NGO's and the sustainability of the conflict in Palestine

Yesterday morning I was discussing the work of NGO's in Palestine with a friend. We were standing in a farm next to the seashore in the north of Gaza Strip, when we saw and Israeli warship cruising in the sea. I paused for a minute and loudly wished that I could be the one sitting in the ship (minus 'war') instead of the Israeli soldier and enjoying the beautiful weather and breathtaking view..
Meh.. A lot to wish for.




A few weeks earlier, I was asked to speak in a global youth conference (LSU) in Stockholm about my experience as a young person from Gaza. I started the talk with a story that had happened to me a few days earlier- on the first day of the leadership exchange program (YLVP) that I was in Sweden for.

I was asked by someone which university I went to as an undergraduate, to which I answered: The American University in Cairo. "How did you afford it?" "My family paid, and I had a partial scholarship that covered some of the tuition fees."

"Aaah, that is the advantage of being from Gaza," he responded/offended, although unintentionally. I answered by saying that I got the partial scholarship because I had good high school grades, not because I come from Gaza. No, I did not receive the scholarship because "hometown" on my application evoked the sympathy of the scholarship office.

And that is a small example of how the world sees Gaza. It evokes their sympathy and reminds them of their human conscious because it makes them feel 'bad', and might cause them to shed a tear or two. The truly goodhearted donate money and please their conscious.

The western/global culture of philanthropy is evident and is not limited to Gaza/Palestine. But it seems like the majority of NGO's that operate in Gaza and the West Bank implement emergency/early recovery programs where/when they are not needed- because there's donor money, and it has to be spent (more like wasted). This, in the long term, created a vicious type of dependency on these INGO's/donors, and sustains nothing valuable (except for the dependency).

Don't get me wrong- some NGO's do great work in Palestine. I just disagree with their methods and strict donor regulations (trying to remain 'neutral'), and also believe that they take the responsibility off of Israel's shoulders, the occupier. In a world that respects international law, Israel would ideally be expected to at least meet the basic needs and build everything it destroys for the people its occupying.

So, Israel, you either stop occupying us, or you take full responsibility of your actions in our country.

Just a thought. You can find a lot of academic sources that further discuss this topic. Several books were suggested by readers of this blog:

Lukas suggested Linda Polmans' "The Crisis Caravan: What's wrong with humanitarian aid" and Taylor suggested Mary Anderson's "Do No Harm, Support Peace"

Thank you guys!