It is remarkable to witness, presently or through the annals of time, the pain and suffering caused by a single despot who rules through force and fear. One has to look only at current events in Kosovo or Iraq or North Korea to see evidence of this.
That fact was reiterated in a recent worldwide study by U.N. researchers. Extensive examination showed that major humanitarian crises result from governments trying to maintain wealth and power in the hands of a few and not from inadequate resources. The problems are with the distribution of assistance and not its availability.That conclusion undermines some popular but illogical notions that such difficulties are caused by eroding environmental conditions and insufficient natural resources to feed and care for people. The essentials are all there, but getting them through political power brokers to the people who need help the most is the crux of the problem. Too many times, those in control do not want that to happen. Instead, they prefer cruel oppression -- keeping people down to prop themselves up.
The research -- conducted by the U.N. University's World Institute for Development Economics Research -- defined humanitarian emergencies as man-made crises of war, displacement and disease that kill large numbers of people. Such incidents do not typically occur in democracies but in countries with single-party rule or a military junta.
Not surprisingly, case studies showed that nefarious leaders often spark such conflicts to maintain control, solidify nationalism and to vanquish political, economic or religious foes. It is, in these instances, the commoners who bear the brunt of suffering.
Early outside intervention sometimes helps diffuse such conflicts, which have existed for time immemorial. But too often they play out as the world watches for one reason or another, leaving hordes of innocent victims. Limited resources make it difficult for "white knights" to right every instance of wrongdoing. Subsequent humanitarian relief efforts may be thwarted by the same types of lawlessness and disregard for human life that spawned the tragedy to begin with.
It's not a pretty picture. But it is reality for those compelled to live under any sort of totalitarian rule. It makes democracy -- with all its foibles and frustrations -- look pretty good by comparison.