example, the idea of radical, involuntary shifts in people’s ability to nourish
themselves or their families. There is clearly a danger of only identifying and
treating symptoms rather than causes, and of ignoring political choices (e.g. the
choice of hunger over subordination). But provided it is not the only question asked,
the question of where in the world, according to some criteria of vulnerability, are
located the most vulnerable people, regardless of their circumstances, is an
important one to ask, at least as a starting point for any discussion of what human
solidarity, kindness or care might entail or require.
This line of thinking leads to a fairly classical understanding of humanitarian
emergency by asking a series of similar, fairly technical questions, such as: what are
the human consequences of wars? What are the health problems typically
associated with refugee camps in tropical climates? These questions, whether
implicit or explicit, specify the kind of emergency situation at stake. In response to
these, professional humanitarianism has formulated its principles for attempting to
alleviate this suffering according to this mode of evaluation of what the problem is.
This leads to formulations such as the fundamental principles of the Red Cross, the
Red Cross Code of Conduct, or the Sphere Project.^19 It follows that a responsible
usage of the phrase humanitarian crisis or emergency is one where the possibilities
of a humanitarian response match the delimitation of suffering encapsulated
therein.
A key concern of this perspective is to avoid humanitarianism becoming the
cover for a bloodbath of “well-fed dead”.^20 In the case of such an event, it warns us
that the “well-fed dead” will not be served by describing their plight primarily as a
humanitarian one. Their situation may well present components relevant to a
19
The broader context of these projects is discussed in Chapter 5. IFRC, The Code of
Conduct: Principles of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
and NGOs in Disaster Response Programmes. Available at
http://www.ifrc.org/PUBLICAT/conduct/code.asp; accessed on 21 June 2010. The Sphere
Project, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Geneva: The
Sphere Project, 2004). Available at
http://www.sphereproject.org/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,17/Ite
mid,203/lang,english/; accessed on 21 June 2010. 20
The New York Times, "Editorial: The Well-Fed Dead in Bosnia", The New York Times (15
July 1992). Available at http://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/15/opinion/the-well-fed-dead-
in-bosnia.html; accessed on 31 July 2010.
marcin
(Marcin)
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