codes of conduct such as the Sphere Projects Humanitarian Charter and Minimum
Standards in Disaster Response.^84 She concludes that
the iconography of childhood also works for NGOs in the same way that
missionary iconography worked in the colonial age. It reinforces an
impression of both institutional efficacy and the power to act in loco
parentis by tapping into cultural associations of childhood with dependence,
innocence, and the need for protection and care.^85On this account, images of children serve to infantilise whole populations and can
contribute to a dehumanising humanitarianism. Child sponsorship programmes
blend two powerful narratives: childhood innocence and personal testimony.^86
Despite these problems, Wilson and Brown “note that individual victims' narratives
seem to be a necessary component in the mobilization of empathy, and in the
formation of global political constituencies to end the suffering of others."^87
Arguably, the power of individual narratives maintains its force within the world of
professional humanitarianism itself. In his study of Amnesty International, Stephen
Hopgood refers to one staffer who had been able to accustom himself to the daily
encounter with horrific images of violence, but who still felt powerfully disturbed by
personal testimonies, because they highlighted that at stake was a “real person”.^88
Though by no means a silver bullet, giving space to fuller accounts of
people’s lives, in appealing on their behalf, might go some way towards avoiding
the dehumanising potential of humanitarian appeals. The first point is preserving
and presenting people’s names. Denis Kennedy notes how frequently this is
84
Such codes are discussed in Chapter 5. Sphere Project, Humanitarian Charter and
Minimum Standards in Disaster Response 85.
Kate Manzo, "Imaging Humanitarianism: NGO Identity and the Iconography of
Childhood", 86 Antipode 40, no. 4 (2008): 652. Italics in original.
For a discussion of child sponsorship programmes, see Suski, "Children, Suffering and the
Humanitarian Appeal", 212-216. 87
88 Wilson and Brown, "Introduction", 20.
Hopgood, Keepers of the Flame , 43.