 A
few months ago, when the editors first turned to discussing
the theme of this magazine – big international non-governmental
organizations, or ‘bingos’ – one suggested
that some of the criticisms we might wish to make of them
could equally well apply to us. After all, if it hadn’t
been for bingos like Oxfam or Christian Aid the NI would
never have got off the ground in the first place. And it
might similarly be said of us now, more than 30 years on,
that had we achieved what we originally set out to do we
would surely have put ourselves out of business.
I might try to refute this by pointing up the differences.
Though the NI is ‘nonprofit’ – in the sense
that profit is not the objective – it is not a registered
charity. It is not funded by governments, corporations or – for
over 25 years now – by bingos either. Being a workers’ co-operative
stops us getting much bigger. Speaking truth to power, as best
one knows how, is never likely to become superfluous…
But that would be to miss the point. As soon as organizations,
like people, lose the ability to recognize or repair their
own flaws then their useful life is limited. The same could
even apply to a superpower, as recent events in New Orleans
seem to illustrate. It may be vexing, but one’s best
friends are often one’s sharpest critics. And that, needless
to say, really does apply equally well to us. |
