The definition of ‘aid’ is fairly simple; it means to assist someone or give them help and the concept of aid, where wealthy countries and organizations utilize their resources to assist the development of poorer countries or countries that have suffered conflict or natural disaster, is an unselfish idea that reflects the best human instincts. There are some organizations that operate very effectively, ensuring that most of the funds are directed to the recipient and that those resources are used effectively. While these organizations represent the best aspects of the idea of ‘aid’, unfortunately they are not reflective of the industry overall. The theory of aid is great, the reality is appalling;

Naguib Mahfouz: ( Egypt): Nobel Prize winner ( Literature) : Author and social commentator: “80 cents in the dollar never reaches the intended beneficiaries”

Dr Beat Richter ( Cambodia): “80 % of Donor aid funding leaves the country in the hands of expatriate advisors and consultants”

Samdech Hun Sen: Cambodian Prime Minister: “70 % of donor funds is spent on paying foreign consultants”

Although aid organizations have been operating internationally for more than 50 years, Aid and Development, as an industry, blossomed after the Vietnam War, a righteous product based on the collective guilt as Western culture started to understand the havoc it had wreaked on Third World countries and also as a form of backdoor colonization by Western governments who felt (and still feel) that they could ‘buy influence’ via aid donations. Look at the recent ‘generosity’ shown to Cambodia by its international donors.

Aid and Development, like Trade, has become an international industry, but unlike most international industries it is completely unregulated. There is no established structure. We still dwell in this Fools Paradise that aid organizations only exist to help the poor and suffering, have an ethical base, so no rules need apply. This has left the system open to abuse by spurious groups who raise money based on dubious claims which rarely achieve more than the rental of luxury apartments, a fleet of Lexus 4Wheel Drive Vehicles and a dubious lifestyle which could never be sustained (or tolerated) in their own country. This Culture of Comfort wastes money and often causes justifiable anger and resentment from local people who see foreigners living luxurious lives based on their poverty. How Do These People Sleep At Night??

This lifestyle, with all its perks (free private school education, annual trips home, tax deductibility, the villa and the maids…) also engenders a closed-shop mentality. Once on the Gravy Train, expats are unlikely to be critical lest they lose their place at the trough (a mixed metaphor), just as aid recipients are loathe to criticize donor bodies as this often results in blacklisting and permanent loss of funding.

The funds are often used to finance esoteric experiments in social development which are of little or no value, and imposed by the donor country/International Non-Government Organization (INGO), or overpaid consultancies (which pay very well but achieve very little) or the funds (amazingly!) remain in the bank and never leave the donor country.

The business of aid is nowhere more apparent than in the duplication of programs as INGOs, with a paucity of ideas, seek to replicate or poach existing projects. If they don’t have a clear idea of their mission, why are they there? This is the question people are starting to ask.

And they’re starting to ask it in Cambodia.

For years now, INGOs have tried to manipulate government policy in order to extend their mandates. Why?……Well, try raising money for aid projects in cold, rocky, inhospitable Afghanistan; its not easy, whereas Cambodia with its tragic history and beautiful, tropical landscape is a veritable cash cow. INGOs are guilty of exploiting Cambodia for their own financial gain, characterizing it as an impoverished country, littered with landmines, full of sad, starving people who can only be saved by Western aid. Cambodia is renowned as a lucrative funding base, reflected by the number of INGOs currently registered in the country. While there have been some notable achievements and successes (the Don Bosco Training School is a good example), do the results reflect the billions of dollars in aid that have poured into the country since 1991. Where has all this money gone? What has it achieved?

Why is no mention made of the positive developments that have occurred in Education and Literacy, Health and the recent development of an international banking system which has set new benchmarks for financial institutions in the country? This rhetorical question highlights the need for aid organizations to perpetuate a negative image of Cambodia for their own questionable ends.

The Prime Minister His Excellency Samdech Hun Sen recently stated (correctly) that aid organizations should work together with the government instead of constantly criticizing it. Nobody denies the problems that are a continuing legacy of Cambodia’s past, but the arrogance of Western governments and organizations claiming to know what’s best without working with the democratically elected government smacks of modern imperialism of the worst kind. The shortcomings of this attitude have been tragically exposed by the recent debacle in Iraq, where the attempt to impose a ‘Western solution’ has set that country back by decades, cost hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives and trillions of dollars that could have been used for constructive rather than destructive purposes.

This inability to deal with the realities and be a partner in finding real solutions for Cambodia is understandable when most aid workers live in luxurious expat enclaves, socialize together and view the country through the tinted glass of their Lexus, having little or no real contact with the culture or Khmers except as the ‘clients’ of their patronizing generosity. In order to understand the problems, surely one needs to understand and respect the Khmer processes even if they don’t conform to Western practices….it’s their country!! This lack of respect for Cambodia, its culture and developing civil institutions once again exposes the terrible dichotomy of Western Aid. Aid..For Who?

How much longer will we see these people making a generous living off the poverty of Cambodia, with their karmas wrapped around their necks in cultural ecstasy, their M.A.s in International Development tucked in their back pockets and telling Khmers what they need to do….