Bureaucratic Wrangling Delays Cyclone Aid (MSNBC.com, November 26, 2007)
Summary: NBC news correspondent, Ian Williams, goes on assignment in Bangladesh to uncover the ways in which foreign relief-aid was mishandled after a catastrophic cyclone touched down, razing many coastal regions. This report highlights just one (jumping through bureaucratic hoops) of the many ways foreign aid can be ineffective and inefficient.
Topic: Should the Obama administration double foreign aid for Africa?
Category: Mainstream journalistic
What is it? An online blog article for MSNBC
Title: Bureaucratic Wrangling Delays Cyclone Aid
Publication Information: MSNBC.com, November 26, 2007. Kalapara, Bangladesh
Author: Ian Williams
Location: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/26/480919.aspx
Accessed: January 30, 2009
Support:
• First-hand account of the action
• Junaid Ashraf, Bangladesh Air Force Flying Officer
• Bangladesh’s army chief
• Senior aid officials
• Bangladesh Air Force
• Civilian imam man affected by the cyclone
Williams was on assignment in Bangladesh when he wrote this, so his own first hand account is referenced heavily. He interviewed the Flying Officer he flew with to distribute goods. Both the input of the Bangladesh army chief and senior aid officials are referenced, but not quoted to lend evidence to the fact the foreign aid was not being handled efficiently. A short aside about a civilian imam man drying out pages of his Quran is mentioned to lend humanity and emotion to the piece.
Source Analysis: It’s a professional blog, so NBC correspondents, producers and bureaus from around the world are the ones doing the posting. They’re like really short, dynamic articles that citizens can leave comments about if they wish. NBC is mainstream broadcast journalism so it’s fairly central and unbiased, just reporting the facts as they see or experience them. They have wide audience and are funded by advertisers mostly, so they might be factored into how the stories are presented but to minimal effect.
Usefulness: I would use this as a piece of evidence against foreign aid. It’s a prime example of how foreign aid can be misused and abused by the governments receiving them. If this kind of mismanagement is going on in Bangladesh, which compared to Africa has a fairly stable government, then imagine how some of the extremely corrupt governments in Africa can abuse the aid they are receiving. This particular article is aimed at a broad audience so there isn’t a lot of skewing or commentary on ways to fix what’s going on, but things like this are happening and more people should be aware of it.
Works Cited:
MSNBC.com about page http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21697053/welcome/
