Aid to Developing Countries: the Failure and the Promise

A recent article from BBC (N.B. For balance, one should also consult the Ugandan Health Ministry response) focuses on the negative effects foreign aid can have on developing countries. Many of the aid programs create disincentives for developing skills, industry, or agriculture. They "reward failure."

Some look at the corrupt people who take most of the aid and wrongly conclude that aid simply does not work. Such an assumption, however, blanket labels all aid programs and assumes they all work the same. Rather, what these examples highlight is that poorly structured aid programs do not work. Aid programs should give needy people incentives for their work where they live and help them learn skills for the future. In turn, the people helped by such aid programs will be more likely to stay in their communities and then give back to that community, reducing need for aid in the future.

Effective aid is exactly what the Center is encouraging in its work on microfinance. In fact, the article specifically addresses the types of benefits microfinance could bring:

"So you see," Mr Mwenda said. "If aid were to offer this young man support in the form of low interest credit he could not only expand his business offering employment opportunities and a valuable service to his community, he could also eventually pay the money back."

Microfinance loans are making opportunities a reality rather than a dream right now in places across the globe, inbcluding Haiti, where Fonkoze is focusing its efforts. Unlike other types of aid, there is an incentive because the aid is expected to be paid back and is given to people who are working and creating opportunities for themselves and others in their community.

Our work with Fonkoze is helping to build awareness of this issue on campus. In my experience, CMC has been a campus more aware of the ineffectiveness of poorly structured aid programs than the effectiveness of programs like microfinance. Building a base of support for these types of programs will help students focus their efforts on more constructive paths in the future.

Free Screening of the 11th Hour

This Sunday there will be a free screening of the documentary The 11th Hour at Pomona's Rose Hill Theater, which is in the Smith Campus Center. The film is being presented by a teen environmental group that works with Uncommon Good. They will be making a presentation at 4:00 PM and the film will begin at 5:00 PM.

The global warming crisis has important consequences for human rights around the globe. It will challenge people's access to food, clean water, and other basic necessities. Livelihoods will be destroyed. Furthermore, the consequences could lead to the destabilization of many governments which are already in precarious situations. Lack of governmental control can lead to serious human rights abuses. Just look at the poor human rights conditions in Somalia and Congo, where governments are abusive, and their loss of control has led to further human rights abuses on both sides of those conflicts and from external sources. Unstable conditions with scarce resources are poor conditions for fostering democratic governments.

In order to be able to articulate the best changes and policies we can make to address these issues, we need to be educated on what is going on, how we contribute to the problem, and what we can do to solve it. The 11th Hour is a powerful film which can teach us about these important points.

Full information on the showing is below:

Pomona College's Office of Community Programs

and

Uncommon Good's Teen Green

Present a FREE movie screening of

Leonardo DiCaprio's

"The 11th Hour"

WHEN:

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 4:00pm

Presentation at 4:00pm

Screening at 5:00pm

WHERE:

Pomona College's Rose Hills Theater in the Smith Campus Center

Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, written and directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, The 11th Hour describes the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how humanity has arrived at this moment; how we live, how we impact the earth's ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. The film features dialogues with experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who present the facts and discuss the most important issues that face our planet.

FMI: e-mail teen.green@hotmail.com

Chaos in Eastern Congo

The fighting in eastern Congo has left untold numbers without food or security. The rebels, once they conquer an area, can barely govern it. Meanwhile, the areas between the forces are left without government at all. Schoolchildren, now without a school, are forced to become street peddlers. Government soldiers have raped and looted the people they have been trying to protect, and the rebels are employing children to fight their war.

This disaster poses a serious threat to the lives of many in eastern Congo. With Nkunda, the rebel general declaring his goal of defending his ethnic Tutsis, images of the Rwandan genocide are provoked. In this time of new leadership, the world needs to seriously consider the use of intervention. While its use can be dangerous, there is a moral obligation, not just to the United States, but all countries, to make sure that "never again" means just that. If the situation continues to destabilize, the international community may be obligated to act. The Economist's article regarding this discusses the dangers while recognizing the need to sometimes take action.

Day for Darfur

Tomorrow, the 5-C Peace and Justice Coalition will be hosting the Day for Darfur, a fundraiser and information session for relief towards the still ongoing crisis in Darfur. It will be held at at the Motley from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. There will be two speakers, the CEO of Relief International and a second speaker from the Damanga Coalition. T-shirts and challah will be available for purchase. More information on the event can be found on the Facebook event.

What: Day for Darfur, an information session and fundraiser.
Who: You, the Damanga Coaliton, Relief International, and the 5-C Peace and Justice Coalition
When: Friday, November 14th, 11:00 AM -- 2:00 PM
Where: The Motley, Scripps Campus

Remembering Our Veterans and the Search for Peace

Today, is Veterans' Day, and we remember the 90th Anniversary of the end of the First World War. Please keep in mind all that soldiers around the world are sacrificing for our human rights and freedoms. The New York Times has an excellent slide show which captures the trauma, pain, and sacrifice that many soldiers are currently going through for us (available here). Let us also keep in mind what our soldiers serve their duty for: not to wage war, but to achieve peace.

I hope that we can come closer to the day where we confidently reject the possibility of seeing again the horrors of trench warfare, concentration camps, or any of the other atrocities that have been a feature of wars throughout history.

Closing GITMO

Now that the election is over, many are looking to the president-elect Obama, hopeful that he will be a strong voice for human rights. Many political observers are debating whether and how Obama will close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. (It's important to note the distinction between teh detention camp and the Naval Base. Most discussion simply uses the general term GITMO or Guantanamo Bay, but is in fact just referring to the detention camp.)

Politico's Arena has an excellent discussion on the topic. Most of my thoughts here are reflective of various opinions from that discussion.

Advocates have diverging plans, most with the same one or two goals. Those goals are protecting the rights of prisoners and the United States setting an example and sending a message to the rest of the world.

The violation of rights lies in the disrespect for due process that has been given the prisoners. While many of them may be dangerous, just as dangerous is the prospect of allowing a government to imprison a person without giving them a fair hearing. Furthermore, others argue that fair trials will excuse too much evidence, as if the rules are simply meant to be prohibitive for the sake of obstructing prosecutors. Rather, the case for not admitting much of this evidence is that it is unreliable. I've noted before, information gained from torture techniques, such as waterboarding, cannot be counted upon, and hinders further interrogations. So, protecting the rights of prisoners gives everyone a better degree of safety, from strengthening rule of law for when we need it applied to us and from improving our intelligence.

The second reason to close Guantanamo is the message we send to the world. First of all, many countries have begun to look upon America with less respect, especially in light of the
treatment of Guantanamo detainees, among other human rights violations. Closing Guantanamo
will help us improve relationships with the world at large and strengthen our alliances. Second, we can make a stronger claim to the moral high ground and use this to pressure other governments to improve their human rights situations. Finally, respecting the rights of the prisoners ensures greater safety for any of our soldiers who are taken prisoner.

I hope this has adequately addressed the "whether we should" question of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. I'll make another post soon on how that might be done.

Michael Berenbaum Speaks on Kristallnacht at the Athenaeum

Monday, November 10th will be the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. In memory of those who were victims, the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights will be sponsoring Michael Berenbaum at the Athenaeum. For more information, see the Forthnightly's description below:

Kristallnacht: Memory and Legacies, The Synagogue and Its Rabbis under Oppression in Nazi Germany

MICHAEL BERENBAUM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2008

November 9-10, 2008 marks the 70th anniversary of tragic event known as Kristallnacht (Crystal Night). On this evening, 92 Jews were murdered and 25,000 were arrested and deported to concentration camps in Nazi Germany. In addition, hundreds of synagogues were destroyed, and thousand of Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked. Kristallnacht is referred by many as the start of the Holocaust.

Michael Berenbaum is a writer, lecturer, and teacher consulting in the conceptual development of museums and the content and conceptual development of historical films. He is director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust and also a professor of Jewish Studies at American Jewish University. For three years, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. He was also the Director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Previously he served as Director of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, Opinion Page editor of the Washington Jewish Week and Deputy Director of the President's Commission on the Holocaust where he authored its Report to the President. He has taught at Wesleyan University, Yale University and has served as a visiting professor at George Washington University, The University of Maryland, and American University. Berenbaum is the author and editor of sixteen books, scores of scholarly articles, and hundreds of journalistic pieces. His most recent books include: A Promise to Remember: The Holocaust in the Words and Voices of Its Survivors and After the Passion Has Passed: American Religious Consequences.

Michael Berenbaum’s lecture at the Athenaeum is sponsored the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights.

Exercise Your Human Rights: Vote

Tomorrow our nation has an important decision to make. I feel very strongly about my choice for president, but I'm not writing to endorse him here. I'm writing because it is important for our nation that all eligible Americans vote.

Voting is important because we can use it to protect our human rights and the rights of others, both domestically and internationally. One of the great things about our Declaration of Independence is that it brought the ideas that would eventually tear down the arbitrary rule of tyrants to do whatever they wanted. Let's remember these words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Another Powerful set of principles lies in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 21
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public services in his country
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Voting is important for human rights for two reasons. First of all, if government does not have elections, it is not deriving its power from the consent of the governed and is thus violating an entire nation's human rights. Secondly, democracy ensures that people have a voice, thus guaranteeing themselves greater protection against human rights abuses. However, if you don't use that voice to speak up for the rights of yourself and others, those rights remain in danger.

Make sure your human rights aren't violated: vote.

The polling place for any student registered at their 5C mailing address is Edmunds Ballroom, Smith Campus Center, Pomona's campus.

An Evening with Madame F

Wednesday night, the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights and the Athenaeum are jointly sponsoring Claudia Stevens performance of An Evening With Madame F. The performance, which integrates both theater and and music, has been widely acclaimed. It tells the story of a Jewish musical performer and concentration camp survivor reflecting back on her experiences. See below for the description from the Athenaeum's Fortnightly:

An Evening with Madame F

CLAUDIA STEVENS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008

An Evening with Madame F is the internationally acclaimed musical drama created by Claudia Stevens for her performance as pianist, singer, and actor. Adopting the persona of an elderly concentration camp musician who had performed at Auschwitz, Stevens uses music actually played and sung by women inmates there. She draws on first-hand accounts to depict the struggle and moral dilemma of women who survived through performance. And, as a daughter of Holocaust survivors, she also meditates on the ethical problem of treating the Holocaust as the subject for artistic expression. One of the most honored Holocaust-related performances before the public, An Evening with Madame F was produced for television by PBS affiliate WCVE.

Claudia Stevens visit is jointly sponsored by the Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights and the Athenaeum.