An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-First Century

James Orbinski is an inspiring individual. His work ethic and passion are evident, his experience of both success and frustrations are fascinating as well as informative, and his stories are gripping if not terrifying. Given his experience in the field, in administrative roles, and in the politics of the humanitarian field give him an unique, authoritative perspective. It is a challenging read in that it forces you to confront many terrors and atrocities present today. He presents difficult problems with, at times, obscure solutions, but they are important ones for people to hear and to think about. I highly, highly recommend this book. James Orbinski is an incredible man, and his message, admittedly complex and unresolved, is an important one for anyone and everyone who is willing to hear it.

Fascinating and inspirig. The evil and the goodness of humanity told in a heart-giving life.

Wow, I cannot say enough about this book. If you are into Humanitarian action and one person making a difference in this world, you may want to read this book. James Orbinski is such a selfless doctor trying to make a difference in this world. In this book he recalls his memories of some of the biggest Huamitarian missions in our history. This makes me feel even more compelled to help out the helpless in our world. This is a must read!

Dr. Orbinski's account of his life's work with Medecins sans Frontieres / Doctors without Borders reads like a thriller. Orbinski's stories from his Irish-Canadian childhood as the son of very poor Irish immigrants give insight to his passion to help the less fortunate. The memoirs of his MSF work in treacherous places like Somalia, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Sudan reveal the inner politics of providing humanitarian aid to developing countries especially those in conflict. What these doctors and healthworkers had to do and not do to make deals with tribal leaders in Somalia or Afghanistan exemplify what true dialogue, diplomacy, cooperation, tolerance and respect for the cultures of the regions look and feel like. Although I skipped the chapters on Rwanda and Zaire, MSF's work to make HIV/AIDS drugs available to the poorest of the poor in the most challenging of environments is truly awe-inspiring. I gleaned some beautiful quotes of which I have committed to memory and will share with my activist colleagues: "We are not certain that speaking out saves lives, but we are certain that silence kills." Philippe Biberson, President MSF France 1999 "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something." James Orbinski, the author and past International President MSF An inspiring memoir that teaches not preaches. Be braver than I and read it in its entirety!

Just finished Dr. James Orbinski's new book, An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the 21st Century. For those of you who don't know him, Orbinski is one of Canada's global health heroes. He accepted the Nobel Prize for Doctors Without Borders while he was its international president and has since worked on developing MSF's Access to Essential Medicine's Campaign and establishing Dignitas International, an organization that provides community-based HIV/AIDS treatment in Malawi. I've heard Orbinski speak a couple of times, including at the Hope in the Balance forum last November. His talks provoke the idea of thoughts and a world view constantly evolving. This makes him especially human, despite his almost super-human committment to justice and health. One of his strongest messages is the world's need to create what he calls "humanitarian space," unobstructed by politics and military. Orbinski's experiences in Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and elsewhere have made clear the problems of military co-option of humanitarian action. The classic example is the dropping of both bombs and food packets within Afghanistan; in several cases children have confused the two and were harmed rather than fed. Orbinski's book is part memoir, part call to action. He takes the reader through some of the most devastating humanitarian disasters of the past 20-odd years, from the Rwandan Genocide to New York on September 11, 2001, when Orbinski worked in triage at Ground Zero. It struck me that on several occasions Orbinski has had a relationship with the countries he visits beyond their experience of humanitarian emergency, allowing him to describe the harsh differences between the time of acute crisis and normal daily life. For example, he worked in Rwanda doing HIV/AIDS research several years before the start of the 1994 genocide. This element helps him to challenge the perspective of African nations (and other developing countries) as places of perpetual crisis, while at the same time demanding action when that crisis does take place. Books about global health and its personalities are compelling reads. For some reason they are more successful at keeping me riveted than Tipping Point or The DaVinci Code ever were. Perhaps it is because despite the complexities of humanitarian action that Orbinski describes, the moral action of healing the sick seems so much less ambiguous than the general project of development. However, as he describes his own quest to ask the right questions he deems necessary to improve "other peoples' tomorrows," Orbinski recognizes the political side of humanitarian action, and the need to speak up about what he has witnessed.