I am not against humanitarian work – though I have to admit I find it hard to believe the person who says they are doing something purely and only for someone else – but I do champion a humble nature of it.
Helping others in a non-patronizing way is an art in itself, mastered by few.
Actress and heiress Paris Hilton’s publicized ‘humanitarian’ trip to Rwanda in November-now postponed-will most certainly be sacrilegious to that art world.
As an American, a New Yorker, and as someone who was peers with Hilton’s younger sister Nikki, it made me cringe already to hear that the socialite had picked Rwanda to recover from drunk driving and a bad reputation.
It is bad enough that foreigners come here truly believing that they are ‘professional humanitarians’; out to do good because they want to only do good. It is even worse when it is an amateur humanitarian.
The truth is, Hilton is a very extreme-and thus perfectly illuminating-example of a common phenomenon-aid and development work; people with questions of self-fulfilment masqueraded often by urges to help the needy. For many in Rwanda, good work is being done all over.
But a trip by Paris Hilton only crystallizes the situation by giving an example of an obviously-confused vertigo-laden young lady with ample money and ample ignorance who think that ‘doing good’ can cure her ‘bad.’
So it was difficult enough to hear that she was coming to Rwanda. It is even worse now-and only confirms the ultimately trivial nature of her visit-to find out that she is bringing the video cameras with her.
Teaching in schools, visiting health clinics, Paris Hilton’s trip to Rwanda will be made into a reality-TV show for viewers back in America. It is to be called, simply, The Philanthropist.
Not only is this, at least to me, a truly awful scar on Rwanda of a country maybe too impoverished to defend itself against the californiacation of development, but that is not the end of it; she wants to stay only five days.
It is already a dismal testament to the development industry that workers stay between 1-3 years. But five days?
It takes two to simply get here from the United States. What, exactly, is she going to do here?
By Josh KronKigali. Read more at
All Africa
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