HumanitARIANism

Recently an article published by the Guardian  titled Why are white people expats when the rest of us are immigrants? has been circulating on Facebook, well at least among my friends. Excuse my egocentrism but I have lived in Europe for nearly a decade.

The title is self explanatory, the writer notes : « Africans are immigrants. Arabs are immigrants. Asians are immigrants. However, Europeans are expats because they can’t be at the same level as other ethnicities. They are superior »

This quote is interesting, certainly passionate, but needs clarification. Thankfully the author refers to the Wall street journal (blog) to shed more light on this definition issue, to the question who is what , an immigrant or an expat the Wall streeters seem to say “ It depends on social class, country of origin and economic status. »

 In Wall street we trust, No ?

Why is the question important ? Why does it matter ?  
Because it’s all in The Word!
And if you noticed that the Bible starts with the « Word », that the revelation in Islam starts with an order : Read… then you are starting to catch my drift …

If not, and you refuse to consider the importance of these references in the construction of our identities then try to remember what changed in your life  since the word Terrorism came to be, what images come to your mind when you say Islamist, even if Muslims are still themselves struggling to find a definition of it and what impact these mere words have on your vision of the world… then think of who is making these words, and sit back and watch from your screen World Wars being made… through words.

Now some might say that these words are merely stating facts, portraying harsh realities that preexist them, after all neither class, nor race nor countries  are being re-created in the process… except they are.

The word is my Fight, All of it… But for now let us focus on the battle at hand.

The purpose of this piece is to show how racism and  inequality are perpetrated by the very people that are supposed to be the safeguards of humanitarian norms. I hereby name  International non governmental humanitarian organizations,  and as an Arab poet once said : “Sons of Bitches I exclude no one”.

It is right to presume that when a Humanitarian organization calls for supporting people suffering from famine or poverty, it does so in the name of Human Rights including if not especially the right to equality.  Well at least that is the common narrative, the agreed upon story…

So why do  INGOs themselves perpetrate inequalities , and feed into them, with their own set of words ?

Who wants to admit that those who preach, would do better to try and live up to their own standards …( Matthew 23 :3) again with her Bible ?…YES.

Who can explain why a French « humanitarian »  in Lebanon is not a foreigner, but an International? and who can explain  why his or her salary is at the very least twice the salary of his equivalent in both knowledge and experience, when said equivalent does not simply have the prefix inter- adjoint to his status of a mere national ?

Who can explain why if the purpose is to bridge the gap between North and South, INGOs are doing their best to widen it…

When the middle-class man all over the word is donating for a cause, any cause, let’s say a Syrian living in Aleppo getting a survival food basket, does he know that some of his cocitizens earn, in the name of being internationals a salary that could sustain 200 Syrians for a whole month!

Your servant here is only writing about the fellow  International’s salary, not his/her other benefits.

Because of course, the “International” gets a national cleaning lady ( well for cleaning ladies they become locals not even nationals) to dust his appartment, he doesn’t pay rent and he asks for receipts whenever he invites his local colleagues for lunch…
 Excusez–moi Monsieur Madame Internationals, but trop c’est trop!

A Madame Swiss International was complaining to my colleague recently about the fact the she could not afford with her international salary to buy a house in Switzerland. in short « Oh la la la cata ! »…

 This, in her opinion, and a research she did on Lebanon, were reason enough for her to be considered as a Humanitarian! I mean only consider her sacrifices!!!

She of course did not forget to remind my colleague that nationals do not have the experience they –Internationals- have…

Regardless of the racist character of Madame’s presumptions, and the fact that most nationals I personally know, have had higher academic achievements, I wonder why does Madame think of herself as so knowleageable when she cannot even speak the language of those she is supposedly helping.

 But I ask for too much, apparently I always do that.

When the WFP stopped food distribution  due to lack of funds, Arab governments paid the bill, both of the food and the internationals salaries. what they failed to ask for, I presume, is equality in treatement of all humanitarians. 
After all Arab rulers are not supposed to know about, or be interested in Human Rights and Equality ,  but INGOs are…

Sadly, the only rule that seems to be universal, is that :
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Dima EL SAYED, 

Beirut, Lebanon

29th March 2015

This article was sent to the Guardian, who apparently could not publish it because: " it is not quite right for 'us' at the moment ".

from my days @ UNESCO Paris