4 years in the ivory tower

I often forget who/what the numbers in World Bank and UNDP reports refer to.  It takes constant reminders that behind these numbers are faces that describe a developing country.

Today, I had a great talk with a friend about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.  The true realities of these individuals – from a first-person account – are often not reflected in the analytical and technical ways through which we, from the heights of our Ivory Tower, study issues of (under)development, conflict, and politics, to name a few.

We are privileged in looking, critiquing, analyzing, and judging the world from a place of comfort, security, and ease.  From our Ivory Tower, we can never truly understand the pain, the suffering, the urgency, and the hopelessness these individuals on the other side of the world are experiencing every day.

Would this kind of setting – one of comfort and detachment – allow us to approach crucial issues such as developmental aid and foreign military policies in a constructive and effective manner?

That is for you to decide.  But for me, I’m going back to the place where I can hear people’s personal narratives of their daily struggles.