Secret aid worker blogging for the Guardian:
This uncomfortable taboo is rarely discussed among socially progressive NGO workers. As aid workers, we assure ourselves that we are “here to help” the people in our host countries. We call it a “post” or an “assignment”, as if we’re on a special secret mission, and forget that we’re guests. By seeing ourselves as the helpers, we often forget that the work we’re doing is more nuanced and complicated than an easy moral black-and-white.
The fact that this is blogged anonymously tells you more than you need to know about the entrenched and subconscious nature of the racist entitlement in International Development. When saying the obvious could get you in trouble and you fear losing your cushy country office gig, you know there’s an imbalance.
