The Crisis Caravan

For fifteen years, Linda Polman, an Amsterdam-based journalist, has covered combat zones for several European radio stations and publications. We Did Nothing, which was placed on the Lettre Ulysses Award shortlist for the Art of Reportage, was written by her. She is also the author of The Crisis Caravan, one of the best books on humanitarian aid.

An unflinching, divisive exposé of the financial greed and murky ethics that characterize the humanitarian aid industry. A sizable business has emerged around humanitarian help. Approximately 37,000 groups fight for a piece of the $160 billion prize each year, with "fact-inflation" occasionally boosting disaster coverage to raise more money. Aid has been a constant component of military strategy for insurgents and belligerent states; genocidaires set up camp in refugee camps, and aid is redirected to feed the troops. Even though humanitarian organizations continue to uphold the sacrosanct ideal of neutrality, they have increasingly joined in on the wrongdoing associated with aid.

Journalist Linda Polman takes us to war zones all over the world in a narrative that is passionate, compelling, and occasionally darkly absurd in order to show how often the best intentions of aid workers are thwarted. She visits NGO-heavy operations in "Afghaniscam" and Texas Mercy Ships floating clinics that are proselytizing off the coast of West Africa. It's time, according to Polman, to set ethical boundaries, consider if taking action is always preferable to inaction, and hold humanitarians accountable for the results of their actions.

Author: Linda Polman

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Caravan-Whats-Wrong-Humanitarian/dp/0312610580/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 62 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: : #1,387,520 in Books

#86 in Non-Governmental Organization Policy
#752 in Disaster Relief (Books)
#1,039 in African Politics