The US government has pledged more money toward this year's flood relief efforts in Pakistan than the country's own government, according to a report this month from the Congressional Research Service.Like many things, at first glance this seems pretty straight-forward. Those damn ungrateful foreigners are failing to appreciate all the help we're giving them. But like most things in life, the real situation is a little more complex than it appears.
Floods have devastated swathes of the Pakistani countryside this year. And once again the US is contributing substantial funds despite strained ties between the two governments and large anti-American street protests.
But instead of helping repair US-Pakistan relations, the flood aid looks more likely to harden the existing pattern where Americans tire of financially supporting a country where elites are barely taxed and the majority of citizens dislike the US. Pakistan, meanwhile, points out US pledges are often much greater than the aid actually delivered – and what aid does come is spent in a self-interested manner.
"These aid figures are on paper and never really materialize into anything. The foreign aid pledge is always about - this will come, that will happen, but it never does," says Irshad Bhatti, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), an autonomous government body that looks after disaster relief in Pakistan.
The U.S. has pledged $135 million for flood relief. So far, according to the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, it has delivered a mere $100,000. That's not even a rounding error in our national debt.
Years ago I read a book titled "The Ugly American." It's a fictional examination of how and why America's efforts to win the hearts and minds of people in other countries often falls short due to our innate arrogance and failure to understand local cultures. The Pakistan flood relief program seems to fall into that category.
If you haven't read the book, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's an eye-opener.
3 comments:
I'll add it to the reading list, thanks!
I think you'll enjoy it. And the message still rings true today.
"The Ugly American"? Gee that goes back a way. Since then they had to have published The Ugly Russian.. Brit.. German.. Italian.. French.. Japanese.. Indian.. Indonesian.. Aussie.. and Chinese. (Jus' kiddin;-) Imagine the State Department now has republished it by the millions, in 89 different languages, and sent it out with every sack of rice and flour in emergency relief; something required by the Truth In Caring Act? But would have thought that in the case of Pakistan (and a number of other countries) we sent sacks of dollars and the book in cartoon format. No?
("Pinch" - Calm Down, Calm Dowm, This too will pass! Take Hold! Chin Up! Walk Like a Man!;-(
We're either not very bright, or people really are different in different countries. Hummmm..
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