Jordi Raich

Jordi Raich

Jordi Raich Curcó (Barcelona -Spain- 1963).

Writer and expert in humanitarian aid, Jordi Raich is particularly known for his book El espejismo humanitario, where he dissects and analyses from the inside the weaknesses of humanitarian aid and re-examines the polemic relations between the aid worker and the different actors of the humanitarian theatre. El espejismo humanitario has been at the centre of many passionate debates and has become a work reference for NGOs and aid workers. Raich is known as well for his controversial theory developed in his essay The Ethical Evolution of the Humanitarian Idea, where he claims that 21st century humanitarianism is a reductionist concept that damages the development and implementation of human rights.

Jordi Raich studied Biological Sciences, International Law and International Relations. He works in humanitarian aid since 1986 as project manager, researcher and consultant in epidemics, famines and armed conflicts. He has worked in more than thirty countries, including Somalia, Rwanda, Guatemala, former-Yugoslavia, Afghanistan (where he lived three years), the US Naval Base of Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Liberia, Israel/Palestine and The Sudan, and has travelled over one hundred.

He has been the Director of External Relations of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and co-founded Architects Without Borders. He is also associate researcher, specialized in humanitarian operations, law and ethics, of the Institute of Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action.