When we started this campaign we were amateurs. We just loaded up everything people gave us, and didn't give the political implications much thought. Convoy I dissolved after months of hopeless struggle, but 3 trucks, among them the Swedish one, decided to give it one more try. In November of 1993 they succeeded. Humanitarian aid is a political factor of power in all disaster and war situations.
Food is used to blackmail against unwanted developments, or parts of the population.
Starvation is a very powerful weapon and the ones in control of the food often control the entire situation. We had to avoid this trap. Dumping tons of corned beef in the streets of Tuzla is not a way to help rebuild and reinforce the civil society inhabitants have been fighting for. These are societies where all normal, inter-human structures and frameworks have been totally destroyed. Often well-meant humanitarian aid in fact helps to prolong and entrench this deeply disturbed situation.