So where is the aid money going?

Most readers of this blog will be aware of the current furor over the United Nations Relief and Works Agency funding for people in Palestine being suspended. It was suspended because some staff are alleged to have been involved in the Hamas attack on Israel which has led to the current fighting.

There is of course alarm over this and demands for the funding to be restored. There are the claims that "the people of Gaza" are not responsible and should not suffer because of the actions of Hamas. The rights and wrongs of the situation can be argued in many ways. Much of the argument will be influenced by whichever side on which sympathies lie.

But there is something else that needs to be addressed and that is the fact that the provision of aid is not what it appears to be. It is not simply people handing out food and water and tents to people who have had to flee violence or a natural disaster. It is highly political. The provision of aid is used as a tool for power. Aid will go where it is seen to be likely to do the most political good even when it appears to be going where it is most needed. Aid will also free up what other money there is in order to continue a conflict. Those arms used by fighters have to be paid for...and aid money helps to pay for arms. 

Refugee organisations working in conflict zones are not full of nice, caring people who are doing the work because they have some sort of social conscience. It may seem that way but many of those who work for such organisations do it simply because it is a job. They do it because they are getting paid to do it and often, especially in local terms, being paid well. 

Yes of course there are people who work for those organisations who are passionate about what they are doing. They do it for the best of reasons and often at great personal cost. The reality however is that many more do it simply because the work is there and needs to be done. It may appeal to a sense of adventure in some who come in from outside. They know it will look good on their cv's further down the track. It is better to do this than join a "foreign legion" or be a mercenary. 

Aid work still needs to be done. Millions of people would die without the help given by aid organisations but we do need to consider that providing aid also provides arms in conflict zones. It can and is used to further political ambitions in any complex humanitarian emergency. Of course we need to go on giving but we also need to be aware.