Three reasons why I didn't celebrate the "World Humanitarian Day"

The United Nations (UN), together with several reputed international organizations, including NGOs, has been mobilizing the World over the past weeks for the World Humanitarian Day (WHD). Likes, twits, posts, apps, articles, banners… the solidarity marketing artillery pushing really hard. These actions came to its end the 19th of August with the appearance of Beyonce in the General Assembly  hall in NYC.

Humanitarianism, in my view, has generally very little to celebrate. I’m not for boycotting parties. Yet, I do see three reasons at least to reject both the celebration of the WHD and the way it has been done this year.

First, the sanctification of the humanitarian worker. Just take a look to the narrative used in its website. "Those who face danger and adversity to help others"; the humanitarian saints. Saint Humanitarian Day. Emphasizing the risks, sacrifices and commitments humanitarians do in this way is going too far away. I do not know any zero-risk profession ; I do not see reflected in the web all the advantages being a humanitarian has - particularly if you work for some organizations (e.g., enormous – unethical - salaries, living conditions, travels, per diems… just to mention some). Prevent and properly manage threats or security incidents is the important thing, not to present heroes where you only should see (privileged) workers.

Second, because not every way of aiding is humanitarian. Not pretending to be provocative: my understanding of Humanitarianism has very little to do with “help someone with her shopping”, “stand up for someone being picked on” or “clean up your local park”, even if all these actions may be very praiseworthy. Mixing actions of civism or common sense with Humanitarianism is a banality. Actually, just a good example of the use this concept often suffers, that leads it to a very dangerous conceptual vacuity allowing to assimilate it to aberrations as “conflict mediation” or “humanitarian military interventions”. Obviously, this is not by chance, but a very well calculated strategy, as we can see today in many contexts. The – not surprisingly shocking thing is to see so many organizations so happy about it.

Third and last reason: the MTV fashion presentation of the event. Take a look to the video. Several friends told me they got “emotional” about it. My only emotions were shivers when I saw how all the clichés about humanitarian assistance in its more paternalistic approach were there. Images included so “professional” examples of humanitarian action as air dropping materials – hope they weren’t those done by the US Army over Afghanistan after bombing with forbidden cluster bombs -, water distribution from a truck… on the move!, or the white-hand-giving-food to a black-eventually-smiling-and-thankful-children in Africa. Some of them were close to humanitarian pornography.

An important idea: I do not have – I wouldn’t like to! – the monopoly of what is “humanitarian”; fortunately, for the good or for the bad, nobody has it. But including in the same concept any action, by any actor, in any form and place, and transform it into a World Eucharistic Sanctification in the General Assembly, looks to me suicidal, just the continuation of a trend that started with the apps for smartphones that allowed to design your own refugee camp…