Description
* Compelling firsthand account of the dilemmas faced by relief workers * Reflects the author’s experience of the catastrophies in Kosovo, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan Famine and war evoke strong emotional reactions of pity and concern in the onlooker. For most of us there is a limited amount that we are prepared or able to do, but relief workers have to convert such natural emotional responses into practical action while addressing the stark dilemmas that go hand-in-hand with humanitarian intervention. So why do they get involved? Are aid workers motivated purely by altruistic concern, or is it a more complex mixture involving the power they experience and the attention they receive? In this new paperback edition of “The Selfish Altruist,” Tony Vaux brings over 20 years’ experience as one of Oxfam’s leading emergency program coordinators to a far-reaching and unflinching account of the conflicts between subjective impulses and objective judgment. Describing and analyzing some of the most traumatic crisis situations of the last two decades, he helps us to understand what it takes to be an aid worker and how important humanitarian action is today.
