I spent a decade watching NGOs spin grand narratives about justice, but I learned early on that legal jargon doesn’t feed anyone. When people ask …
Crimes Against Humanity Defined
The Legal Test for Genocide
I spent nine years in the back of Land Cruisers across East Africa, watching people debate the finer points of international law while my drivers …
The Sphere Standards and Reality
I remember standing in the dust outside Goma in ’08, watching a group of shiny-shoed consultants debate the optimal square footage for a communal latrine …
What Blue Helmets Are Allowed to Do
I remember sitting in a dusty compound outside Goma in 2012, listening to the crackle of my shortwave radio while a UN convoy sat idling …
Getting New Practice to Actually Spread
I spent a decade watching NGOs pour millions into “capacity building” workshops, where experts in crisp khakis sit under shade trees and lecture farmers on …
Setting Up a Camp in Three Weeks
I remember sitting in a humid office in Goma, staring at a glossy brochure from a major NGO that detailed the “holistic community-building frameworks” required …
Conditions Attached to a Loan
I spent most of my years in East Africa watching people in air-conditioned offices in Geneva or DC argue over the fine print of a …
Interviewing Without Causing More Harm
I remember sitting in a dusty compound outside Goma, watching a communications officer try to “build rapport” with a survivor using a scripted, twenty-page psychological …
Two Institutions People Confuse
I spent nine years sitting in dusty transit hubs across South Sudan and the DRC, watching high-level policy papers get shredded by the reality of …
Building a Latrine Is the Easy Part
I once sat in a humid briefing room in Goma, listening to a consultant explain a 40-page slide deck on the psychological nuances of how …