Q&A with a Bengali-American NGO Worker

Ms. Humayun currently works at a UN agency as an analyst for health research and policies.

How would you describe the current state of international NGOs?

There is an exorbitant amount of corruption in international NGOs and charities.

Not accusing the ones you work with², but if you are continuing in this field/industry please watch the documentary Poverty, Inc. Also if you know anything about Bangladesh, it has an incredibly strong history and culture of grassroots collective activism, one avenue being through local NGOs such as BRAC (btw the largest development NGO in the world) to name just one of many.

Evidence shows (see this, this, and this for a brief overview) that in times of disaster,

it is actually more effective to support local NGOs to carry out the work in need rather than importing foreigners/white savior types who have to end up hiring fixers like Muhammad

because local NGOs already have more sustainable systems, capacity, and understanding of local context to operate more efficiently.

Why you think so little money makes it to local NGOs where the money will be spent more effectively?

It’s really complex and often context-dependent, but a major reason is

donors are just more familiar with big name international NGOs and most existing systems prop up these players

because they know how to navigate the donor funding world much better than a local NGO would. What bothers me the most is that the international NGOs are fully aware of this power dynamic yet do not always utilize their power to partner and support local NGOs or only do so on paper.

People and information flung themselves at us like flies dive-bombing a light. Why?

Yep, a history of brutal colonialism and white supremacy can do that to a subcontinent.

As a white person, it is your duty to make sure you don’t perpetuate ideas of white supremacy (which often happens through the behavior of foreigners at international NGOs in my experience), and to show people that you do actually respect and love their culture. Remember,

it’s a privilege to be in Bangladesh or whatever “disaster” country that foreigners are dive-bombing to like flies, no one is entitled to another person’s culture or country.

How should a foreigner act to NOT perpetuate ideas of white supremacy?

I think humility and not making your opinion or thoughts more valuable than a Bangladeshi’s is a start.

I work in public health and have often seen white people act like they know all or much more than a local person does about said local person’s country/environment. It’s that white savior complex that’s so deeply entrenched in western institutions and people…so calling it out when you see it is something you can do to not perpetuate these ideas.

What has been your personal experience and journey working in the NGO world as a Bangali?

It’s pretty depressing at times.

And people are so oblivious to the fact that they have problematic neocolonial views of the world. Luckily I usually find solace in other people of color, whether they are Latina, Asian, or African because they also deal with microaggressions on a daily basis.

Another observation is that usually the people who are in positions of power are old white dudes, increasingly white women. I don’t understand how these institutions don’t see what’s wrong with that when they are constantly working with populations in low and middle income countries, but hopefully people become more aware of the need for greater representation over time.

On a final note, how did you get involved in humanitarian aid?

I started working in public health after being inspired by the programs and research conducted by BRAC, a local NGO of Bangladesh. I’ve worked in several eastern African countries as well as Bangladesh. Most of my experience has been in maternal and child health program monitoring, evaluation, and research. I currently work at a UN agency as an analyst for health research and policies.

About this Article

Everything written here is true. What began as a simple trip to Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar for the purpose of cutting a short inspirational video about its culture QUICKLY snowballed into this article. Being white in this town gets you a lot of attention — people and information flung themselves at us.

I’d like to note that facts presented here have not been verified through multiple independent sources. This is simply an account of my personal experience in Bangladesh and I hope it can be used to shed some light on the inner workings of humanitarian aid.

Multiple sources spoke of the flagrant lies and stories coming from both the refugees and volunteers alike for financial gain and out of emotional trauma, and within a chaotic environment like this it can be difficult to verify facts. For this reason and to protect my sources I have changed the names in this article.

As a final note, I’d like to express my love of Bangladesh, particularly the openness and tolerance of the Bangladeshi people.

Artwork by Alice Wang.

Footnotes

¹ Based on approximate bulk food prices in Bangladesh versus the menu prices at the five star restaurant.

² I do not work with any NGOs. I traveled to Bangladesh independently with zero contacts, and offer the perspective of a complete outsider.

³ Camp contained over 800,000 refugees at the time this article was written.