Blinded by Humanity
Written by Martin Barber
Narrated by William Barber
Produced by Chris French
Download: £24.19
A Note from the Author:
"War and refugees were recurring themes of my childhood. My father often admitted that his service in the British Army during World War II had been the most interesting years of his life. He liked to talk about the places he had been while in uniform, the people he had met, the amusing and tragic events that he had witnessed.
So, it seemed quite natural that the first thing I should do after leaving school was to join a work camp organised by the United Nations Association (UNA) of the UK in Southern Austria. The aim of the camp was to help a Romanian refugee family to build their new home in a village outside Klagenfurt.
Forty years later, after a career working with people caught up in some of the twentieth century's most intractable conflicts, from tantalising glimpses of what might have been, to the very worst that we humans can do to each other, as well as the best, the nagging question remains: could we, should we have done better?
Chapter 1 is about Laos between 1968 and 1977.
Chapter 2 is about the arrival in Thailand of refugees from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia between 1975 and 1981. It looks particularly at when and how resettlement in Western countries became the solution of choice.
Chapter 3 is about the reception of refugees and asylum-seekers in Britain between 1981 and 1988. It tackles questions about asylum, refugee law and economic migration.
Chapter 4 is about Afghanistan. It looks how the UN handled the crises there, from the departure of Soviet troops in 1989 until 1996. It considers the issues of coordination and the response to landmines, and asks if there are lessons that still have to be learned, and which could help the international community in Afghanistan today.
Chapter 5 looks at the international community's response to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a focus on the period between 1996 and 1998, immediately after the end of the war.
Chapter 6 takes us to the Headquarters of the UN in New York and looks at the first term of Kofi Annan as Secretary-General from 1997 to 2001.
Chapter 7 examines the story of the remarkable international response to the problem of anti-personnel landmines.
Chapter 8 offers a brief look at an often neglected feature of international aid, the contribution of Gulf Arab donors.
Chapter 9 is about the 'coordination' of humanitarian operations, the focus of so much of the work I have been involved in, and now the responsibility of a large office in the UN Secretariat.
Chapter 10 is a concluding essay that bears the title of the book. It identifies seven 'blind spots' that, in my view, constrain international organisations in their efforts to bring help to those in need and to bring peace and prosperity to troubled countries."
You can download the book on Audible
Written by Martin Barber
Narrated by William Barber
Produced by Chris French
Download: £24.19
A Note from the Author:
"War and refugees were recurring themes of my childhood. My father often admitted that his service in the British Army during World War II had been the most interesting years of his life. He liked to talk about the places he had been while in uniform, the people he had met, the amusing and tragic events that he had witnessed.
So, it seemed quite natural that the first thing I should do after leaving school was to join a work camp organised by the United Nations Association (UNA) of the UK in Southern Austria. The aim of the camp was to help a Romanian refugee family to build their new home in a village outside Klagenfurt.
Forty years later, after a career working with people caught up in some of the twentieth century's most intractable conflicts, from tantalising glimpses of what might have been, to the very worst that we humans can do to each other, as well as the best, the nagging question remains: could we, should we have done better?
Chapter 1 is about Laos between 1968 and 1977.
Chapter 2 is about the arrival in Thailand of refugees from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia between 1975 and 1981. It looks particularly at when and how resettlement in Western countries became the solution of choice.
Chapter 3 is about the reception of refugees and asylum-seekers in Britain between 1981 and 1988. It tackles questions about asylum, refugee law and economic migration.
Chapter 4 is about Afghanistan. It looks how the UN handled the crises there, from the departure of Soviet troops in 1989 until 1996. It considers the issues of coordination and the response to landmines, and asks if there are lessons that still have to be learned, and which could help the international community in Afghanistan today.
Chapter 5 looks at the international community's response to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a focus on the period between 1996 and 1998, immediately after the end of the war.
Chapter 6 takes us to the Headquarters of the UN in New York and looks at the first term of Kofi Annan as Secretary-General from 1997 to 2001.
Chapter 7 examines the story of the remarkable international response to the problem of anti-personnel landmines.
Chapter 8 offers a brief look at an often neglected feature of international aid, the contribution of Gulf Arab donors.
Chapter 9 is about the 'coordination' of humanitarian operations, the focus of so much of the work I have been involved in, and now the responsibility of a large office in the UN Secretariat.
Chapter 10 is a concluding essay that bears the title of the book. It identifies seven 'blind spots' that, in my view, constrain international organisations in their efforts to bring help to those in need and to bring peace and prosperity to troubled countries."
You can download the book on Audible
