Abstract
Political, social and economic shifts in humanitarian responses to disasters have increased the prominence of short-term volunteers, often working through small, informal and non-governmental channels. Such volunteers offer the potential for a “surge” capacity in crises but are also often under-regulated, poorly trained and know little about the people they claim to help. In this chapter, we first draw on social theorists like Zygmunt Bauman and Michel Agier to argue that this represents a form of neo-liberal—“liquid”—governance that offers only fleeting, fragmented and privatized solutions to collective problems. However, we temper this critique with a review of the literature on short-term “voluntourism” that shows it can have an important pedagogical role, priming volunteers to engage in more long-term solidarity with people in distress. To illustrate our argument, we use ethnographic and participant observation research conducted in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. We show the flaws of many short-term volunteer programs but also highlight efforts to manage them responsibly, as an attempt to cultivate an ethic of solidarity with marginalized communities. We conclude with a list of good practices for leaders of short-term volunteer programs in humanitarian crises.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agier M (2011) Managing the undesirables: refugee camps and humanitarian government. Polity Press, Cambridge
Andereck K, McGehee NG, Lee S, Clemmons D (2012) Experience expectations of prospective volunteer tourists. J Travel Res 51(2):130–141
Bartel R, Depp AE (2010) Perspective: the place of peace in constructing Haiti. https://mcc.org/stories/perspective-place-peace-constructing-haiti. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Bauman Z (2000) Liquid modernity. Polity Press, Cambridge
Bolton M (2011) Human security after state collapse: global governance in post-earthquake Haiti. London School of Economics Global Governance Research Paper 01/2011. http://www.lse.ac.uk/globalGovernance/publications/workingPapers/haiti.pdf. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Bolton M (2014) Exit strategy: human security, the social contract and liquid governance in Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction. In: Hobson C, Turner N (eds) Human security and natural disasters. Routledge, New York, pp 140–157
Brondo KV (2015) The spectacle of saving: conservation voluntourism and the new neoliberal economy on Utila Honduras. J Sustain Tourism 23(10):1405–1425
Coghlan A (2006) Volunteer tourism as an emerging trend or an expansion of ecotourism? A look at potential clients’ perceptions of volunteer tourism organisations. Int J Nonprofit Voluntary Sect Mark 11(3):225–237
Coghlan A, Gooch M (2011) Applying a transformative learning framework to volunteer tourism. J Sustain Tourism 19(6):713–728
Cole T (2012) The white-savior industrial complex. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
DiAngelo R (2011) White fragility. Int J Crit Pedagogy 3(3):54–70
Elliott D (2013) Giving back: a special report on volunteer vacations. Conde Nast Traveler. http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/20130115/volunteervacationsrewardsrisks. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Espenshade L (2011) MCC family worldwide embraces Haiti. https://mcc.org/stories/mcc-family-worldwide-embraces-haiti. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Farmer PE (2011) Partners in help. Foreign Affairs. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/68002/paul-farmer/partners-in-help. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Galley G, Clifton J (2004) The motivational and demographic characteristics of research ecotourists: operation Wallacea volunteers in South East Sulawesi, Indonesia. J Ecotourism 3(1):69–82
Garland C (2015) The visual rhetoric of ‘voluntourists’ and aid workers in post-earthquake Haiti. Soc Econ Stud 64(3&4):79–102
Howell B (2012) Short-term mission: an ethnography of Christian travel narrative and experience. InterVarsity Press, Westmont
Jobe K (2011) Disaster relief in post-earthquake Haiti: unintended consequences of humanitarian volunteerism. Travel Med Infect Dis 9:1–5
Jones A (2011) Theorising international youth volunteering: training for global (corporate) work? Trans Inst Br Geogr 36(4):530–544
Kapoor I (2004) Hyper-self-reflexive development? Spivak on representing the Third World “Other”. Third World Quarter 25(4):627–647
Kaussen V (2015) Zooming in: virtual disaster tourism in post-earthquake Haiti. Soc Econ Stud 64(3, 4):33–78
Kavanaugh J (2010) Haiti quake sparks interest in ‘voluntourism.’ CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/03/04/voluntourism.haiti/. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Kumaran M, Pappas J (2011) Managing voluntourism. In: Conners T (ed) The volunteer management handbook: leadership strategies for success. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 1–21
Kushner J (2016) The voluntourist’s dilemma. NY Times Mag. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/magazine/thevoluntouristsdilemma.html?_r=0. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Lall RR (2013) An unlikely location for luxury. NY Times, p A11
Livermore D (2006) Serving with eyes wide open: doing short-term missions with cultural intelligence. Baker Books, Grand Rapids
MADRE (2010) Six-month progress report on MADRE’s response to the Haiti earthquake. https://www.madre.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/1278689475_haiti%20report%20FINALv2%207-8-10.pdf. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
McLennan S (2014) Medical voluntourism in Honduras: ‘Helping’ the poor? Prog Develop Stud 14(2):163–179
Montgomery LM (1993) Short-term medical missions: enhancing or eroding health? Missiology Int Rev 21(3):333–341
OCHA (2015) Haiti: humanitarian needs overview. http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Haiti_2016%20HNO_03%20Mar%202016.pdf. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
OCHA (2016) Haiti funding history. Financial tracking service. https://fts.unocha.org/pageloader.aspx?page=emerg-emergencyCountryDetails&cc=hti. Accessed 30 Nov 2016
Ooi N, Laing J (2010) Backpacker tourism: sustainable and purposeful? Investigating the overlap between backpacker tourism and volunteer tourism motivations. J Sustain Tourism 18(2):191–206
Palacios C (2010) Volunteer tourism, development and education in a postcolonial world: conceiving global connections beyond aid. J Sustain Tourism 18(7):861–878
Root A (2008) The youth ministry mission trip as global tourism: are we OK with this? Dialog 47(4):314–319
Spivak G (1988) Can the subaltern speak? In: Nelson C, Grossberg L (eds) Marxism and interpretation of culture. University of Illinois Press, Chicago, pp 271–313
Stoddard H, Rogerson C (2004) Volunteer tourism: the case of Habitat for Humanity South Africa. GeoJournal 60(3):311–318
Ver Beek K (2006) The impact of short-term missions: a case study of house construction in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch. Missiology Int Rev 34(4):477–495
Wearing S (2001) Volunteer tourism: experiences that make a difference. CABI Publishing, New York
Zavitz K, Butz D (2011) Not that alternative: short-term volunteer tourism at an organic farming project in Costa Rica. Int E-J Crit Geograp 10(3):412–441
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Welty, E., Bolton, M. (2017). The Role of Short Term Volunteers in Responding to Humanitarian Crises: Lessons from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. In: Holenweger, M., Jager, M., Kernic, F. (eds) Leadership in Extreme Situations. Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55059-6_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55059-6_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55058-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55059-6
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)