INGO Workers

I think for the first few weeks I am here, this blog may turn into a series of vignettes of different people I meet. It's actually a nice way to write for me, and a style that is true to how I experience life - through the stories of the people I meet. Here is a small addition that I think is important to add to the mix of perspectives that exist here.

I had a short conversation I had with an international woman at a bar on Thursday night (the weekends here are Friday and Saturday, so I wasn't bar hopping on a week night). Her name was Katarina, she was from Germany, she was an international studies student at her university, and she was in Jerusalem volunteering for two different organizations in order to gain experience for her studies. She had the most cynical view of international volunteers. She repeatedly mentioned how self-critical she was for being in Palestine to "witness the conflict" and that no matter how long she was here "living with the locals" she would never truly know what it was like to be Palestinian. She understood the exploitative aspects of international NGO workers taking jobs that could be for locals, driving up local prices, and doing work that meets international funders' requirements more than the actual needs of the people.

Not surprisingly, I actually agree with all of those things and also see the contradictions and hypocrisy in the work we are doing. But it was the way in which she talked about them that bothered me. It seemed to me that she was seeking some kind of sympathy, was asking to be pitied for her sad state as a hypocritical INGO worker. I strongly believe it is important to have a well-informed, critical perspective based on self-reflection and study when doing this work. And I also believe that it will never be free of contradiction and exploitation, nor will any work for that matter.  But in my eyes, you can either choose to do something constructive about it or you can leave the field. Possessing a critical perspective should increase not your level of self-loathing, but your level of creativity and desire to alter the way in which we operate as international workers.

My friend Maria, who I was at the bar with, said something things that I really appreciated for adding significantly to the conversation. She said, if you are going to do this work in an ethical way, you need to have an exit plan. Come knowing that you have a skill set that is needed, perform the tasks/job that will add value to the community (as defined by the community) with that skill set, build local capacity in that skill shortage, and leave with the community fully prepared to take over those jobs in a sustainable way.

Katarina was questioning whether there was any role or purpose for someone like her coming to Palestine to work. Was she just taking space away from locals who are also equipped for the jobs? I think, unfortunately, in many cases the answer to that question is yes. In many other cases, international workers are needed and provide value to the communities they are in. A good heart and desire to help are not enough to qualify someone to be needed in a community. There is a place for international support, and I'm trying to understand what that is in the context of Israel/Palestine.

I will keep writing about my ideas for international support of this occupation. Would love any feedback from my wise community of friends and family.