I’m reigniting this meme.
First, Binyavanga Wainaina wrote “How to Write about Africa.” Then, Ansel Herz wrote “How to Write about Haiti.” Then, J. at Tales from the Hood wrote “How to Write about Humanitarian Aid Work.”
So, obviously, I had to add my own snarky rejoinder about something near and dear to my heart: advocacy. What aid work and advocacy have in common is how routinely they’re both marginalized by journalism that only looks at one side of the profession. (Though I can’t in good conscience compare the marginalization of either profession to the level of marginalization and exoticism forced upon Africa and Haiti in the mainstream media.)
