save the Children UK should have Lndrovers or other vehicles manufactured in Britain.The same is true for other NGOs. Taking this in to consideration many African countries see NGOs in suspicion.
05 Jun 2007 09:36:01 GMT You quote an aid worker in Batticaloa arguing that they need big SUVs because of a security issue. he goes on to say: ” NGOs can’t simply use a commuter van to get around in – otherwise they are not immediately identifiable.” However, the two local volunteers of the Red Cross who was shot dead in Sri Lanka were travelling by train! Perhaps, public transport is OK for them because they are not foreigners. The two men were picked up by gunmen from the Colombo Fort Railway station on June 1 and found shot dead the day after. Each SUV costs in excess of 20 million rupees in Sri Lanka. you can build 20 rural schools with that cash. or two rural hospitals…
Gout celebrex treatment 05 Jun 2007 09:38:45 GMT I am glad that you have tackled a subject that has rankled Sri Lankans for quite a while. May I say that you have only scratched the tip of the iceberg. To refer to just one point in your blog, I take umbrage at what the exasperated aid worker in Batticaloa has to say. Have you seen what these SUVs look like? Huge, flashy road-hoggers which look every inch the US $180,000 to US$ 250,000 that they cost. We are not asking Mr. Exasperated and his ilk to use public transport, but why canA?A?A?a??A?a??t they travel in less ostentatious, cheaper vehicles, with, if they want, the logos of their agencies emblazoned all over to make them easily identifiable? And what security issues is he referring to? Only last week, two Sri Lankan employees of the Red Cross who had to hoof it back home to Batticaloa by train were abducted at the railway station and brutally killed. That brings the number of Sri Lankan aid agency employees murdered in the last 10 mon! ths by unknown killers to 19. How many foreign aid workers have met with the same fate here? Most of the A?A?A?a??A?A?security issuesA?A?A?a??A?A? that foreign workers encounter here are the hostility they engender among the poor when they alight from such grand chariots. And, Ms Cooper, you have forgotten to include ODEL and the city nightclubs among the beneficiaries who receive foreign aid in this sad island of ours.
05 Jun 2007 11:28:39 GMT (CORRECTING earlier post, adding paragraph)You quote an aid worker in Batticaloa arguing that they need big SUVs because of a security issue. he goes on to say: ” NGOs can’t simply use a commuter van to get around in – otherwise they are not immediately identifiable.” However, the two local volunteers of the Red Cross who were shot dead in Sri Lanka were travelling by train! Perhaps, public transport is OK for them because they are not foreigners. The two men were picked up by gunmen from the Colombo Fort Railway station on June 1 and found shot dead the day after. Each SUV costs in excess of 20 million rupees in Sri Lanka. you can build 20 rural schools with that cash, or two rural hospitals. We are not even talking about the huge salaries foreign aid workers are paid. Ofcourse they need huge pay to come and work in a difficult place like Sri Lanka where caviar is duty free and Champagne is a tad too warm. It is clear that most of the NGO s are there to support their own staff.
08 Jun 2007 10:33:29 GMT Glenda, an excellent article tackling a very difficult issue and the first of its kind I have seen.I think the UN and other leading agencies need to set an example and they are the worst offenders driving around in massive land cruisers that the average person living in Sri Lanka simply cannot relate to. Average incomes in Sri Lanka are $60 per month for rural farmers. Income inequality in my opinion is the hidden problem in Sri Lanka that perpetuates the conflict which makes this article doubly relevant. Most analysts mention human rights issues and a minority fighting for rights and a government not willing to concede when talking about Sri Lanka. The other side to the story is about grinding poverty, cultural subjugation, language barriers, class barriers, traditional culture fighting for its place and perceived threats to Buddhism from western practices and Christianity. You may see from this how NGOs get linked to these problems, and therefore how their lifestyle and policies become a part of the conflict in Sri Lanka.
08 Jun 2007 11:52:15 GMT “I also have close connections with Sri Lanka and visited the East Coast many times. I am in close contact with a correspondent based in Arugam Bay since 1977. Dr. Miller embraced the IRCS in January 2005 and offered all his facilities and premises to them – for free. What happened to this relationship? Why is the biggest Red Cross supporter now their biggest and most cynical critic? The same seems to have happened with the Swiss Red Cross – an investigation is on the way here in Swiss. I am informed a home grown, locaL report will soon be published on www.arugam.info And by all accounts the Red Cross will come out very badly indeed.
08 Jun 2007 11:52:49 GMT I have seen the deplorable and dishonest way the Red Cross behaved at PottuVille and specially at badly affected Arugam Bay. Ask anyone there and you will earn that this formerly great organization has totally lost the initial respect of local residents. I have contributed my own personal observations to a forthcoming article on a local web site. What is written above is a huge understatement. I feel the public has to beef up the PR against the behaviour of the mighty ENJOY’s and counter their own well paid propaganda. Thomas, Colombo
24 Jun 2007 10:31:22 GMT I am glad that Glenda Cooper pointed out what most Sri Lankans (except those who directly work as local staff to NGOs) have come to loathe as the International Disaster Industry. On my visits to my hometown in Sri Lanka I have seen many examples of bogus aid programs by these NGOs. I also found that some NGOs transfer large sums of US dollars back to their home countries via black market foreign currency traders. Now, can someone tell me how aid workers can transfer piles of $70,000 back to their accounts, while having a luxurious holiday. There are many locals too who have jumped on this bandwagon and created their own kind of Tsunami Tourism Enterprises. A number of churches in the USA fly their members out periodically on these tsunami tours. The old ladies who dish out their dollars on Sunday have no clue where they go. NGOs should function ONLY with local staff in countries like Sri Lanka. Most of the foreign staff that! come are much less capable/qualifed than local staff but who cares they are only there for the tour!