Wed 9 Nov 2011
Quick thought: Reinforcing the wrong message?
Posted by Ed under Africa, Climate Change, development, environment, Food Security, Livelihoods, policy, sustainable development
[13] Comments
Chris Albon copied me on a retweet today from World Concern that said:
A beautiful sight: things growing in #Somalia. This is what’s possible in the #HornofAfrica. twitpic.com/7c8y24
For those not inclined to click the link, it went to this picture:
I have mixed feelings about this tweet and this picture. On one hand, it expresses what I am sure is genuine relief from an organization that is concerned with the well-being of people living in the Horn of Africa. On the other hand, the phrase “this is what is possible” suggests that this does not usually happen . . . except, of course, now we are in the Dayr, the October to December rainy season. Though the Dayr is the shortest rainy season in this part of the world, wet fields and new growth do in fact usually happen right about now. Further, the phrase “things growing in Somalia” suggests that nothing was growing before. This was not the case – things have been growing, even in famine-struck parts of southern Somalia. Not enough has been growing in some places, and this shortage has been compounded by all sorts of political challenges that have created a widespread problem. Finally, there is a bit of tone to this – as if we are out of the woods in the Horn. Well, maybe – but it will be months until a real harvest comes in, and much longer than that before accountable governance and functioning markets return, so we have a ways to go. And given that this famine was not caused by drought (the drought exacerbated other underlying factors), the fact that we are having trouble addressing those underlying factors means the next drought (and there will be another one relatively soon) may create a very similar set of circumstances and challenges.
In summary, I believe in hope. That is why I call myself an optimist. But at the same time, we have to be careful about conflating hope with triumph . . . which is why I call myself a hopelessly realistic optimist.
13 Responses to “ Quick thought: Reinforcing the wrong message? ”
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[...] are currently seeing rains in many parts of the Horn of Africa – as I have recently pointed out, we are in the Dayr, the October to December rainy season. This season has, at least in parts of [...]
Ed,
Maybe it is me, but I am giving them the benefit of the doubt with that tweet. My impression is that it is to dispel the idea that Somalia is incapable, as some of Concern’s supporters might still think. The use of ‘possible’ in regards to the Horn of Africa is where things do trip up. I agree on that part and it would have been better to have said that with a more matter-of-fact adjective.
Overall, this example does show the limitations of twitter. The context of the tweet is important because it will matter if others can bring forward your points in the future and the quoted one is a bridge to that understanding. I am not sure if that is the case or even if social media can accomplish that end, but many people likely saw that tweet by itself and it has made an impression on how they view the HoA.
Always enjoy your posts,
Tom
You have mixed feelings? I don’t. At best, this is an example of how a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It’s like they picked up a book about famine, made it to the part where the author said that natural disasters play a role, but never bothered to finish the book and make it to the part where it says that famines happen for other reasons.
Alternatively, this is an example of how, as academics, we have failed to explain that natural disasters are not a sufficient condition for famine to emerge. Necessary? Most likely. Sufficient? Heck no.
At worst, this is an example of denial (“If we claim that it’s all politics, donors won’t give any money.”)
I don’t know which candidate explanation holds here. What I do know, however, is that the underlying message in that tweet is just not helpful to any discussion of the current famine.
To me the phrase “this is what is possible” suggests World Concern want you to infer that this is what is possible with World Concern help. Which given your point about the rains is particularly misleading, but probably par for the course for BINGO marketing.
I confess that this exact thought went through my head when I first read the tweet and saw the picture. Maybe that is an unkind read, but maybe not . . .
Trigger the thought but escape the blame from critics = good marketing!
Good point, MJ. I have no doubt you are right, which then shifts the conversation in a new direction…
Indeed, an interesting and much appreciated discussion about this photo and accompanying tweet. It certainly could have been explained in more detail outside the 140 character Twitter limit. However, the message was clear: this is the kind of progress (growing food where none grew before) that is “possible” in parts of the Horn of Africa. The word “possible” suggests future, and we’re definitely not out of the woods yet with the current famine crisis.
We at World Concern agree there are numerous causes beyond drought for famine. This is something we have been talking about all along (http://humanitarian.worldconcern.org/2011/08/29/poor-security-a-key-reason-for-drought-disaster/). And these are challenges our staff on the ground are facing every day.
The intended point of the tweet was to celebrate progress we’re seeing in Somaliland as we teach people farming and irrigation techniques to grow their own food. The crops you see in the photo are wet because of irrigation, not rain. Although we’re certainly aware some rain is falling in parts of Somalia at the onset of this rainy season, we also know it won’t have an immediate impact.
Our projects in the north, where World Concern has worked for more than 30 years, include long-term inputs: rainwater catchment systems, drought-resistant crops, farming/gardening techniques, livelihood diversification, etc. And we want people to know that this kind of change is possible in other parts of the Horn of Africa. It’s happening in desolate, dangerous, drought-affected areas, and it can happen elsewhere.
Thanks for caring enough to discuss this.
Cathy from World Concern
Cathy:
Thanks for taking the time to reply. As I think you can see from the comments and from the tweets, folks are mostly worried about the unintended consequences of the tweet, not with impugning the motives of World Concern. I do have to take issue with a few parts of your response. First, you argue “the message was clear”: it obviously was not. It was open to a number of readings, many of them less than generous. The main point here is to recognize that twitter is a tough medium in which to tell complex stories, and that in this case the tweet didn’t do the job. I am not saying I could have done better . . . to be honest, I probably would have tweeted to point to a blog post/webpage where the more complex story could be told, just to avoid this sort of situation.
Second, even in your response I feel that you are painting a somewhat problematic picture. First, framing things around “what is possible” when you teach people farming and irrigation techniques might be fair, but it still seems to erase local knowledge and capacity – and opens you up to the criticism that the tweet was completely self-serving. I am sure that your work is doing good things, but in complex ways in particular places as it interacts with local practices and knowledge. I have yet to hear of any successful agricultural program that was completely designed and imposed from outside the implementing context. Given that you all are seeing success from your work, this means that you have either worked with folks on the ground to adapt your ideas and technology to their needs, or worked with them from the outset as you designed projects. It would be good to hear some of that complexity come out, especially with regard to local capacity.
Third, “some rain is falling” comes off as minimizing the rainfall, and in so doing emphasizing the importance of your irrigation and rainwater catchment work. But I think you could make a better case another way. Right now, extraordinary rains are falling. In Wajir, Northeast Kenya, we are looking at October rains running 900% (!!!) above the long-term mean. Now, this is of course part of the story of the Horn, rainfall that comes in bursts, at odd times, etc. – and I am sure that your work on rainwater catchment systems and various farming/gardening techniques are appropriate means of working with that variability. To make this case, it would be good to have a sense of that complexity at the intersection of climate and livelihoods/agriculture, as it would put your work into context . . . indeed, it would probably deeply justify your work in these areas!
In short, I think this entire exchange has been about better communication of complex issues…which goes to the heart of development and aid work. I think World Concern could take this as an opportunity to lay out a complex, nuanced picture of what is being done and how for a receptive audience . . .
Best,
Ed
We’ll definitely continue blogging/talking about these points. And yes, we believe our success is, as you mentioned, largely due to involving the local community in the decision making and implementation of their own development projects.
As an example, here’s a recent post about how one community along the Kenya-Somalia border responded: http://humanitarian.worldconcern.org/2011/10/17/our-own-goat-gift/
As time allows, we’ll continue to discuss the complexities of our work in many of these areas. At the very least, we’ll certainly consider those 140 characters carefully!
Cathy:
Thanks for the follow-up. A question about the case you linked to in your comment – how much community involvement was there in deciding what sort of water project to do? What sort of needs assessment was done, and how participatory was it? The reason I ask is because the participation you describe in that post is pretty circumscribed:
The participation you describe is related to choosing the contractor to do the work. While this is important, it is pretty limited – if someone has already decided for the community what work is to be done, then letting the community pick the contractor is hardly participatory.
I ask out of genuine interest – I know you could not describe the whole project in a post, and it would be good to know the extent to which the community was engaged in project selection in the first place . . .
Best,
Ed
Ed,
Thanks for your genuine interest in our methods of determining needs in a community and the opportunity to explain a bit further. I called our staff in Dadaab this morning to confirm the process in Amuma, so as to use it as an example. The process is the same in all of the communities where we work.
There were three assessments done in Amuma, beginning in early August of this year. The first was conducted by several consultants we work with. After this, our team conducted a series of meetings with the chief, councilor, and elders.
We always listen most to the elders because they represent the voice of the people. They wanted to show us their water pan, which was in desperate need of restoration. It is the only source of water in Amuma. At the time, another agency was trucking water in.
They asked us to restore the water pan, which was just completed by local contractors. They’ve also asked for a borehole, which we hope to begin work on soon. We’re also doing some rainwater harvesting from existing structures and building latrines.
Our emergency coordinator said, “We always want it to be a community led process because this instills ownership and leads to sustainability. Other agencies might work faster, but we take time to build the relationships and this slows us down a bit, but it’s worth it.”
I’d like to share another quote from the chairman of the elders in Damajale, a nearby town where we repaired the broken pump on their village well. It addresses the issue of following through after assessments. He said, “You are very, very different from the others we have seen here because many people have come here to take our pictures, asking many questions, writing notes and then they went and nothing happened but you have come and rescued us…”
Hope this helps, and thanks again for providing the opportunity and venue to discuss this.
I pleased to have found this website, much thanks going to Keith Kloor at e360 and his own site.
I have a few quetions concerning the picture linked to:
I think Cathy indicates this Somaliland, which I guess means that irrigation maybe novel there but given its history in the two rivers region in the South it is not novel to Somalia. What lessons were given that could not have been sourced locally? (I do realise that the North and South are not always on good terms).
From the picture I guess these are cash crops. Are they intended for export? (I believe, but am not sure, that there may still be a bar on the more traditioanl staple of animal exportation due to a past disease epidemic, {rinderpest?})
Does anyone think that a picture from Somaliland might give a slightly wrong steer given the significant differences in governance and stability between there and South-Central Somalia? (This is not a criticism of the effort, I wouldn’t wish people to try this in the South currently, but of how the presentation feeds into the general public’s view of Somalia given the general lack of publicity given to the “non-failed” North.)
FWIW I am English, with a general interest in Africa, and particularly Somalia (and Namibia) and old enough to remember both Somalias’ independence and their union.
Alex