To be absolutely disgusted about the OXFAM revelations?

[yolofish]

Forgive me if there is already another thread but I couldnt find one...

So Haiti: devastated by an earthquake. Head honchos come in - and they host a party in which young Haitian girls appeared wearing nothing but Oxfam tshirts - literally nothing else, according to today's Sunday Times.

Oxfam does amazing work of course. but gets £32m of tax payers' money year in year out - and this happened 7 years ago.

I am truly disgusted by these events.

[AlbertaSimmons]

WellalwayshaveParis I can’ remember what it was, probably because it was nothing of real importance / significance, but something that he completely over-reacted to. I get that his circumstances are difficult and likely to make him perhaps over-emotional, but I didn’t like the unconsidered ragey way he responded to a minor issue, so stopped following him. I’ve never interacted with him in any way.

[falcon5]

For what the anecdote is worth ... from what I saw living in various countries I give most majors a swerve apart from MSF. Who also don't hassle you after you donate.

[InfiniteSheldon]

Big charities are the scandal of this generation. Money making machines designed to find themselves first, local officials second and the purported recipients last if at all. Wages are unbelievable in the top echelons, David Milliband? And many middle levels are grossly overpaid. Those working at the lower levels and volunteering are propping up bloated bureaucrats divorced from reality. My donations and time only to go local Hospice and local women's refuges.

[yolofish]

forget there is amazing work already underway, showing some astounding results. but it is significantly underfunded, as is all brain cancer. I work with one of the world's leading paed neuro-oncologists and when I asked him directly how much he'd need and how long a major breaktrhough would take he said £2.5m and one year.

Anyway that's off topic re Oxfam! I also read the Brendan Cox story...

The Charity Commission seem to be going after Oxfam; the thing is I dont suppose much will happen apart from a rap on the knuckles.

[tiredbutFuckIt]

Sadly I think that abuse of power, exploitation of the very people who need help is pretty widespread and in a way we needed something like this to come out in order to start this conversation. A bit like the Weinstein thing- plenty of people know/suspect it goes on but nothing is done about it. We do need the overseas aid sector to continue but with higher standards than before. Like a pp said, those looking to abuse are drawn to this kind of work. It does not mean we stop doing the work, we stop them using the work to exploit.
I only had limited experience in the sector (where plenty of women were talking about BC in hushed tones) it’s difficult, important work that international charities do and I can have some sympathy that any bad PR means loss of trust/funding. I’m not sanctioning cover-ups, but to be fair if it was a city bank employee who did this, the investors wouldn’t be taking their business elsewhere. Yet people do now want to stop donating to Oxfam. Not because Oxfam dealt with it badly, but because of the actions of the Oxfam employees (who lets face it got sacked/resigned before Oxfam could sack them)

[TheClitterati]

It's all quite hypocritical though isn't it?

Yes Oxfam are a fucking disgrace. But prostitutes are widely used here in UK and many of the prostituted are vulnerable women, trafficked, and/or children. Yet there is no outrage. In fact many women and men believe it is empowering for the prostituted/ trafficked. 

Same with porn. So many in MN proudly state how they don't have a problem with porn / strip clubs etc.

In my mind these are all the same. Variations of men's right to buy and use women and children. So many of them supported by women in doing so.

[SallyVating]

My xp worked for a (the) major children's charity in the UK and having heard what money gets spent on and wasted I will never donate to a big charity ever again

My money goes to smaller, less corporate charities these days.

[TheClitterati]

I stopped donating to big charities years ago. I do still donate to disaster appeals though.

I now donate to small charities, local charities and ones like the one run by the OP. If you are going to spend money sending rubbish in the post to get donors to give more money you won't get donations from me.

[WilyMinx]

I no longer donate to the big name charities after finding out the sort of salaries the CEOs are taking home.

[Beanteam]

I have lived overseas in third world countries and there was use of local prostitutes by usually lone richer western or eastern males working abroad. And the US VSO had some dodgy characters i have heard, but this was 20 years ago.
Surprised things still go on when the media is worldwide now.

[Beanteam]

I think there was a suggestion that all major charities pool their work maybe 8 years ago. But this was not followed up as too many 'important' people in prestigious jobs at the heads of these businesses wanted to keep it as is.

[Sevendown]

I take it they didn’t need police checks for these jobs?

[NotAnotherJaffaCake]

I am not surprised. And I don’t believe that 90% of Oxfam employees are committed to the cause and good eggs. Most of them are just people. And there were enough crap people to not only conduct these crimes but then cover them up too.

[FancyNewBeesly]

There is a difference though when charitable funds are being used to pay for these things? Of course trafficking is fucking horrific wherever the women are being abused, and I think strip clubs etc should be closed - we are at the point where it’s no longer acceptable to have grid girls, but there’s still at least one lap dancing club in every town centre? It’s bullshit.

I’ll never give another penny to Oxfam, I will of course still donate to other charities - I suspect this will be the end of Oxfam to be honest.

[Blankscreen]

Unfortunately nothing surprises me. It's been a cover up so that someone somewhere can keep their big fat salary.

I also can't get over the fact they were renting him a villa!!!!! I suspect he had drivers and staff too alll paid for out of charitable funds.

[tiredbutFuckIt]

What police checks can you do? Even a DBS dosn’t cover Scotland, that’s a separate check, and also this assumes people have been caught doing something they shouldn’t.
I’m not sure what police checks there are in Haiti. I’m not sure that these workers have even worked in the UK for long but I bet when they did, they were less likely to exploit underage girls. Isn’t that part of the reason they’re working in countries with less infrastructure?

[IWannaSeeHowItEnds]

Wtf is wrong with some men? They go somewhere like Haiti and it even crosses their minds to do something like this?

In Oxfam's slight defence, they said that prosecuting in Haiti would have harmed the women and the men were not British citizens so couldn't be prosecuted here. But Oxfam could have ensured that any future employer in the charity sector was given the full story - does no one provide employment references anymore? And Oxfam should never have hidden this.

[CaoNiMa]

Makes you wonder if there is any such thing as altruism.

[BertrandRussell]

I agree, TheClitterari. Anyone who says they don't have a problem with prostitution and porn really needs to consider the wider implications of that view.

[k2p2k2tog]

Yes Oxfam are a fucking disgrace.

This is what is so damaging. I'm an Oxfam volunteer and I'm not a "fucking disgrace". None of the other people working in my shop or any of the other paid staff / volunteers I've met are a "fucking disgrace" either.

The people who WERE a disgrace - and there's no defending what they got up to - were sacked.

But please let's not throw the whole organisation or indeed the entire charity sector under the bus because of the action of a very tiny number of people. Oxfam do amazing work all over the world as do the other charities named.

[Tottyandmarchpane1]

Sevendown I doubt police checks would have picked up anything even if they had been done, would they? These men would need to have been previously convicted for something.

[greendale17]

I no longer donate to the big name charities after finding out the sort of salaries the CEOs are taking home.

But how much is acceptable? You want competent, experienced, professional people to be these CEOs. You can’t pay them crap money now can you?

[tiredbutFuckIt]

Oxfam said they would not have given a positive reference. Very easy to resign with immediate effect whilst you are under a disciplinary investigation. It also means that the factual reference you give has to reflect the facts, not the allegations which are of course, unproven and would open you up to being sued for libel etc

[k2p2k2tog]

I’m not sure that these workers have even worked in the UK for long

I don't think most of them ever worked in the UK at all - charities usually send out a couple of people from the UK to disaster zones and the rest of the workers are recruited locally. Most of the people involved in this - except the guy whose picture has been in the press - have probably never set foot in the UK.

I'm not defending what happened at all but when you're recruiting people locally to help clear up after a natural disaster and get food to hungry people, it's unrealistic to start talking about DBS checks.