Beware the Recovery Economy: There's A Lot to Learn from Aceh
If you haven't yet read the Guardian's "Secret Aid Worker: Two Years After Haiyan, the Aid Economy is Flourishing," you really should here . We agreed with nearly every word on the page, particularly the main arguement: 'Economic development (during disaster recovery) is not a direct result of NGO projects or government initiatives. It's been a more indirect consequence. The mass influx of international organizations, with international staff, has injected cash into Tacloban city. Snazzy boutique hotels, cafes and Italian restaurants have sprung up serving expats and the middle class (working for those NGOs and international organizations).' In a nut shell, they argue that recovery is a quick 'path to cash' for the local community, absent proper local economic development - based on a strategy and plan. They pose a number of questions about what happens 'after' - after recovery is complete and there are no more high paying NGO or intern