No One Can Stop the Rain: A Chronicle of Two Foreign Aid Workers during the Angolan Civil War (review)

2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 638-639
Author(s):  
Paul Kingston
Keyword(s):  
2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (151) ◽  
pp. 476-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin O'Sullivan

On a plane leaving Baidoa refugee camp in Somalia in late 1992, an Arab doctor offered John O'Shea, head of the relief agency Goal, a glimpse of how the Irish were viewed in that civil war-ravaged state. ‘Ah, Ireland’, he remarked on learning of O'Shea's country of origin, ‘the caring nation’. He had reason to be complimentary. In addition to the aid agencies and aid workers involved in the ongoing relief effort, Somalia had recently hosted two highprofile visitors from the Irish state. In August 1992 the minister for Foreign Affairs, David Andrews, spent three days in the country to view at first-hand its escalating civil war. He was followed less than two months later by President Mary Robinson, whose arrival at Baidoa on 2 October marked the beginning of a tour – the first by a Western head of state – of the feeding stations and refugee camps that provided succour to those displaced by the conflict.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Boutton ◽  
Henry Pascoe

AbstractGovernments and NGOs establish aid projects in order to improve the quality of life for local residents around the world. While recent news stories about aid workers being kidnapped or killed by terrorist groups are alarming, they mask a broader question: Are aid projects effective in promoting humanitarian aims and pacifying the areas to which it is sent? Or, conversely, does their presence actually attract more violence? Although humanitarian assistance is ostensibly non-political, aid projects themselves may make popular targets for terrorist groups. In addition to increasing resources available to plunder, aid provides an appealing foreign target, allowing terrorist groups to reach wider audiences with their attacks and to reinforce the narrative that the government lacks capacity to protect and provide for civilians. In this paper we combine subnational, project-level aid data with newly-assembled subnational data on transnational terrorism to explore terrorist targeting of aid locations. After presenting our matched-sample analysis of terrorist targeting of aid, we outline avenues for future inquiry using high-resolution, subnational data to investigate the strategic vulnerabilities of foreign aid projects.


2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burcu Savun ◽  
Daniel C. Tirone

AbstractThe recent civil war literature suggests that negative economic shocks in low-income countries increase the risk of civil war. Foreign aid can be an effective conflict-prevention tool in times of severe economic conditions. Aid cushions government spending from the downward pressures of economic shocks, providing recipient governments with resources they can use to make rebellion a less attractive option for aggrieved domestic groups. Using Official Development Assistance (ODA) data covering 1990 through 2004, we find that foreign aid appears to be a useful tool for preventing civil wars in the wake of negative economic shocks, and as such aid should be assessed by donors with these conflict-suppressing aspects in mind.


2017 ◽  
Vol 79 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 656-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Corpus Ong

This article reflects on the significance of cosmopolitan socialities and intimacies following disasters, and the opportunities and risks they offer for restorative and reparative action for survivors and their communities. Reporting in particular on the experiences of LGBTQ Filipinos in post-Haiyan Tacloban, I discuss how the presence of foreign aid workers in everyday social spaces provided opportunities for queer identity expression and social attachments. I argue that cosmopolitan socialities, including new connections initiated via mobile dating platforms, were embraced by LGBTQs for their potential to share and repurpose wounds after rupture, especially in a conservative small-town context where LGBTQ identities have been historically repressed. This article attends to the opportunities and risks of queer cosmopolitanism as an uneven experience between middle-class and low-income LGBTQs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanfang Li ◽  
Qin Tao ◽  
Xiaoyu Zhou ◽  
Kan Zhang

Abstract Background: To provide a reference for foreign aid workers by identifying the mental health status of Overseas Chinese resident in Laos and the influencing factors. Methods :Convenience sampling method was used to select the 414 Overseas Chinese in Laos from April 10 to May 10 in 2020. The mental health status was assessed by using PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scales, and the influencing factors were analyzed. Results :The prevalence of anxiety and depression among overseas Chinese in Laos was 28.5% and 36.2%. Factors influencing anxiety and depression included family members' attitudes towards their departure abroad, financial aid subsidies, living standards in Laos, and Laotian food. Conclusion :Degrees of anxiety and depressive were varying among Overseas Chinese in Laos. Depression was highly correlated with anxiety, and the influencing factors of anxiety and depression were different. Foreign aid workers should pay attention to the mental health of the Overseas Chinese in Laos and the influencing factors.


2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Selby ◽  
Sheila Clark ◽  
Annette Braunack-Mayer ◽  
Alison Jones ◽  
Nicole Moulding ◽  
...  

Nearly half a million foreign aid workers currently work worldwide, including over 140,000 missionaries. During re-entry these workers may experience significant psychological distress. This article positions previous research about psychological distress during re-entry, emphasizing loss and grief. At present there is no identifiable theoretical framework to provide a basis for assessment, management, and prevention of re-entry distress in the clinical setting. The development of theoretical concepts and frameworks surrounding loss and grief including the Dual Process Model (DPM) are discussed. All the parameters of the DPM have been shown to be appropriate for the proposed re-entry model, the Dual Process Model applied to Re-entry (DPMR). It is proposed that the DPMR is an appropriate framework to address the processes and strategies of managing re-entry loss and grief. Possible future clinical applications and limitations of the proposed model are discussed. The DPMR is offered for further validation and use in clinical practice.


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