WHAT IS HUMANITARIANISM?
BEFORE THE TRIP
Humanitarian design has a definition caught in flux. People aren’t sure quite how to define it, and to certain people it means different things. I think that there has been a connotation of imperialism or colonialism, sometimes met with resistance or offense on the receiving end. I do not think of it this way, but I have seen many people throw out these accusations. At the same time, it was an (on-going) attempt to create equality in areas such as economics, politics, and social rights. As it was discovered how vast the differences were between cultures, it became apparent that what we considered a right in certain parts of the world, others considered it a nearly impossible privilege, or not even an option. There were those that started to rise up against this inequality, making products and organizations to give those people basic needs (clean water, food, adequate housing, health care, and the list goes on). Humanitarian Design is having concern for or helping to improve the welfare and happiness of people and using appropriate technology to do that. It’s a way to help people help themselves, trying to create a culture of self-reliance and preserving the pride of those involved. There’s a reason that humanitarian design isn’t called charity or mission work. While it does have a charitable mission at its core, I believe that it is also an investment, whether or not that investment is tangible. The investment could be as simple as becoming a part of that community and taking part in its success, further uniting those that were once separate. I think one of the biggest problems in terms of moving forward is and forever will be apathy. Those who are in the situation cannot help themselves, and those that care are vastly outnumbered by those that do not. This is a constant fight – not only to educate those who are more fortunate than others, but to help them become passionate as well. Humanitarian Design will need to be defined with better boundaries in place. I don’t believe that it would be healthy to have countries such as the U.S. and parts of Europe go into areas of the world that are not as advanced and developed and try to force their way of life on the people who live there. There is a fine line to walk in terms of helping people and letting them help themselves. Humanitarian Design should never strip people of their pride and dignity. It has and will continue to go hand in hand with social justice, opening doors to everyone, particularly those in greater need. It will have to integrate the colonial legacy that is embedded into the culture that we seek to help and modern technology that will improve the quality of life there. More intelligent technology will have to be used to efficiently use the resources native to the region that the design is being implemented in. Instead of bringing in resources to help them, cultures will continue to be shown different methods of using what they currently have. This should bring about a better sense of independence. I am currently studying Industrial Design, and while there are many different areas of practice within that particular field, a predominant philosophy we are taught is User-Centered Design. We create products with the end-user in mind. That user could be anyone, and how we define our scope and our objectives will determine who is benefited because we are going to benefit someone. It is my hope that I can use these skills to take on situations that are often uncomfortable to talk about, and everyone is hoping someone else will take care of. I believe once I have been made aware of problems and injustice, it is my responsibility to do my part in correcting it. I often am overwhelmed by the fact that I am just one person, but fear shouldn’t keep me from trying. |
AFTER THE TRIP
When I think about Humanitarianism after our trip to Shirati, the word empathy comes to mind. First and foremost, it is recognizing that we are all human, and we are all equal. Pushing aside our judgments and biases against one another, and recognizing that despite our differences, we are the same. There are cultural aspects that sometimes I don’t know if they are in place because they are important to the culture and the way it came to be, or if they are like that because the people don’t know they could be doing something different. It’s important for Humanitarians to be able to figure out the difference between what needs to change and what is significant to the culture. I have wrestled with the idea of “aid” and read Dambisa Moyo’s argument against it, insisting that it is doing more harm than good. Now having seen such a small window into what I will call poverty, I still am uncertain about what is appropriate. We have discussed why partnering with the communities is important, because instead of there being a giver and a receiver, there is an equal relationship in place. That way, the community keeps their dignity and those that are helping aren’t in a position that is above the people they wish to help. That is something I see VLOP doing quite well. VLOP conducts in a very diplomatic way, and has clearly gained the respect of the community by being a successful partner. It is organizations like these that I believe will have success, and those are the organizations I want to be a part of. Before this trip, I saw my role in Humanitarian design as a product designer. I saw myself designing products that would change lives of people who were in great need of assistance. When I visited the three villages in Tanzania, I saw how misguided my thoughts were. These communities are missing basic needs, which need to be addressed before anything else. How could I propose new technology such as computers and cameras when they don’t have any clean water? I saw politics at play during most of the interactions at the committee meetings, which is something I was not anticipating but now makes sense to me. I was not expecting this trip to be as difficult as it was, to be perfectly honest. I saw and experienced things I could not have prepared myself for, even if I knew beforehand what it was I was going to see. At first, my reaction was “flight.” I was upset by what I saw and I wanted to get away from it because I was uncomfortable. However, it didn’t take me long to come around and realize that I can take what I have seen and do something about it. This experience has given me a passion for social justice, and has definitely given me a new perspective. |