My Overseas Experience Is Bigger Than Yours. Or Not.

Years ago, I spent a somewhat comic, somewhat futile evening in Ghazni, trying to convince some of our Afghan staff about the importance of women's rights.   After my rather unsuccessful presentation, one of the participants made a comment in Pashtu, resulting in much merriment. I turned to my translator, who helpfully explained that the man had just made a joke about the fact that my beard was smaller than everyone else's beard.

Which was, on one level, a simple factual observation, seeing as how I was the only clean-shaven man in the room.  Still, it was hard to miss the connotations - both text and subtext, as it were.

I didn't shave regularly for another three years.

And there you have the perfect aid worker anecdote, if I do say so myself.  Somewhat self-deprecating, but also communicating in no uncertain terms that a) you've been to a bad, bad place, while b) trying to do good.  Extra points for finding just the right note of cynicism.

Much on my mind recently, following a workshop earlier this week.  As Harry Rud described in a great post a few months back:

"Put a group of aid workers in the same room and I guarantee at some point the conversation will run along the lines of: ‘when I was in DRC blah blah blah’ ‘when I was in Goma blaaahhhh’ ‘well when I was in Darfur blah!’ ‘I remember when I was in Sri Lanka and…’ Blah."

It's almost like a National Geographic special - NGO herd and mating rituals; overseas experience used to establish credibility and connections.  Not all that much different from colorful feathers, or antlers.  For better or worse, smoking also helps.

I wish I was immune, but I find it impossible to resist.  As, ummmmm, starting with the anecdote above so clearly shows.  Nothing better than an insecure humanitarian blogger.  Especially now that I'm once again clean-shaven.

[Photo - on the road in Afghanistan]