Humanitarian relief and International organizations (IOs)

The UN, Amnesty International and Save Darfur are just some of the IOs that are up to date with developments in Darfur. They are put under intense criticism by the international media for their shortcomings in providing relief, but I think they provide some of the most accurate, up-to-date information on the progression of repatriation. In fact, The CARMA Report on the Western Media Coverage of Human Disasters found that the "four key motivating factors for western (media) market" coverage of crises like Darfur are:

1. the impact on the economy


2. the ability to attack political institutions both national and international


3. the presence of westerners


4. and the self satisfaction of promoting a cause

This may help to explain the negative publicity given to the relief workers and humanitarian organizations in natural disasters and threats to human security. The mass media rarely gives us background information on conflicts like Darfur. They report on specific events that coincide with their own aforementioned areas of interest. This results in the ignorance of average people on these topics.

If one is truly ambitious and eager to be informed, they ought visit sites of IOs that do not parallel a specific nation's interests, so check out some of my links and stay informed!