Bread From Stones Analysis

In Bread from Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism Keith Watenpaugh provides a new and earlier origin for the rise of “modern humanitarianism” which he defines as an “ideology of organized compassion (p. 4). Watenpaugh argues that the secular, organized humanitarianism we are familiar with today originated in the interwar period in the Ottoman Empire. Watenpaugh states that prior to this time period and the establishment of the League of Nations the majority of humanitarian work was done by missionaries with the intention of converting the people they are helping. However, after the first World War and particularly after the Armenian genocide, the humanitarian efforts in the Middle East were largely organized efforts
According to Bread from Stones the reaction and response to the Armenian genocide exemplifies this interaction between the paternalistic, racist, and colonial view of humanitarian work in the Middle East to a more compassionate and altruistic understanding of humanitarian work. Watenpaugh argues that the Armenian genocide provided an opportunity for the transition to modern humanitarianism because of it was easier for Westerners to think of Armenians as human because they were Christian. In addition, the extent of the human rights violations committed against the Armenians made a case for it being a “crime against humanity” causing “the reason of humanitarianism [to pivot] not on the rights of the victim of war or genocide, but [to] the humanity of those providing assistance and ... the humanity of those receiving it” (p. 21). Watenpaugh does a good job keeping the idea colonialism in mind while still emphasizing this shift in thinking about humanitarianism. Bread from Stones also manages to focus on the plight of refugees instead of just establishing his argument. In doing this Watenpaugh creates a shared sense of humanity with the reader and the refugees he is
Although Watenpaugh was working with the very broad and multifaceted concept of “modern humanitarianism” the reader walks away with a full understanding of what this concept is and all of the important characteristics of it. In addition, the examples chosen by Watenpaugh further his arguments while also clarifying the important concepts to the reader. The book is most impressive in the way Watenpaugh manages to weave themes of colonialism and descriptions of the suffering of the Armenian refugees throughout his book without losing sight of his main arguments. These underlying themes created a very human description of both the humanitarian aid workers and the refugees for the