Problematizing Humanitarian Interventions in Latin America
Malia Lee Womack, a PhD/MA Ohio State student in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Latin American Studies (respectively), interviews Dr. Katherine Borland, an Associate Professor of Folklore Studies and Comparative Studies at Ohio State University. In their conversation they explore the complexities of US students and others volunteering in and providing aid to Latin America, and examine human rights strategies and grassroots organizing occurring in the region. Womack and Borland consider in what ways disadvantaged communities are generally more able to identify the problems they face and the most ideal solutions to these problems. Given the value of grassroots organizing and critiques of imperial intervention in Latin America, what obligations do wealthier nations and their citizens have to contribute to the empowerment of people in Latin American countries? How should this intervention be modeled?