Today I learned for the first time what's "L'Arche of Zoé". I had read the headlines of many articles about this organization, and so far I assumed it was just another whacky terrorist group. Well, all we hear about are either terrorists, Democrats and Republicans or Stock markets. With that name, well, where would you put it? For the first time, today I decided to google it and find more about it. I didn't have much time to research since I have a job to do for myself, but what I found was that this organization is out to help orphans across the world. As you enter their site, you read about the situation in Darfour, where genocide is taking the lives of many innocent people. Of course, among those innocent people there are kids too. The site offers statistics about the number of children dying there.
The reality is terrible, but truth is that it kinda upset me. It made me remember this annoying advertisement that pops up constantly at CNN, where two black children are used to make people feel bad and "adopt" children from foreign countries by just sending them money and make them feel they are doing something for the "poor of the world", and giving some of their "abundance".
First, the accusations L'Arche de Zoé makes against ONG's such as the UN, can be on spot. It mentions economical support that goes to the wrong hands and peace negociations that only ensures more masacres. I do agree that there's a lot of crap going on there, such as this "Goodwill Ambassadors". I mean, celebrities who really, are not prepared (as in back uped with the proper career background), or just some people here and there, politically correct, who are given this lable, this position so that they can travel the world with a UN passport and "raise awareness"? Which are their real contribution? How much have their acting helped diminish poverty, hunger, injustice or war? So, when the site of L'Arche de Zoé says their efforts are proving painfully futile, I believe them.
However, when an organization seeks to help people far awayraising charity and appealing to the feelings of others, it upsets me. Okay, it might not be the case of L'Arche de Zoé, but people so quick and desperate to donate and do charity should think first. Why do you help the orphans of war in some far country, through some big enterprise, and maybe you are not even 100% sure that the money ACTUALLY goes to the orphans, and then you leave the orphans, the paupers of your own country. You help kids somewhere out there and complain about the crime in your city and the beggers in the corners. You just give the money, and that's as far as you wish to be involved. You feel good because you "helped" but then, how is that money spent? You think that giving them food and clothes and a house is enough to help them? Oh yeah, you build schools for them. Uhum, and the teachers? Will you provide the teachers? And what would you teach them? How great life is in the US, so that they allienate in their own country?
Question: Why Darfour? Kids enslaved in India are not needing help as well? Baby girls in China do not need help as well? Poor kids in the US with no health care and growing up in neighbourhoods where the death and gunshots are so common the only difference with warstroke cities is the lack of soldiers. Helping people in other countries is a way to evade what happens home, a way to close your eyes at the misery growing at home because "we are not as bad as others and we are not in such a bad situation as others". But is it true? Aren't we?
L'Arche de Zoé has gotten headlines because six of its members tried to get around 103 Darfour orphans or so to France. The kids were retourned to their legal parents, though it seems they were sent to orphanages. The six members were condemned to eight years of forced labor, and are pleading to be sentences according to the French Laws. I know people think they were righteous and now they are regarded as heroes and martyrs of a humanitarian cause, but I think they did things wrong. Sure, you have to help them, but you can't send every kid in peril to France! These kids will grow up and engross the number of immigrants and just breed more trouble. Today they are kids and people want to help them becaus they are "lost puppies", but what will happen when they grow up and add pressure to the labor market in France? Will you send them back to Darfour?
Inspite to the goodwill ambassadors and the corruption and bad choices, I still believe in the UN and the principles that gave birth to it. I do not believe in charity, and I belive countries should help themselves before helping others, but International Organizations such as the UN should tackle these matters, and not only "Darfour", but the trouble going around the world and instead of sending "goodwill ambassadors" to "raise awareness", they should propose a global development plan aimed to tackle conflict zones and poverty zones and help countries in need to solve their problems and find the way to grow and ensure welfare to their citizens.
It is not an opium dream, nor I expect this to happen overnight, but I must believe that you can solve things by actively addressing them insteand of jst talking, or otherwise I would have wasted my efforts at choosing my career.
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