a benevolent oppressor?

"Superiority cloaked in a desire to serve is still superiority. It's not our words that count but the perception of the local people who watch our lives and sense our attitudes. ... If you try to serve people without understanding them, you are more likely to be perceived as a benevolent oppressor." ~Duane Elmer, excerpt Cross-Cultural Servanthood (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2009), p. 17.

The above quote is one of many issues addressed in this book about Cross-Cultural Partnerships by Mary Lederleitner. I recommend to every Westerner who intends to work cross-culturally.