No Dancing, No Dancing: Inside the Global Humanitarian Crisis

by Denis Dragovic

What happens to aid projects after the money is spent? Or the people and communities once the media spotlight has left?
No Dancing, No Dancing follows the return journey of a former aid worker back to the site of three major humanitarian crises--South Sudan, Iraq and East Timor--in search of what happened to the people and projects. Along the way, he looks for answers to how we can better respond to the emerging global humanitarian crisis.
Meeting young entrepreneurs striving to build their businesses, listening to tribal leaders give unvarnished views of foreign aid or negotiating the release of a kidnapped colleague, this riveting work brings the reader into the global humanitarian crisis while engaging with questions of cultural imperialism, Western aid models and foreign interventions.

Genres: Social Issues, Nonfiction, History

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 20, 2018

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has worked for years in NGOs and the UN through Asia and Africa. He now works as an academic. His book seems to have been written with a specific outcome in mind; that most aid projects fail.
In this book he revisits three countries where he had previously undertaken humanitarian projects - South Sudan, Iraq and Timor-Leste. His aim was to see what has changed since the projects and related aid ceased. He was not surprised that generally there was little evidence of change due mainly to the lack of ability of aid projects to understand and work within the complexities of the local culture, relationships and beliefs.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘I once bought the life of a Sudanese man with eight cows.’

Denis Dragovic was once an aid worker (1). In 2010 and 2011 he returned to South Sudan, Iraq and East Timor, sites of three major humanitarian crises, to see what had happened with the projects he had worked on.

This book is both an account of Denis Dragovic’s experiences as an aid worker and a reflection on how to make aid more effective. The aid landscape is littered with stories of well-intentioned aid which fails. There are many reasons why aid projects fail. These can include cultural barriers, misdirected or misappropriated funds, and a focus on delivering tangible items without enough focus on the skills transfer required to maintain those items. And, sadly, it is too often the case that the world’s attention moves from one crisis to another without effectively addressing any of them.

‘Aid needs to harness both the ambitions of donors and the dreams of the people it is meant to assist.’

Aid also needs to consider local cultures, religions and traditions. Aid means to assist, rather than to impose.

I have so many questions about aid after reading this book. Who is the primary client? Is it the aid recipient, or the donor? How do we differentiate between the aid needed in an emergency and ongoing aid needed as societies and countries rebuild? How do we measure success, and when do we measure it? I was troubled by some of the examples of assumed western superiority, frustrated by some of the cultural barriers to success, and heartened by some of the achievements recounted. Just think how much more effective some of this aid could have been if some of those providing it had taken the time to find common ground with those who needed it.

Already much of the world has shifted focus. There are humanitarian crises across the globe, with millions of people seeking refuge as a consequence. Much of the western focus has been on keeping ‘them’ out rather than on helping ‘them’. Othering people makes it so much easier to ignore ‘them’. But I’m also reminded of the proverb: ‘If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day; If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime’. And yes, there’s more than one way to fish.

My copy of this book is filled with Post-It notes, marking parts I want to reread or reconsider. There are no neat, easy solutions to the global humanitarian crisis, not is there a single cause. This book is not a comfortable read, but it is an important one.

Note: My thanks to Dr Dragovic for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith

(1) And now, Denis Dragovic researches the consequences of war on society and the state. His professional career has spanned over a decade as a consultant to various UN agencies and as a senior leader with international NGOs in conflict and post-conflict environments in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He holds a PhD in political theology from the University of St Andrews, UK, where he studied the role of religious institutions in post-conflict statebuilding and a Masters of Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He is currently a Senior Member in the Migration and Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal where he holds responsibilities for hearing appeals by asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected by the Australian government. His current research builds upon his prior research and focuses on practical elements of refugee decision making.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read mostly on the failings of various humanitarian projects in Iraq, Sudan, and East Timor. Our author has many lessons learned from his experiences providing aid, and also returning years later to see how various aid projects worked out. It's an illuminating read on a subject that most probably aren't even aware of-- the nuances of aid work.

Areas where humanitarian aid fails:

When the time frame for projects is too short. (This apparently is common.)

Too much is done for afflicted people instead of involving them, and little or no training is provided for them. Aid worker leave, water systems etc break down, no one knows how to fix it.

Lack of ownership given to the people. Having it belong to the government or to a private organization means they don't think its really theirs and they don't contribute.

Wrong type of people hired for projects. Experts of a field that don't know how to work with people, corporate experts that don't know the culture of the region.

Beaucrats who despise the locals. This one is so sad. People who actually have disdain for the local populations they are supposedly there to help.

Aid provided by the military. The same military that is occupying a country. This creates an feeling of imperialism. Locals are very skeptical about the occupying military also providing aid.

Trying to enforce foreign cultural norms too quickly on a country which is different. This creates resentment.

The book gives a great many examples of where things tend to go wrong. It also provides some great solutions though that seem worthwhile to pay attention to. This book seems like a really important read, maybe particularly for anyone looking to involve themselves in humanitarian work.

By the end of the book however, I did find a slight itch of dissatisfaction in not knowing enough about the author's motivation for his profoundly challenging endeavors. I wanted to know, why he chose the three countries he did? It was never explained why he chose countries where so much was likely to fail given the circumstances. Can we apply the same frustrations in humanitarian failings to countries where the scale of the challenges aren't as great? This isn't a criticism of his work, but rather, just a curiosity I never got the answer to that I'd love to know more about.

[Alasdair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This insightful book highlights the constant challenges that confront practitioners in the humanitarian aid and development sector. Ranging from topical debates on local agency, accountability and unmet expectations, to the complex considerations of complicity and compromise that have framed much of the philosophical reflection over the past 25 years, its vivid descriptions of the ‘interconnectedness that is the chaos of war’ urge us to recognise the capabilities of humanity struggling to maintain a sense of normality in an abnormal world.

[Andrew George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This eminently readable book takes a longitudinal approach to the author's service as an aid worker in Africa, the Middle East, and East Timor. Years after serving in these locations, the author tells of re-visiting projects, people, and places and asking the question: what lasted after we left?

The lessons learnt are of interest to anyone who has worked in the field of foreign aid, the military, or in fact the domestic charity sector.

Highly recommended.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's question what we are advancing
with aid and development financing.
What do we perceive
of what others believe
constitutes the rule of No Dancing?

[Tanveer Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Denis is a superb talent and this book brings together his
unique experiences to give an unflinching or the
complexities in delivering aid.

[Melanie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heads up: charity is now a global industry

Denis Dragovic draws on his front-line experience as a professional in the humanitarian aid field to discuss the repeatedly disappointing outcomes of such noble missions as famine relief, infrastructure repair, female empowerment, democracy building, and other types of "foreign aid." I have no connection to the 'industry' other than what shows up on my news feeds or my TV, but Dragovic's eye-opening catalog of past efforts and their present status confirms what my taxpayer's/donor's radar has been pinging: the epic efforts of multi-million dollar efforts to rescue and remake the world, piece by piece, are a dismal failure. The author's insider perspective combines with a genuine commitment to transparency and accountability to serve up a list of fundamental flaws, from government-agenda tainted charity, to unrealistic objectives determined by foreign administrators and imposed from on high on an exhausted and bewildered clientele, to the mis-allocation of funds to efforts which generate short-term statistical "success" as opposed to lasting improvement. Dragovic also highlights the ongoing success of a few efforts, and examines what makes these rare exceptions to the "money-down-the-rathole" norm. I applaud the author's courage and honesty, while I fume inwardly at the massive waste and corruption generated by well-meaning but uninformed donors, charitable organizations whose first loyalty is to their own continued growth, and hornswoggled taxpayers like myself who would never knowingly contribute to this mess. The lesson I take away from all this is one the author alludes to in his conclusions. I'm not religious, but Mother Theresa of Calcutta my actually have the answer: true change is the product of cultural familiarity, life-long commitment, and love. Think globally, act locally. I wish to thank to author for giving me an ARC of this book; this review is voluntary and represents only my personal opinion.

[Ana-Maria Bujor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has to go to other continents and work with local organizations, I found this very useful. Sometimes I don't know where to start and the last thing I want is to waste resources and appear as some snotty, entitled "westerner" showing up only to disappear shortly after. I liked the realistic and very humane perspective on working with people who have been through hell. It is easy to tag people as being lazy, uneducated, hopeless when you don't make any effort to hear about their problems. This book explains how some of the big international organizations fail in their goals. They send unprepared and even unpleasant/corrupt "experts", they don't leave enough time for the communities to learn and most importantly, they don't work with the local communities to create a sustainable model that empowers the people living there. Sure, a lot of good work has been done, but what if we could do so much more? Great book to take off your rose tinted glasses

[Beth Ellor · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all need to know this!

When our inboxes are filled with appeals for the latest humanitarian crisis, and the news media give us glimpses of the devastated lives of our fellow humans, this is the narrative we desperately need to know and to deal with.
While in many ways Denis Dragovic's account is deeply distressing and discouraging, his eye for the humanity and unique qualities of each of the cultures and individuals he introduces us to gives hope that he is not alone in this service. We can only hope that his core message of autonomy and local input into the provision of aid will penetrate the institutional practices of what has become an industry often becoming a formula and overtaken by the profit motive. We are all human, but we don't all want or need the same things. Keep yelling from the rooftops, Mr Dragovic!

[David O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

'No Dancing...' was a compelling read. It is very refreshing to read an honest account of the long-term impacts of aid work. Despite the author's findings that many of the physical outcomes from the programs were not sustainable there is evidence that the capacity of the community has been significantly enhanced. Denis shows that building and nurturing relationships with the community is of paramount importance and that funding agencies too often overlook this benefit in an effort to quantify a project's success.

[Sarahlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke through the usual abstractions around humanitarian aid and put faces on the question I keep asking: what happens when the cameras leave? The author writes with tenderness and a reporter’s eye, following people whose lives continued long after donor cycles ended. I loved the small, intimate scenes, a market stall resurrected by a young entrepreneur, a village meeting where long-held grievances surface, and the ethical reflection that never felt smug. I read it slowly and came away unsettled but grateful.

[Maureen Lecompte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contributes something important to conversations about aid: it insists on accountability that is neither punitive nor sentimental. The author’s case studies are revealing and his policy suggestions practical and grounded in the field. I particularly appreciated how he connected the personal stories to larger structural questions. If you want a book that combines empathy with rigorous inquiry, this one delivers.

[April Brekke · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved most was the author’s refusal to flatten people into inspirational anecdotes. He gives readers the texture of life in post-crisis places: humor alongside sorrow, entrepreneurship alongside structural barriers. There’s a humility in his voice that makes the ethical critique sharper, when someone who used to be part of the system questions it, you sit up and pay attention. Highly recommended.

[William Barkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the scope South Sudan, Iraq, East Timor and even more the intimacy: the author gives time to individuals and follows them across seasons. The result is a layered portrait of what comes after relief: messy, hopeful, and often improvisational. The book is a reminder that most meaningful change is incremental and that donors should fund the slow, unglamorous work of building institutions and livelihoods.

[Hilton Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are chapters here that read like short, complete lives, entrepreneurs opening a stall, a teacher returning to a shattered school. The storytelling is the book’s engine; facts and policy follow organically. I appreciated the author’s restraint: he lets people speak and then draws careful conclusions. The ethics of aid are complicated, and this book refuses to simplify. Highly recommended for readers who want nuance and heart.

[Mammie Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved most was the author’s refusal to flatten people into inspirational anecdotes. He gives readers the texture of life in post-crisis places: humor alongside sorrow, entrepreneurship alongside structural barriers. There’s a humility in his voice that makes the ethical critique sharper when someone who used to be part of the system questions it, you sit up and pay attention. Highly recommended.

[Diane Mcclaim · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has worked in the sector, I found this part memoir, part investigation to be invaluable. The author captures the messy, sometimes humiliating realities of doing good across cultures: the power imbalances, the bureaucratic compromises, the moments that actually produce change. He pushes readers to think beyond the grant cycle and consider accountability in new ways. Practical, humane, and sharply observed I’ll be recommending this to colleagues.

[Alber Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is reporting of a high order: attuned to nuance, respectful of subjectivity, and generous in detail. The author’s reflections on cultural imperialism and on his own past choices are especially powerful because they’re specific rather than theoretical. He describes scenes a tense negotiation to free a kidnapped colleague, a late-night conversation in a temporary office in a way that makes you feel present. Insightful and beautifully executed.

[Shannon Carter]

The book asks hard questions without performing moral superiority. Instead, the author foregrounds local voices and lets them complicate familiar narratives about aid and development. I especially liked the chapters that centered the perspectives of tribal leaders; their frank assessments are bracing and often illuminate what policy debates miss. This is a thoughtful, humane, and necessary contribution to modern reporting on humanitarian crises.

[Jamie Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a rare combination here: sharp observation paired with real compassion. The author listens more than he lectures, and that listening produces rich, complicated portraits of communities that have been objects of charity for decades. The operational details, the way projects are set up, funded, then left are explained without jargon, and the human consequences are made immediate. A beautifully executed book that will linger with readers long after the last page.

[Tash Turgoose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an incredible book - an important story that everyone should read, to get a glimpse inside some of the realities of our world. As many times as my heart was broken by the atrocities detailed in the story, it was also sewn back together by people’s actions. When a book begins with ‘I once bought the life of a Sudanese man with 8 cows’, you know it’s going to be a good one.

[Sandra Pfeifenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful

Well written account of life as an aid worker. The facts are interspersed with enough anecdotes to make for entertaining reading. The book provides some interesting insights into the workings (and failings) of international aid. Recommended for everyone who has an interest in helping the less fortunate.

[Yvonne M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative.

I enjoyed reading of his observations when he returned to those countries. Everyone had the best of intentions. I do support church groups that the members live for years with the people.Hard to understand other countries cultures unless you have interacted with them.

[Amy Rutledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare books that combines urgency with care. The author is passionate about helping but also sensible about the limits of outsider interventions. His interviews and follow-ups give the reader a sense of continuity that is tragically rare in crisis reporting. I’m grateful for its honesty and hopeful for the kinds of programmatic changes it suggests. A vital read.

[Judy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an example of how reflective nonfiction can be both rigorous and humane. The author interrogates his own role while centering those who are usually spoken for in policy reports. The prose is elegant without being showy, and the reporting is meticulous. I finished with new questions and a clearer sense of what accountability might look like in real places. Excellent.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book. This book will have you contemplating and wandering about how lives in other countries could be so different than your own. This is a book that I truly believe everyone should read!

[Justin Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both an observer and a participant with heart and intelligence. There is much revealed on the ground in the world of aid which confirms our fears. But there is also hope and some hints on finding a better way for development.

[Kym · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was moved and inspired by Denis's personal journey, his accounts and characterisation of the people, places and cultures, and his analysis/commentary of the broader issues. Highly recommended!

[Tomas Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Čo sa stane s humanitárnymi projektami, keď neziskovky odídu? Dobrá nápad a téma, slabučká kniha.