Humanitarianism Flashcards
(24 cards)
Yolanda Pringle on the ICRC
they played a complicit role in maintaining colonial hierarchies and obscuring political vioelnce, denying African agency in the Nigerian Civil War
not a political and refused to publicly condemn acts of empire.
Pringle on the language of empire
“The Red Cross continued to adhere to a notion of race as a “natural” ordering of the world”
framed “African suffering as something ot be managed, not understood.”
Andrew Thompson main argument
Humanitarian principles (neutrality, impartiality, and humanity) were severly compromised during decolonisation.
Entangled with imperial interests
Andrew Thompson KEY QUOTE
“Silence was itself a political position, one that often legitimised the imperial state”.
Fabien Klose
interrogation under torture which had been universally outlawed by civilised society were now being reinstates (more or less) secretly.
Klose on ICRC reports
“ICRC report enither brought up the issue of widespread torture nor mention of the “rehabilitation measures” or “dilution techniques”’
Michael Bennet key phrases
“Empire of Humanity”
“Emergency” and “Alchemical”
“morally complicated creature, flawed hero determined by politics and passions of its time”
When was the Mau Mau war?
1952-1960
stats from the Mau Mau insurgency
80,000 imprisoned no trial
1.2 million resettled
20,000 est. fatalities
1,000 hung by colonial state
32 European settlers killed, 63 European combatants killed
What does Pringle say about the Hanslope Park Disclosures (2011-21)
confirmed officials knew the scale of violence, the IRC wittingly or unwittingly became entangled in these lies, cover-ups, and deceptions
What does Pringle say about the two IRC missions in Kenya?
hesitant to respond to allegations, discussions exposed concerns about race (supposed psychological instability in Black Africans) used to rationalise their lack of action
What does Stacey Hynd talk about?
Juvenile Delinquency
Hynd main argument
education for young boys and girls. blamed on a “break down in tribal discipline and traditional socialisation”
argues that the cause and consequence empire - colonial counterinsurgency supplemented ‘parenting’ with ‘colonial expertise’
Hynd - what about troublesome boys in Kenya?
detention camps for boys Wamumu and Ujana Park to rebuild colonial masculinities
Villigisation stats
1.2 million resettled in 1954
malnutrition, overcrowding, hygeine issues, widespread violence and collective punishment, curfew orders.
key primary source
Lady Limerick’s fieldnotes 1957
what do Lady Limerick’s notes note?
Thelma visits 36 villages in her area
she has got 1,700 children on her feeding list
Elizabeth looks after 53 villages, most og which she visits twice a week.
homecraft officer in East African Women’s League newsletter 1955
‘can see from this exmaple that its not an easy thing to persuade the primitive African women that western ideas on hygiene are necessarily the best’.
when and why was the ICRC established
1863
by swiss business man Henry Dunant
to organise aid, victims deserve charity, inspired by christianity
what was the shift in 19th century for ICRC
“common humanity”
Fabien Klose - departuse from protection of Christianity to protection of common humanity
B. Everill and J. Kaplan argument
argue for global and plural understanding, beyond western-centric
Emphasise deep entanglement with empire
during empire, became a contested moral language, used by the imperialists and anti-colonialists
B. Taithe argument
origins in Western liberal and Christian moral values
rooted in imperial paternalism racialising the suffering of non-Europeans
Red Cross to discipline and legitimise empire
Michael Barnett 3 ages
3 ages of humanitarianism:
1. imperial
2. postcolonial
3. liberal/institutional
Barnett key quote
“Humanitarianism has always walked hand in hand with power, even when its speaking in the language of compassion”
