Humanitarian Work

This book aims to present an alternative view of humanitarian action. It adds to current conversations and dilemmas within the humanitarian sphere by departing from traditional views that consider humanitarian interventions as a concrete human activity aimed at providing relief to disaster victims. Much differently, it invokes the idea that humanitarian action is also a cognitive process. In this process, both humanitarians and disaster survivors alike, unknowingly, apply historically, societally, and culturally defined symbolic constructions to make sense of post-disaster information and to make decisions. In the specific case of humanitarian workers, these symbolic constructions influence how they understand their post-disaster reality, including how they relate to those they consider to be in pain or distress.