Politics of Aid And Suffering Humanity
By V. Arun Kumar
26 June, 2013
Countercurrents.org
“Aid is given regardless of race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on basis of need alone.” Principle of Code of Conduct for International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Response Programmes.
The objectives of humanitarian action are to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during and in the aftermath of manmade crisis and natural disasters. Humanitarian relief and assistance during disasters should be based on four humanitarian principle- neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity. These principles require that humanitarian aid be provided impartially to civilians, on the sole criterion of need, without distinction as to their origin or belief. Humanitarian principles also highlights that relief assistance should not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint.
The magnitude of disaster in Uttarakhand is huge which requires large scale rescue and relief operation. While most of rescue and relief operation is done bone by military and paramilitary forces; large number of organizations, including political and religious, are scrambling to provide relief to the affected people. At the same time it has been witnessed that many of these political and religious organization are working in an utter disregard to basic humanitarian principles.
The news of recent ‘Rambo’ style rescue by Narendra Modi is an example to this. One of the basic and foremost principles of disaster relief is impartiality. If one goes by the claims of Narendra Modi, he and his state machinery only rescued Gujaratis who were stranded in Uttarakhand. The humanitarian principle warns against any adverse distinction of any kind in providing assistance and should only be guided by need basis. Such an act of partiality and selective rescues when humanity is calling for help is shameful and should be condemned.
Loksabha elections are due in 2014 and it seems everyone is trying to get political mileage from Uttarakhand disaster. Modi’s ‘Rambo’ style rescue operation is surely targeted to get political mileage for 2014 elections among his Gujarati voters. While Modi has got a good PR stunt to maneuver for 2014 election, other parties are also not much behind. Vehicles fitted with banners announcing relief aids by political organizations are a common scene nowadays. On these banners are big photos of their political and religious leaders and propaganda words and somewhere in middle one may see in small front “Uttarakhand Relief Aid” or something like that. Argument here is not about stopping political parties from sending relief aids but about upholding the basic humanitarian principle which includes relief not being used to further one’s political and religious standpoint.
Though it won’t be possible to stop such reliefs from flowing in, but it is important that general public should be wary of such PR stunts by various political and religious organizations to exploit the present disaster in Uttarakhand to get mileage. In disaster, human beings need help to stay alive and stay safe and any distinction or discrimination in providing assistance to needy is a crime against humanity.
The author is an Intern at National Institute of Disaster Management and a student of Masters in International Relations at South Asian University, New Delhi. He can be reached at [email protected] . Views expressed in this article are author’s own
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