Dr. Neil Bilotta, Dianne Uwayo: "Othering" in International Humanitarian Work and Research.
Channel: GIRES-Global Research Institute
Date: 2021-05-27

FULL TITLE: "Othering" in International Humanitarian Work and Research: Perpetuating Power Asymmetry Between “Us” and “Them”

Neil Bilotta, PhD, is an Instructor of Social Work at UNC-CH School of Social Work. His work explores social inclusion and culturally responsive ethics of social work. He is interested in how racism, colonialism, and Eurocentric power inform research methodologies and social work interventions with communities who face substantiated subjugation, most specifically forcibly displaced young people (refugees, asylum-seekers, etc).
Bilotta’s work embodies participatory, collaborative, and transformative approaches in research and social program implementation/evaluation. He has worked with forcibly displaced young people in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, the United States, and Canada.

Dianne Uwayo is a Masters of Public Health student at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She has spent the past five years dedicated to intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention research and dialogue in the U.S and in East Africa. Most notably, in 2016 she was awarded a Fulbright grant to Tanzania to continue her qualitative research on community perceptions of IPV. Her work in neighboring Kenya and Rwanda is also rooted in violence prevention and improving women’s health. Looking ahead, Dianne is particularly interested in utilizing the tools of public health and storytelling to help cultivate healthy relationships and critically engage men in IPV prevention.

ABSTRACT
This presentation seeks to explore the ethical conundrums that “humanitarian workers” navigate while working and living “in the field.” The power asymmetry between the humanitarian worker and those receiving support exists both overtly and subtly. For instance, those providing “humanitarian assistance” generally travel from powerful and oppressive nations in the Global North and seek to “help” the Other in the Global South. This is not only evidenced in contemporary geopolitical hegemony, but also in the micro-level interactions between worker and beneficiary. While in the Global South, those providing humanitarian assistance generally live in accommodations that are far superior to their beneficiaries. In such accommodations, it is not uncommon for humanitarian workers to eat “Western” food, drink beer, sleep with air conditioning in their rooms, or stream their favorite movies. While these are not necessarily “bad”, little scholarly or organizational literature acknowledges how the lifestyles and behaviors of humanitarian workers translate to local communities. Should such workers be more self-reflexive in their daily environs? Why or why not?
In this presentation, we explore the ways in which humanitarian workers from the Global North may perpetuate an Othering divide between the powerful, “helpful” humanitarian worker and the often subjugated and marginalized beneficiary of services, by simply living in the Global South. While this presentation may pose more questions/queries than provide answers, we argue that it is critical for humanitarian workers to engage in self-reflexive processes to explore how their inevitable power and privilege is perceived cross-culturally.

CONFERENCE INFORMATION
"Humanitarian Organizations: (Hi)Stories, Impact and Challenges"
Organizer: GIRES-Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship  
Date: 20-21 February 2021
Place: Amsterdam (Virtual)
More information: https://www.gires.org/activities/conferences/humanitarian-organizations-histories-impact-and-challenges/