Despite good intentions, humanitarians often suffer from severe “tunnel vision.” The obsession with accessing recipients at any cost is only understandable for life-saving aid. For other aid, we must contend with questions relating to aid diversion, weaponization, and politicization.
Empowering only a handful of the needy, and with them the regime that brought much of the misery on the country in the first place, is not so humanitarian. If you think you’re helping them, think again.