August 6, 2008
The ngo problem
Yesterday I blogged about a Physicians for Human Rights report that accused Israel of pressuring Palestinians seeking medical treatment in Israel into becoming informers. Honest Reporting provided a link to Gerald Steinberg who questions the claims:
Similarly, in this publication, the "evidence" is entirely based on unverifiable claims, primarily from 11 interviewees from Gaza who allegedly asked Israel for permission to cross from the territory controlled by Hamas for medical care. Some of these Palestinians may have genuine medical needs, but others may be inventing stories that sell well in an environment that is inherently hostile to Israel. PHR-I has issued press releases declaring a Palestinian to be dead after Israel refused to allow him to cross the border, but he turned out to be alive. And in NGO reports on Palestinian suffering, Gazans who claimed to have been denied permission to study at universities in the United States were exposed as imposters. Unless the evidence can be checked be independently verified, it should be treated with the same skepticism used by professional journalists regarding other self-serving stories.
Steinberg describes this as the "halo effect," where NGO's are accorded a status of unimpeachable authorities even if their records are less that pristine. The media then takes the claims made by NGO's at face value while doing precious little verification. After all, the NGO gave them the information they were looking for, indicting Israel for one crime or another.
The Augean Stables relates a relevant observation (h/t LGF):
A few friends of mine went to a party in Jerusalem that was primarily made up Anglophone reporters, people who work for NGOs and UN agencies. What amazed them was the pervasive sense of the people they met and spoke with that Israel was the greatest human rights violator in the world and that the dismantling of Israel would be a great step forward for global human rights.Now the idiocy of this position, the suicidal nature of this strategy to advance human rights is nothing short of breathtaking. Take Israel out of the Middle East and the region becomes nothing but Hama rules... especially when the nastiest people -- those who want to destroy Israel -- would feel empowered by such a victory. But try and tell that to people who are smart enough to believe they can't be wrong, and credulous enough to believe the demopaths who pull their chains on a daily basis. And as a result, they are prime targets for a hate campaign against Israel.
(emphasis mine)
One of LGF's commenters wrote:
I wonder why they didn't hold their little cocktail party in downtown Gaza? They could hold it in a place right next to their hotels or apartments, because they stay in Gaza, right? Surely they don't stay in Israel? Surely they don't feel safe in the "greatest human rights violator's" territory?
It's not just Pysicians for Human Rights, it's the whole mess of NGO's. (Remember Marc Garlasco?) The NGO's despite their deeply held biases against Israel (after all they have to justify their existence) get uncritical reception from the media, while most other organizations would receive at least some perfunctory scrutiny.
It's one of the engines that drives media bias against Israel.
Crossposted on Yourish.
Posted by SoccerDad at August 6, 2008 5:23 AM
Sarah channels emo
About those "settlements"
The j-blogosphere this week
Ahmadinejad: "June 12 polls was end of liberal democracy"
Demilitarized State? Palestinian State vs. Pre-WWII Germany
Imminent? maybe. costly? for sure.
Pre-shabbos home bake shoppe
For the status quo
Does instapundit want to kill us all?
The axis of misunderstood thugs
Why should we be doing anything to help?
Let those human rights activists stay in Gaza, especially if they need doctors.
Piquant- and not obtuse in the least.
Nicely done.
Posted by: Sigmund, Carl and Alfred at August 7, 2008 1:53 PM
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/sport/11-breakthrough-film-shows-softer-side-of-chaman--il--10
Breakthrough film shows softer side of Chaman
By Shazad Ali
Wednesday, 17 Jun, 2009 | 10:45 PM PST |
Players from Afghan Football Club and KRL Islamabad fight for the ball as a huge crowd looks on in Chaman � APP photo.
SPORT
Lyari footballers turn to life of crime
MEDIA GALLERY
Campeones!
KARACHI: Cutting through the fog of terrorism enveloping the region, a group of amateurs screened a documentary entited �The Last Refuge of Afghans� which brought a message of peace and prosperity through football on Wednesday.
�There is so much anarchy and fighting in Pakistan and the region, but we believe that peace can brought through football. And for that, town of Chaman in Balochistan and its football-loving people are best example.�
�The theme of this movie was [to] fight as hard [as] people want to, but on the field of football,� the producer of the documentary Khalid Hasan Khan told Dawn.com at Goethe-Institut Pakistan .
According to Khalid, Chaman was perfect example of showing how to live peacefully with tolerance for other religions and ideas.
Recollecting his observations during filming, the producer said while Pashtuns were known as feared tribal warriors always brandishing weapons, locals in Chaman were quite different.
�There are so many things about people of Chaman. But to sum up I truly believe they are quite different to the people in the north. They (Chaman locals) are peaceful and peace-loving people unlike other Pashtun tribes. There are misconceptions about the area,� he said.
The 20-minute documentary directed by M. Wasim, describes how team members from Pakistan �s Afghan Club from Chaman were caught by the Taliban a few years ago while playing a match against a local outfit. The Taliban shaved the heads of the Pakistani players for playing in an �un-Islamic dress� (shorts) and then deported.
However, Mohammad Saeed, the secretary of the Balochistan Football Association (BFA) claimed in the documentary that later local politicians apologized for the incident. The BFA official claimed that it was actually rival club members who were involved not the Taliban.
�You see there was no animosity or agitation among the people of Chaman for the Afghans or Taliban across the border even after the incident. And this shows how tolerant they are,� said Khalid.
The producer said the title of the film (The Last Refuge of the Afghans) came about since the people of Chaman also called themselves Afghans.
�Chaman has abundant talent in soccer and we have players in our national team from this area. We want to show that it is only football which is now the last refuge for Afghans which means all Pashtuns either from NWFP, Fata, Balochistan or Afghans who have migrated from Afghanistan to Chaman.�
Abdul Qayyum Khadakoo, founding member of Afghan Club, argued that Chaman had always been a peaceful region with people displaying both tolerance and a deep love of football.
�I agree that Afghans who have migrated from Afghanistan wanted to interfere in our lives.. But we told them in clear terms that please do not interfere in our system. They (Afghans) dominate our businesses but we don�t have any objection. We live in complete harmony,� he told a jam-packed audience..
Qayyum says unlike other tribal areas, people in Chaman do not display weapons, nor is it likely to find drug peddlers or drug addicts on the streets.
�Chaman has its own importance. Although there is an impact on the region because of geo-political situation, Chaman is a channel for supplies for the German and other (Nato) troops into Afghanistan . This shows how peaceful is the town,� he claimed.
Former Balochistan sports minister Lt-Col Younis Changezi lamented that although there was huge soccer talent in Chaman, there was hardly facilities for the sport.
�We have given Pakistan football top players from Chaman, but there are meager funds, lack of infrastructure and facilities. I can assure that if given proper attention Chaman and the province can produce top class players.�
Dr. Markus Litz, the director of the Goethe-Institute Pakistan also spoke while presenting welcome speech.