Last week I had the opportunity to go on a planned round trip by bus through Scotland with my grandmother. While I had already expected the average age to be over 30 I would never have reckoned that it would lie at an impressive 70 years. Obviously, I found myself frustrated, awkward, embarrassed and out of place most of the time. When I called my brother hopelessly he just told me: “Hey it is only a few more days … and maybe you should leave your eyes wide open and look if you can learn something for life!” And that is exactly what I did: I observed and analysed the behaviour of my 46 travel companions which lead me to the realization of why international aid is still often doomed to fail; there is a lack of open-mindedness and communication and there is a certain component of neo-colonialism and the desire to show off. I want to explain myself by sharing my observations with you.
The whole journey was governed by a certain hastiness: the retirees sat in their bus in which they were chauffeured from place to place. During the rides they either slept, were occupied with their crosswords or were chatting over a glass (or better a plastic cup) of red wine or champagne. And the highlight of the day was certainly the lunch composed of a pair of wieners, a slice of sloppy toast, a blob of mustard and a pickle at noon sharp. Only once in a while would they peak out of the window with glazed eyes and would be delighted to see a herd of sheep or the tip of a church tower in the distance. When they reached their destination they spent a maximum of 2 hours there. International aid is just as frantic and transitory. It is often executed unplanned and in the worst cases even without a real aim – helping for the sake of helping. It is often observable that numerous aid-projects are launched just after big environmental or human disasters. Everyone wants to help and starts to collect whatever seems to be of use; food, money, clothes etc., indifferent if these goods are even needed and if its provision proves itself as sustainable. And after a few weeks or months interest is lost and countries are left alone again. Here one has to ask himself the question what is more important, quality or quantity.
The seniors also didn’t seem to be so interested in getting to know the country. At their destination, most of the time was spent looking for toilets. The rest was spent walking around aimlessly taking pictures of buildings and landscapes that are either renowned internationally (e.g. Edinburgh castle) or simply look as if they are important or have some historical relevance; they did not occupy themselves with them. They, for example, did not question or ask themselves when, by whom and why a certain building was built and who had lived in there. For me this signifies a kind of satisfied ignorance and suggests that travel to a place is just for the sake of travel and ticking off places from a list; these kinds of organised holidays allow travel to a place and back, with travellers returning home none the wiser for their experience.
This particularly manifested itself during my travel when we “visited” Loch Ness. I only saw the Loch from the window of the bus, however, a full one-hour shopping-tour in the specialized Loch Ness-shop was planned. I would even go as far and claim that there is a component of the desire to show off; at their next afternoon-tea my travel companions will be able to tell that they have travelled to Scotland and have seen the legendary Loch Ness – and surely their pictures (taken from within the bus) will lie close at hand as proof. The same ignorance and desire to present themselves superior to their fellows was observable among my companions during the meals. The seniors submitted themselves to downright battles in which they compared and contrasted the travels they had already done, their grandchildren and how much they have already spent on souvenirs. According to me the same is often observable with international aid. Individuals, governments and even some NGOs that send physical goods and money often desire a certain recognition for their work and they therefore document it very accurately using pictures, percentages and personal stories. These are then presented to the great public through the use of the media. Many organisations but also individuals, mostly VIPs, have been able to improve their reputation in the society by investing into aid. (You probably all know who I am referring to!)
During my journey I was further surprised … or maybe shocked is the better word … of how the seniors didn’t even try to adapt themselves to the country. I will never in my lifetime forget their naturalness with which they talked German to everyone: servers, shopkeepers, individuals. The response was that the questioned person just walked away without a further comment or just ignored them. This only intensified their mistrust towards the Scottish folks, which exhibited itself mostly during the meals in the hotels. They only sullenly shoved around the lovingly arranged local food (Haggis, neeps and tatties, shepherds-pie and apple crumble, baked beans etc.) on their plates muttering one comment or another; I quote: “This sausage is simply inedible. This is never a Thuringer!” … well maybe because it was an English corn sausage? Similarly aid givers are largely influenced by their prejudices and cultural stereotypes and often convey the feeling that they want to impose their ideas and perspectives on the local people. They often forget that they are only operating as guests in another country which might have very different cultural, traditional and religious beliefs, rules and values. This lack of awareness and understanding can mediate the impression that they consider themselves superior to the aid receivers. This is also why some aid receivers refuse participation so systematically; they fear a new type of colonialism.
I have further observed that my fellow passengers were very fast in complaining. Notably the hotels were very violently picked at according to the Goldilocks principal. They always found something that was wrong: once the rooms were too small once too big, once the beds too hard the other time too soft, once too hot and once too cold etc. And the biggest crime: they did not show German TV in the highlands! In fiery discussions they ambushed their Scottish hosts accusing them for ignorance and their inability to adapt to the German values and culture. One very determined man even threatened to write a letter to Merkel personally to inform her about these unacceptable habits that are undoubtedly aimed at us Germans personally. “It is obvious that they hate us Germans and don’t want to do us any good!” This might also explain the mistrust of the seniors towards the Scottish people; they were actively using travel safes around their bellies, put money in secret pockets and would never leave their bricksized Nokia phone unattended in their room. Similarly aid givers also mostly tend to concentrate on the problems and the misery that can be found in the affected countries and often oversee or forget to consider the positives and opportunities that the receiving countries can provide. This can be natural resources, a large labour force or a strong sense of community.
So what does this suggest for the future? And how can we aid less privileged people more sustainably? The answer is very simple and can actually even be described as self-evident: communication, tolerance and open-mindedness. Observation and investigation of the local situation including the problems, needs and available resources should become a habit just as much as considering the local traditions and religions. Communication has to start to take place face to face as locals should have the right to have a say in decisions that influence their and their families’ future. We need to give the people the opportunity to get active and participate in the development of their regions and countries themselves. Why do we always have to send goods and money if we could invest in human resources? We could fund the teaching of teachers and nurses or we could teach people to clean their own water using simple methods. This would stimulate local action and an upward spiral of development as the foundations of change are being built.