Reddit reviews Killing with Kindness: Haiti, International Aid, and NGOs

Yup, I am doing anthropological research in Haiti for my PhD and I've become so incredibly cynical about the vast majority of non-profit work done in Haiti and other places. For those who are unaware, I highly recommend two books: Killing with Kindness and Travesty in Haiti both of which document how destructive these kinds of things are.

Also relevant: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/?single_page=true

Edit: I should add that I don't think all non-profits, NGOs, and charities are a shit show. There are some great ones that I would even recommend to people. But in places like Haiti (AKA The Land of NGOs) there are thousands and thousands of them most of which are highly ineffective and some which are downright harmful. I'm a charity snob now in the sense that I never just hand out my money without investigating the organization first. I've seen too many examples of how well meaning people go into a community and do more harm than good with those donations. And I never donate used clothing to foreign countries (a few exceptions being natural disasters) because it is always damaging to local economies. Fuck the NFL and other groups who do that and try to spin it as a positive PR move. When presented with the opportunity to help either with donations or manpower think a minute about how it will impact that local community, look up how they've spent their donations, and do some research on the issue & organization.

TL;DR: Don't give up on non-profits, aid, and charities altogether. Just donate smart.

It is funny how you condemn and ridicule the US for its food aid in the form of corn, indicting it for driving down the price of domestic African produced corn... which I agree with... but then is your next post down you say that empathy is the key to our future. Well, much aid (empathy) that is given to Africa has many unintended consequences, many times doing much more harm than good, as you indicated. Empathy can be a slippery slope, because in an attempt to feel righteous and holy in our causes by 'doing good', we can interfere in horrible ways. You should read the book 'Killing with Kindness' about the disasterous situation NGOs have caused in Haiti with all their 'empathy'. Sometimes, we need to set aside our inclinations to 'assist' and instead let countries work their problems out for themselves. Yes, some may die, but they will become stronger because of it. No country in history has ever thrived or flourished off of a unyielding injection of 'empathy' and assistance.