In November, the CIHA Blog continued to critically engage with discourses focusing on poverty and humanitarian aid, asking questions about proposed neoliberal solutions to poverty and the helpfulness of terms like “aid orphan.” We also saw a response piece to former Jamaican Prime Minister James Patterson’s call for a British apology for the slave trade, as well as an insightful discussion about the UN’s International Decade event focusing on structural racism. Finally, the Blog was very happy to introduce two new members to the editorial team.
“Think Again: Sorry Madagascar, Your Problems Aren’t Hot Enough,” responds to Simon Allison’s critique of the process by which humanitarian aid is distributed to distressed nations and his call for more equal and fair distribution. Allison contends that not all crises draw the same amount of attention; journalists flock after more newsworthy headlines to make front page news, and “slow-moving humanitarian disasters” aren’t as captivating as violence. Bangirana Albert Billy points out that Allison’s critique does not tell the whole story and calls for a reexamination of the term “aid orphan.”
In “Track Changes: Neoliberalism and Its Hollow Victories,” Cilas Kemedjio, a CIHA Blog co-editor, critiques a Jeffrey D. Sachs New York Times piece, and in particular, Sachs’ “shock therapy” approach to poverty alleviation and aid. And in “The Humanitarian Promise of a Shared Memory,” Kemedjio responds to and sympathizes with former Jamaican Prime Minister James Patterson’s call for David Cameron to apologize for the UK’s role in the slave trade.
Sheron Wray, in her piece, “Confronting the Silence: Perspectives and Dialogue on Structural Racism against People of African Descent Worldwide” talks about her experience at the UN event, which marked the International Decade for People of African Descent. Wray discusses problems with the notion of color blindness and ongoing issues of structural racism that are being highlighted and challenged by a variety of actors including the #blacklivesmatter movement.
This month we were also pleased to welcome two editorial team members from Gaston University (Saint-Louis, Senegal). Professor Mame Penda-BA joins us as our newest editorial board member and Awa Cheikh Seck joins as our editorial assistant. We are very excited to have both on our editorial team.
Please keep a look out for our upcoming posts in December and the new year, which will include original contributions on issues of spiritual development, effective altruism, and Pentecostal leaders in West and Central Africa; pieces presented at the Blog’s workshop on “Rethinking the Origins of Humanitarian Action in Africa: Religion, Secularism, and the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)”; as well as new Opportunities including grants, fellowship, conferences, and job postings.
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