The Humanitarian Imperative

What is the humanitarian imperative? In the Code of Conduct for the ICRC (International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement), the humanitarian imperative is defined as a fundamental humanitarian principle, “the right to receive humanitarian assistance, and to offer it”. To expand on this definition, I would say that the humanitarian imperative is more so an obligation that people naturally feel to help others around them.  This principle of the human imperative is fundamental to the growth and wellness of a society. With the natural instinct to help others when they are physically or emotionally unstable, individuals have created a system of checks and balances, which promotes a universal well being amongst people. The Red Cross has recognized that the instinct to help others exists in everyone, which has helped them endure in missions of disaster relief and humanitarian aid.  

The problem, is that we recognize there is a drive to eliminate inequality and human suffering, but we, the global north is unable to strategically plan how we can best help those suffering.  We are aware of what is needed at the moment, it’s visible in plain sight, but giving immediate support is a long term viable option. To tackle this issue, we must remove the associated power we hold when trying to provide aid and relief to others, and place ourselves on the same level with the people we are trying to help. One way that we can do this is by re-orienting the approach we use of capacity building.

“What if we re-oriented so-called “capacity building” approaches to be rooted in what grassroots groups often require most of us – resources, allies, solidarity, respect, celebration, collaboration, and encouragement?” (Jennifer Lenter).

Global northerners are often traveling to the global south to rebuild, and often arrive with an assertive power, that they assume they have over the people who live there.  Just because the global north may have access to a better living situations, or more complex institutions and resources, it should not be implied that they have the power to decide what would work best for another country.  This idea makes me think of the quote from Thomas Jefferson, “He who knows best knows how little he knows”. I’ve connected this to the negative aspect of global northerners, in how they are overly confident in themselves when traveling south due to their privilege at home.  They are confident that their decisions are better than those in the global south.

From personal experience, I have traveled to impoverished countries and really examined the surroundings, wondering why society is this way, but I would never feel that I have the power, without much interaction with the local people, to know what is best for them. My short durations of time in countries with extensive hardships and extremely low standards of living, has allowed me to see that individuals there comply with the human imperative, similarly to how we do in America.  The point that I have reached is that the human imperative is not solely an instinct that people with social and economic power can experience. This recognition of the human imperative actually being a universal instinct has ignited a feeling of connectedness between myself and individuals living in a less equitable situation. It has allowed me to appreciate the character, specifically the drive of the locals, which I think many global northerners have yet to see. I have seen than many less fortunate people who are likely to receive aid are often hardworking individuals who live a systematized lifestyle.  This aspect of systematic living is where I see the people themselves are capable and willing to fight for political change that would better their living situations. We must realize, we are not their only hope for change.

What I have been thinking about is how the humanitarian imperative, we defined in class as a “cultural universal”(SOC 371:2-13), actually varies depending on the ecosystem.  The community members I have engaged with in Nicaragua have demonstrated their involvement with the human imperative, which is in contrast with the imperative that global northerners experience.  To continue on the discussion of what the humanitarian imperative is, I would say that yes it is something that all humans feel, but global northerners and southerners experience it differently. A global northerner feels this response to help people that are in a worse off situation, where people in the global south actually want to engage with others in their community to grow together.

To comment on “What is the ‘humanitarian imperative’”, I agree that in the past, societies have structured their institutions around the bias of race, class and gender, contributing to a marginalized society.  These institutions may have changed overtime to be less bellitiling to members of society, but the nature of the institutions still hold a great influence today.  A quite simple form of this marginalization is in the educational systems, public versus private schooling. This variation in the schooling system has evoked societies based on class and prestige, discouraging authentic interaction.  What I am trying to say, is that these institutions structured around social biases, has led to the association of power with the human imperative, seen amongst people in the global north. Rather than empathizing with others, people begin to only empathize with people of who they associate themselves with.  So, to wrap up this thought, the human imperative varies amongst ecosystems, especially when humanitarian aid workers go to the global south driven by this feeling to give all of their assistance.

To conclude, the humanitarian imperative, is something that people all around the world witness, and feel. However, there is a distinction with how individuals feel toward others, depending on the society that they come from, and the values that exist there.  People from the global north experience this instinct to help others when they are suffering, but because they feel bad for them, automatically asserting power into the situation. My research and experience on the global south has led me to conclude that they too yearn to help others, however they moreso approach it as a collective whole, and encourage a community to work together to enhance a situation.

In class I was able to learn from others blog posts to expand upon my knowledge and opinion on the humanitarian imperative. Specifically, I realized that when speaking about the imperative we must acknowledge the unit of analysis, and I now see that I wrote my blog post in the perspective of microanalysis, thinking about an individual.  Additionally, we further discussed how the humanitarian imperative has a resonance amongst all people but the practice of it does not always happen in the best way possible.  To branch off of this, where I tried to explain how the global northerners act on the humanitarian imperative differently than the global south does, could be clarified with my new knowledge of the Social Exchange Theory. This theory discusses how people  give  with an expectation of a return, or thank you gift.  And I would connect this to say that I believe the global north is latched onto this idea in their everyday lives, and that it shows when they do become involved in humanitarian aid.  Whereas on the other hand, possibly due to their less developed living style, the people in the global south do not expect something in return by helping another, as it is a more accustomed part of their culture to do the right thing, and help others, without expecting a favor in return.

Works Cited:

Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. ICRC.org. https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-1067.pdf

Arcaro, Tom. What is the ‘humanitarian imperative’? 21 Mar. 2018, https://blogs.elon.edu/aidworkervoices/?p=985

Lentfer, Jennifer. “Two Ideas to Retire.” How Matters, 15 Mar. 2018, www.how-matters.org/2018/03/15/two-ideas-to-retire-empowerment-capacity-building/.

SOC371: 2-13  Class Google Document: The Human Imperative.