Image from https://blog.compassion.com/poverty-inc-the-global-poverty-industry/
Impactful Quotes:
Niccolo Machiavelli – “The reason there will be no change is because the people who stand to lose from change have all the power, and the people who stand to gain from change have none of the power.”
“When charity becomes an industry, it does more harm than good.”
"Compassion is not simply vehement expression of a point of view."
“It’s hard to compete with free.”
Competing With Humanitarian Aid:
One way the United States has provided aid to third-world countries is by providing them with extremely cheap surplus crops, such as rice. The surplus can be sold at a much lower price because of the efficient farming infrastructure in place in the United States. In the eyes of the donators, donating or selling the surplus is a kind gesture. However, the introduction of an abundance of cheap crops destroys the market for local farmers who produce the same crops. There is no way that local farmers will be able to compete with the donated goods, and this causes the farmers to stop production, meaning that the farmers and the consumers become almost fully dependent on the humanitarian imports. In fact, one Haitian farmer in the documentary expressed the desire for his products to be exported to and sold in American markets. If this was allowed, then local farmers would gain more connections and greater job security.
The Poverty Industry:
When disaster strikes, a number of different groups come together to push their respective agendas under the disguise of providing humanitarian aid to those in need. During George W. Bush’s presidency, legislation was introduced to provide aid to Haiti in the form of rice. Conservationists were in favor of this legislation because it would result in a reduction of unsustainable methods used by Haitian farmers. Also, venture capitalists wanted to create businesses and factories in Haitian cities and reducing the number of necessary farmers would certainly help to achieve that. In addition to the selfishly non-partisan motives of conservationists and venture capitalists, farmers in the United States seriously supported the legislation, as it would increase demand for their products. This legislation was passed, and it seems to have directly worsened the impact of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti because of the inner-city slums that were constructed on top of a fault line in the wake of rural communities moving into the cities. Many agencies, organizations, groups, and governments stand to benefit in some way from the misfortunes of the people they conveniently seek to help. To be fair, humanitarian work looks very good on paper for individuals living in first-world countries. The salary is tax-free, and many people who choose to live in the countries they hope to help have personal servants tending to their needs. The businesses in third-world countries often get cheated by both their local government and the donating government. One contractor shared a story of how a contract was given to a team from the donating country solely because that country was providing the contractor’s local government with aid. In the end, the contractor’s company ended up doing the most grueling part of the job with nowhere near proper compensation or recognition. These examples demonstrate the core of the invisible corruption and incorrect priorities that are running rampant in humanitarian efforts worldwide.
What can we do instead?
This documentary shared many new perspectives and a lot of new information regarding the problems of humanitarian aid and poverty in third-world countries. I feel it is quite obvious that the historic system of paternalistic humanitarian aid is flawed, corrupted, and extremely ineffective. The documentary made many convincing arguments for the benefits of entrepreneurship in developing countries. The people in Haiti show a desire to be self-sufficient, and the countries providing them “aid” must allow them to become self-sufficient, or the cycle of their people needing or depending on assistance will continue. Because we are outsiders, we cannot truly know the experiences that the impoverished peoples in third-world countries face on a daily basis. However, if we encourage the peoples who are struggling to become self-sufficient and provide them with the proper resources to do so, the poverty industry will soon come to an end. People cannot have a sense of pride when they are dependent upon handouts to provide for their family. Providing people in third-world countries with the opportunities to work and earn an income will grant them the sense of pride and independence that I think many Americans take for granted. There have not been any countries that have developed with humanitarian aid; they develop with trade and business.
