Comments We Received from Readers - 17 to 24 February 2024

Marilena Viviani commented on "Missing You - Sad News of the Passing of Reinhard Freiberg, RIP : Francis Dubois via Malika Abrous"

2 hours ago

Thanks Francis and so sorry to hear these news, Reinhard was a great friend and colleague, when I moved to Jerusalem in 1995 he was there - as a retiree living in Israel- to support us in our UNICEF work for the Palestinian children, he helped us so many times in complex situations with true humanitarian spirit. He shared his birthday - 27 June- with my daughter Elisa, born in Jerusalem, and he joined us in 1998 for her 2-year birthday party, with many Palestinian and Israeli kids playing with him, a memorable day with a special person indeed. Peace was in the air…missing him and that spirit very much these days.

Unknown commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

6 hours ago

Leave it to the gilt-ridden, naive, bleeding-heart Westerners. It is thankless, tedious, and often dangerous work.

Unknown commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

7 hours ago

Where are Russia and China when it comes to humanitarian aid?

Thomas Ekvall commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

8 hours ago

Humanitarian aid raises complex questions that haven't been sufficiently debated and dealt with. Should the taxpayers and governments in the West be held more responsible for the well-being of people in countries say in Africa than those countries' leaders?

There are precedents where the WFP has suspended food aid affecting millions due to obstructions by governments and or rebel movements. Is this morally acceptable?

There are also precedents where governments and or rebel movements have been bribed to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered. Is that acceptable?

This brings to mind a real case in famine-prone Kordufan. The Dutch had a project there to deal with famine preparedness. The idea was simple: in good years you saved surpluses to be used during bad years. Grain stores were installed all over for this purpose. However, the project failed, there was never any grain in those stores. Why would the government take the trouble organizing and running this when WFP was just a phone call away when the next famine hit? Fortunately, the silos were made of fiberglass which subsequently made good roofing material.

Thomas Ekvall commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

12 hours ago

Military aid is typically provided by say the US to Israel (apparently hundreds of billions) or China to Cambodia. Such aid is presumably not intended to lift countries out of poverty or help them develop but is provided for other purposes therefore not particularly relevant to this discussion.

That said, the military would be a suitable conduit for humanitarian aid. The military typically has everything needed for a successful humanitarian operation. They have logistics expertise and trucks, aircraft, etc. They typically also have medical facilities and the capacity to house, in tents, tens of thousands and to feed them as well. No aid outfit comes even close. Yet they typically sit idel observing UN agencies and NGOs struggling.

That development aid, as we know it, has failed is indisputable. For a country to develop competent and caring governance with corruption under control is necessary. Aid has done nothing to help achieve that. One can make a case that it has worked counter to that.

In Response to a comment by Unknown

Unknown commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

16 hours ago

Comment

There are many types of aid given to developing countries. They are distinguished by their purpose, source of funding, and the form that they take. These types of aid are often categorized into economic foreign aid (development aid), military aid, and humanitarian aid. Are you calling for stopping all types of aid (including humanitarian aid) and what alternatives would the writer of the above article recommend ?

Kul Gautam commented on "IASC - Statement by the Principals - Civilians in Gaza in extreme peril while the world watches on: Ten requirements to avoid an even worse catastrophe"

22 hours ago

Very clear and principled statement by Principals of 18 UN agencies and other humanitarian INGOs. Point #3 & #10 are particularly notable as all criticism of Israel is wrongly slandered as "anti-Semitic" & "pro-Hamas". Kul

Karin Sham Poo commented on "Missing You - Sad News of the Passing of Reinhard Freiberg, RIP : Francis Dubois via Malika Abrous"

Yesterday

So sorry to hear the sad news about Reinhard’s passing. He was a great colleague and a wonderful friend. After he retired and left New York, he sent me wonderful handwritten letters from time to time which both Stanley and I appreciated so much.
May he RIP

Fouad Kronfol commented on "'Time Square' : Horst Cerni"

2 days ago

Dear Horst, here is a belated Birthday Ditty for you.
How quaint your take on Time Square,
None of us was really aware
You are almost as old as Papa Bear.
It is certainly a fact, to be fair,
That your longevity is due to Tender Loving Care.
While on top there is thinning hair,
Probably from the Caribbean sun's glare,
It is not by any measure a scare.
Your sense of humour is really rare,
As a friend and colleague on this I can swear.
In this dedicated Ditty I do dare,
Sincerely wish that from everywhere,
Blessings may come to you through the air.
Fouad

Unknown commented on "If you need to know whether......: Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune / Shared by Mary Racelis"

2 days ago

It’s outrageous that politicians. Are incapable to say :enough it’s enough killing our children
They are incapable to seat at a table and have a peace agreement
Only mothers who have fhe privilege to give birth suffer from those atrocities …. A child is a child
Now they are killing them ss if they were part of a military gang regardless if their race their color their religion
Men are incapable to maintain a dialogue in order to come to a conclusion !!
Alas our children are paying the price

Thomas Ekvall commented on "Unintended Consequences: Detlef Palm"

2 days ago

Again right on. We are clearly starting to sober up and should refrain from that Bloody Mary before lunch.

In Response to a comment by Unknown

Thomas Ekvall commented on "Unintended Consequences: Detlef Palm"

2 days ago

Right on

In Response to a comment by Unknown

Unknown commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

2 days ago

👍

In Response to a comment by Detlef Palm

Unknown commented on "Unintended Consequences: Detlef Palm"

2 days ago

Reminds me of us going on about UNDAF/DAP/UNSDCF (and our own CPDs) and empowered UNRCs - trying to sober up the UNCT that our 1 or 5 % of the aid budget is making monumental change - rather than some pocket change and a couple trips to international meetings for some government elites.

Editors commented on "Rubble from Bone : Tom Stevenson in the London Review of Books"

2 days ago

Dear Anonymous - Out of respect to the author and the person who contributed the article, you need to give your name when you add a comment. We respect your right as a member of XUNICEF to contribute comments to this blog, but in return you need to identify yourself with something more than 'Unknown' or 'Anonymous'. Thanks.

Unknown commented on "Unintended Consequences: Detlef Palm"

2 days ago

"Second, the book barely acknowledges that any country’s development trajectory is primarily driven by the will of its own government and its people." So totally true - name ONE example of a country that "graduated" to middle or upper income and this was due to "development aid" and not to the drive of the government and people to improve. Aid alone is a failure.

Detlef Palm commented on "Aid is worse than a waste of money, it has impoverished Africa, kept corrupt leaders in power, and is causing mass migration to Europe: Thomas Ekvall"

2 days ago

Thomas raises issues that warrant wider discussion. If the trend to growing global disparities cannot be reversed by aid, then aid is a mere distraction from and impediment to the more fundamental changes that are needed in international relations.

Unknown commented on "Rubble from Bone : Tom Stevenson in the London Review of Books"

2 days ago

And left their land

In Response to a comment by Unknown

Andre Roberfroid commented on "If you need to know whether......: Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune / Shared by Mary Racelis"

2 days ago

thanks Mary, this picture says it all. It makes the whole debate about war a shameless and futile exercise. There only one answer to this picture: ENOUGH

Unknown commented on "Missing You - Sad News of the Passing of Reinhard Freiberg, RIP : Francis Dubois via Malika Abrous"

Feb 21, 2024

Sad news. May he rest in peace.

Unknown commented on "Rubble from Bone : Tom Stevenson in the London Review of Books"

Feb 21, 2024

The war in Gaza would end tomorrow if Hamas freed the hostages and lay down their weapons.

SDL commented on "How Israel's War Went Wrong : Zack Beauchamp / VOX"

Feb 21, 2024

This has be among the most incisive and spot on take on this Israel-Gaza conflict. The Hamas playbook was the predicated on a thorough knowledge of the Israeli psyche and more so Bibi's reflexes and deeply flawed character traits. Plunging into a massive response, with nary a thought for the hostages, seems to have been a function of the fact that both the High Command of the IDF and the political actors were blindsided by Hamas and needed to over react to establish themselves. All the elements for a Classical Tragedy. Why the world could not fashion effective protection for the the children and mothers is beyond me. If neighbours did not want spillover, then hospital ships could have housed the very ill and rented cruise ships could be repurposed to serve as shelters for women and children. The US has the assets to conduct the logistical exercise, under an umbrella of US Airborne troops with Jordanian military participation -- offshore but within Gaza's 12 mile zone, so that they are still in the territory. Imagination. Something out of the box needed.

Editors commented on "Mohammed M. M. Fall Becomes UNRC / UNHC for Nigeria"

Feb 20, 2024

Thanks for letting us know. We have taken down the initial photo.

In Response to a comment by Unknown

Unknown commented on "Mohammed M. M. Fall Becomes UNRC / UNHC for Nigeria"

Feb 20, 2024

Wrong Picture

Ellen Tolmie commented on "Joe vs. Antoinio? - SG Asks UNICEF and WFP to Avoid Undermining UNRWA : DEVEX"

Feb 20, 2024

wonder what Unicef and WFP EDs will do? cave to their master?
OR take these diverted donations and turn them over to UNRWA OR decree all of UNRWA a sub-contractor of Unicef/WFP/WHO, thereby demonstrating genuine UN humanitarian agency solidarity. Backed by a solidarity statement by all INGOs.
grasping at straws?
also so much for Samantha Power anti-genocide credentials ... having fully grown into her last name..

e

Kul Gautam commented on "Joe vs. Antoinio? - SG Asks UNICEF and WFP to Avoid Undermining UNRWA : DEVEX"

Feb 20, 2024

SG Guterres is right in counseling UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR or other UN agencies not to comply with Israeli and US proposals to take over UNRWA's functions.
That would not be practical or cost-effective in the short run. In the long run, for an agency like UNICEF, a heavy and disproportionate focus on helping a relatively small number of 2-3 million Palestinian children would detract from its global mandate to help billions of children in need in other LMICs.

The best way to phase out UNRAW is to speed up the establishment of a viable and thriving Palestinian state peacefully co-existing alongside Israel as per innumerable UN resolutions.