so the job-hunt continues, as do the job-hunt avoidance activities; this week's attempt at a productive escapade was the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) annual lecture on monday. having attended last year's lecture where Dambisa Moyo was the keynote speaker and talked about the failure of aid in africa, i was very much looking forward to the debate on the use of military forces to deliver aid in crisis zones, particularly afghanistan and pakistan.
proceeds kicked off a few minutes late, as these events are wont to do, but the audience was quickly drawn into an engaging debate on this undeniably polemical issue. now for my understanding of it!
the armed forces have vastly greater capacity to respond rapidly to humanitarian emergencies than NGOs due to their readily deployable manpower and resources; thus they have an important role to play in both conflict and natural disaster emergencies. it is surprising then that that role has yet to be specifically determined, and in many instances the lines between military aid and humanitarian organisation intervention are too blurred.
the question remains for many, at what stage should NGOs act? would they be most effective as part of the initial military intervention, working on the front line alongside the armed forces or should the military clear the path, so to speak, and the NGOs follow shortly after with reconstruction and relief expertise? it inevitably depends upon the type of humanitarian emergency.
for example, in a conflict situation if local people are known to have accepted military aid, it can be interpreted as a sign of collaboration with foreign forces and subsequently make the targets of an aid intervention programme, in effect, targets of life-threatening retaliation by local militias or tribal groups.
essentially, the military and NGOs need to coordinate whereby the armed forces support NGO work but don't supplant it and this should enable positive collective action and space for civil society to lead its own reconstruction.
some interesting things to think about and as ever, with development, no clear-cut solution -- already anticipating 2011's lecture and hurriedly making plans for my next non-job-hunt endeavour!
speakers at Soldiers on the School Run: sensible strategy or disastrous compromise? were Ahmed Rashid, Major-General Tim Cross, Michael Young, Jeremy Greenstock, Dr. Ashraf Ghani (via video)
