Foreign Policy: NGOs: Fighting Poverty, Hurting the Poor

Friendly Fire in the War on Global Poverty:

There is no such thing as friendly fire:

The war against poverty is threatened by friendly fire. A swarm of media-savvy Western activists has descended upon aid agencies, staging protests to block projects that allegedly exploit the developing world. The protests serve professional agitators by keeping their pet causes in the headlines. But they do not always serve the millions of people who live without clean water or electricity.
Increasingly, the NGOs are the enemies of the causes the espouse. It isn't just poverty either. How many times must Human Rights Watch or Amnesty attack the United States, before they sort out that we are the single most committed defender of human rights in the world today?

The enemy of your enemy is meant to be your friend. Even if they aren't perfect.

No comments: