Condemned to Repeat ? The Paradox of Humanitarian Action.

Humanitarian groups have failed, Fiona Terry believes, to face up to the core paradox of their activity: humanitarian action aims to alleviate suffering, but by inadvertently sustaining conflict it potentially prolongs suffering. In "Condemned to Repeat?" Terry examines the side effects of intervention by aid organizations and points out the need to acknowledge the political consequences of the choice to give aid. She makes the controversial claim that aid agencies act as though the initial decision to supply aid satisfies any need for ethical discussion and are often blind to the moral quandaries of aid. Terry focuses on four historically relevant cases: Rwandan camps in Zaire, Afghan camps in Pakistan, Salvadoran and Nicaraguan camps in Honduras and Cambodian camps in Thailand.