I recently came across this blog post from an American college student doing a month-long study program in Benin:
"It is hard to travel to a place like Benin and not have a sense of guilt when you leave. I want to do more to help but it is hard to know where to start. I hope that this trip will somehow change the way I live my life. The simple things that we take for granted on a daily basis are amazing……like having a clean place to go to the bathroom (or any place to go to the bathroom really), being able to drink the water, being able to feed our families. The poverty I have witnessed is just not fair…….and it does bring me some guilt. [..] These people live in completely unsanitary conditions all the time. The children are literally playing in garbage. [...] I hope that I will be able to help my own children understand that “we” are all the same….nobody is better than anyone else, and we should all be doing more to help others in need around the world."
This blog post made me cringe. Here's why:
1. Don't insult the Beninese by pitying them.
Benin is a wonderful place and the Beninese are a dignified people. This post's author pities "these people" because she has a superficial understanding of how their culture works and because she is viewing Beninese culture through American lenses. When I look at the Beninese, I do not see impoverished people. I see proud people who have a strong network of friends and family to take care of them.
2. She misidentifies the problems.
The author writes about the lack of bathroom facilities, lack of access to clean water, and the "completely unsanitary conditions" in which all Beninese supposedly live. She is wrong on every count.
Let's start with the issue of latrines. While there are few latrines in my village, that is not the problem. Even when latrines exist, they are rarely used. The villagers prefer defecating in fields because that is what they have always done and because they do not understand the health implications of open-air defecation. All of our public schools, for instance, have latrines, but many children still bypass the latrines to defecate in the fields behind the schools. Some well-meaning foreign organization built latrines for our public market, but they are not used. The issue is not the absence of latrines, but rather that the villagers are not convinced of the importance of using a latrine.
On the question of clean water, most disease-causing organisms can be removed from water simply by filtering the water through a clean piece of clothing. Thus, relatively clean water is available to all. Therefore, there is not a problem of access to clean water, but rather a lack of education about how and why to make water clean.
As for her claim that the Beninese live in "completely unsanitary conditions," the villagers I know would find that insulting. They take great pride in sweeping their homes and courtyards and doing everything they know to keep their homes clean.
3. The Beninese don't need her help.
This author's heart appears to be in the right place, but what she does not realize is that so much of the help she might be inclined to give would actually be destructive. Too much aid is distributed by foreigners with no or little understanding of the local culture and circumstances, and therefore much aid can even be damaging.
How can the Beninese be the drivers of their own development when Westerners are running the show? How can Benin ever hope to be self-sufficient if Westerners are always offering handouts?
The author of this blog post wrote in the way that Americans are expected to write. When you go to Africa, everyone back home expects you to write about how miserable the Africans are, how poor they are, how needy they are. Ooh, isn't that dreadful? That kind of writing denigrates the proud and wonderful people that you find here. They deserve better.
"It is hard to travel to a place like Benin and not have a sense of guilt when you leave. I want to do more to help but it is hard to know where to start. I hope that this trip will somehow change the way I live my life. The simple things that we take for granted on a daily basis are amazing……like having a clean place to go to the bathroom (or any place to go to the bathroom really), being able to drink the water, being able to feed our families. The poverty I have witnessed is just not fair…….and it does bring me some guilt. [..] These people live in completely unsanitary conditions all the time. The children are literally playing in garbage. [...] I hope that I will be able to help my own children understand that “we” are all the same….nobody is better than anyone else, and we should all be doing more to help others in need around the world."
This blog post made me cringe. Here's why:
1. Don't insult the Beninese by pitying them.
Benin is a wonderful place and the Beninese are a dignified people. This post's author pities "these people" because she has a superficial understanding of how their culture works and because she is viewing Beninese culture through American lenses. When I look at the Beninese, I do not see impoverished people. I see proud people who have a strong network of friends and family to take care of them.
2. She misidentifies the problems.
The author writes about the lack of bathroom facilities, lack of access to clean water, and the "completely unsanitary conditions" in which all Beninese supposedly live. She is wrong on every count.
Let's start with the issue of latrines. While there are few latrines in my village, that is not the problem. Even when latrines exist, they are rarely used. The villagers prefer defecating in fields because that is what they have always done and because they do not understand the health implications of open-air defecation. All of our public schools, for instance, have latrines, but many children still bypass the latrines to defecate in the fields behind the schools. Some well-meaning foreign organization built latrines for our public market, but they are not used. The issue is not the absence of latrines, but rather that the villagers are not convinced of the importance of using a latrine.
On the question of clean water, most disease-causing organisms can be removed from water simply by filtering the water through a clean piece of clothing. Thus, relatively clean water is available to all. Therefore, there is not a problem of access to clean water, but rather a lack of education about how and why to make water clean.
As for her claim that the Beninese live in "completely unsanitary conditions," the villagers I know would find that insulting. They take great pride in sweeping their homes and courtyards and doing everything they know to keep their homes clean.
3. The Beninese don't need her help.
This author's heart appears to be in the right place, but what she does not realize is that so much of the help she might be inclined to give would actually be destructive. Too much aid is distributed by foreigners with no or little understanding of the local culture and circumstances, and therefore much aid can even be damaging.
How can the Beninese be the drivers of their own development when Westerners are running the show? How can Benin ever hope to be self-sufficient if Westerners are always offering handouts?
The author of this blog post wrote in the way that Americans are expected to write. When you go to Africa, everyone back home expects you to write about how miserable the Africans are, how poor they are, how needy they are. Ooh, isn't that dreadful? That kind of writing denigrates the proud and wonderful people that you find here. They deserve better.
I assume that if she were able to get to know the people and culture for as long as you have she would have a different point of view. Or are there Peace Corp workers who think the way she does even after living among the people for a couple of years?
ReplyDeleteJean Ralley
Peace Corps volunteers here in Benin seem to be evenly split on the question of whether or not to do funded projects. Many volunteers resolutely refuse to apply for grants because they think it just perpetuates Benin's dependency on foreign assistance.
ReplyDeleteOne advantage of the Peace Corps is that volunteers get to know their communities extremely well. They have so much more insight into local culture and needs than the foreign aid agencies that are usually distributing the money.
I was recently in Benin visiting my Peace Corps daughter. I did not recognize the Benin I experienced in the young college student's description. If I left with guilt, it was with guilt for all the worldly possessions that I have that I don't need. The Beninese are doing fine without all that excess baggage.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Beninese appear to throw at least some of their garbage anywhere they want, the home I visited was immaculate. Often, I would see women sweeping. In a country with little rainfall and a lot of dry powdery dirt (?), that is a never ending task.
I did not come away with the feeling of vast poverty, though surely there is some. I came away with the feeling of a simpler life, not unlike our own country many years ago. I also came away with a fond memory of the Beninese people I met who felt it was important to take care of a visitor who had come such a long distance to their country. I guess I have a second guilt: would I have been as gracious if they had come to my country.
I'm going to be a PCV in Benin in September, so I've been reading up on past volunteers' experiences to prepare. I'm on the executive board for a service organization on my university's campus and we talk about the concept of harmful service all the time. I'm really glad to see PCVs understanding the idea of not pitying the community you're helping as well as not thinking you're going to come in and "save" them, but rather being open-minded and letting them teach you.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog has me really excited for my trip!