Here's a thread from my first real job experience. A little story about how #Hezbollah abused NGO aid, & about how NGOs generally suck. I made sure I wasn't breaching any NDAs by doing this.

I used to work in an NGO in 2015 as a WASH field officer, mainly in Nabaa Bourj Hammoud. We would do "vulnerability assessment" surveys & based on some number values, the survey decides if the people deserve help.

I worked there for 6 months. I still talk about them until today. Probably one of the most humbling experiences in my life, and I saw what poverty is, or what it means to have your child cry of hunger & only being offered bread crumbs for food.

The Mukhtar had to sign off on any WASH rehabilitative work we did. And guess what? he also happened to be the supplier of the products we bought (toilet chairs, water tanks, water pumps, doors) and he was explicitly Hezbollah affiliated.

Besides the conflict of interest of him needing to sign on contracts&him being the supplier, &apparently by big bosses didn't know about, he used to make sure his friends & family got a lot of the "help".

His friends and family were often not needy and would sell the free things they got to other needy people, for more money than the NGO paid. I remember we even found a water tank stamped with the NGO's name in a street market.

My colleague field officers had already made "connections" there and seems they accepted the favors for the Mukhtars. I was young and it was my first job, and when I did speak out, it was a little too late.

I remember this one time (out of several) a man comes up to me and my colleague & says: "My family has given a lot of sacrifices (martyrs) to this country. You just surveyed my wife. I hope you make sure we get the rehabilitation to the house" 8

I had indeed just surveyed his wife, they were really not needy at all. She literally told me they're thinking of redecorating. Several rooms in the house, many windows. Basically definitely one of the best houses I saw while working there. 9

He then added: "If the results don't come in our favor, you better re-do the survey with my name instead of my wife's, and change the answers". I was appalled. Before I said anything, my colleague tapped me on my shoulder, and told him: Definitely. We will make sure. 10

This happened a lot of times. Hezbollah "heroes" would come harass and blackmail us in a way, to make sure we cheat the survey for them. Most were well-off (+-).
I only told my european boss before I quit. And my lebanese manager scolded me for speaking up.

Because of course he knew all about it. But as long as he was reaching his "target" of syrian refugee and Lebanese houses, he didn't care that the bidets we bought would break the next day, & that we made the beneficiaries sign off our responsibility.

Honestly looking back, i hate myself for working there. It was dirty business. We made some people remove functional bidet to put a brand new one, that broke the next day. And when I spoke up I was told "you're still too young you haven't experienced real life"