Rupee Wise, Dollar Foolish
NGO's. The bane of existence for a developing nation. Why? Well, let us go and see.
1. NGO's function thanks to the generosity of various donors, of whom a majority are foreign nations. They launch 'programs' that apparently cost a lot of money but in reality are a sham with inflated costs. For example, the recent protest against the Mavilaaru tussle probably cost somewhere around Rs. 5000. Max. I mean looking at the pictures - the signs were cheap; pieces of bristol board nailed onto a piece of wood smaller than a two by four. Including refreshments for the participants it shud not have cost more than that. The participants themselves of course should not have to be paid right? They must surely be volunteers not associated with the NGO, right?
2. They distract everybody when it is essential for focus to be maintained and unity is necessary. They muddy the waters and play a role in leveling blame. For some reason, the blame game no matter how messed up it is carries some weight when the NGO's get involved. I know not why.
3. They exacerbate situations in order to ensure their stream of income. They list horrors and violence that may or may not have happened, some they just simply make up. This in turn screws it up royally for the country - the people they bitch to, tell their respective governments which in turns puts out tavel advisories that negatively impact the tourist trade - an essential cog in our economy. Sri Lanka is seen as a hellhole because these are the 'people on the ground' that foreign countries attest to when issuing advisories.
4. They pretend to know what's going on - ignorance is not only their nature, it seems to be a prerequisite to become a member. Its a problem for them to admit when a mistake has been made or to admit it when they dont know something.
5. They propose an immediate ceasefire. Fine. Then what? A few months later its only gonna break out again. The rationale the Israeli Defense Forces are using comes into play. Now while I don't condone the way Israel is conducting its campaign, the rationale that if we are to stop now, it will only be a tougher fight later is true. To quote Mr. Bond, '[we may] live to die another day' but if we take the fight to the end, there will be closure of a sort. Some will like it, some won't.
Look, lets face it. Sri Lanka is in the soup and we are the only people who want to get out of it. Everybody else who gets involved has some sort of agenda - Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu insists on using his influence in the coalition central government to make sure GOSL doesn't get any support because the LTTE was initially funded by him. Like all political parties anywhere in the world, they just want to retain power at any cost. Norway wants Oil or another Government it helped into power (LTTE) as a future lifelong client for its weapons industry (thanks for the tip Sam). United States doesn't give a shit coz there is no direct threat to them and they have no vested interest in anything SL produces - not even Victorias Secret. Britain doesn't give a shit coz , they don't. Japan is the only country that gives a shit because they feel indebted. Thats kinda wearing thin right now and nobody in this world can blame them.
We need to get it done, the best way we can.
1. NGO's function thanks to the generosity of various donors, of whom a majority are foreign nations. They launch 'programs' that apparently cost a lot of money but in reality are a sham with inflated costs. For example, the recent protest against the Mavilaaru tussle probably cost somewhere around Rs. 5000. Max. I mean looking at the pictures - the signs were cheap; pieces of bristol board nailed onto a piece of wood smaller than a two by four. Including refreshments for the participants it shud not have cost more than that. The participants themselves of course should not have to be paid right? They must surely be volunteers not associated with the NGO, right?
2. They distract everybody when it is essential for focus to be maintained and unity is necessary. They muddy the waters and play a role in leveling blame. For some reason, the blame game no matter how messed up it is carries some weight when the NGO's get involved. I know not why.
3. They exacerbate situations in order to ensure their stream of income. They list horrors and violence that may or may not have happened, some they just simply make up. This in turn screws it up royally for the country - the people they bitch to, tell their respective governments which in turns puts out tavel advisories that negatively impact the tourist trade - an essential cog in our economy. Sri Lanka is seen as a hellhole because these are the 'people on the ground' that foreign countries attest to when issuing advisories.
4. They pretend to know what's going on - ignorance is not only their nature, it seems to be a prerequisite to become a member. Its a problem for them to admit when a mistake has been made or to admit it when they dont know something.
5. They propose an immediate ceasefire. Fine. Then what? A few months later its only gonna break out again. The rationale the Israeli Defense Forces are using comes into play. Now while I don't condone the way Israel is conducting its campaign, the rationale that if we are to stop now, it will only be a tougher fight later is true. To quote Mr. Bond, '[we may] live to die another day' but if we take the fight to the end, there will be closure of a sort. Some will like it, some won't.
Look, lets face it. Sri Lanka is in the soup and we are the only people who want to get out of it. Everybody else who gets involved has some sort of agenda - Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu insists on using his influence in the coalition central government to make sure GOSL doesn't get any support because the LTTE was initially funded by him. Like all political parties anywhere in the world, they just want to retain power at any cost. Norway wants Oil or another Government it helped into power (LTTE) as a future lifelong client for its weapons industry (thanks for the tip Sam). United States doesn't give a shit coz there is no direct threat to them and they have no vested interest in anything SL produces - not even Victorias Secret. Britain doesn't give a shit coz , they don't. Japan is the only country that gives a shit because they feel indebted. Thats kinda wearing thin right now and nobody in this world can blame them.
We need to get it done, the best way we can.
posted by Komisiripala @ 8:16 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
right you are!
we are ones who know what is best for ourselves.
it is alway good and correct to assume everyone is acting selfishly. skepticism about ppl's motives is always healthy esp. when it comes to politics.
that is why ppl who want to interfere in policy making must be and/or required to be transparent in all their actions.
for instance ngos should be required to submit to detailed independent audits, and those reports must be made publicly available.
Post a Comment
<< Home