Comments on: Decolonization is political action, not an act of historical circumstance.

By: Uzma Z. Rizvi

Uzma Z. Rizvi — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 19:01:14 +0000

Hi Cristina,
Thanks for your response. I certainly think that there can be a moral element to the desire to decolonize, however, that is not enough. Also, in my mind, decolonization is not a fad because that suggests that it is a short term issue. Decolonization is/has been an on going effort since colonization and settlement. By depoliticizing it, however, we run the risk of it losing its efficacy as a political strategy. It’s like saying, morally we are all against racism, but if we don’t do something to change the system, although our morals will continue to state that it is incorrect, we continue to do things that systematically oppress populations of people based on their skin color. In a similar manner, morally we might say decolonization is needed — but if you don’t do anything about it, our system continues to keep colonial structures in place that are designed to keep previously colonized (and there is a racial, gendered, and class aspect to this as well) oppressed and in spaces of otherness in all aspects of life. Hope that helps clarify my point of view. Thanks again for reading and commenting.

By: Cristina Douglas

Cristina Douglas — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 13:52:05 +0000

Thanks so much for your post, I found it very useful. While I agree with your suggestion in making decolonization a political act (it would be the only way for restoring credibility of colonising nations and for giving an equal voice to the local knowledge), I am always afraid of anything that gets too political as it could be easily discharged in the future as a “political decision of the time” or a political “trend”. Just like with political correctness (with which I disagree based on the same argument, e.g. LGBT rights shouldn’t be a politically correct recognition, but a morally and humanly one), I believe decolonization should also be regarded as a moral (therefore, politically colourless) responsibility in restoring the truth, the respect for various groups and the quality/validity of knowledge itself based on different perspectives.

By: Uzma Z. Rizvi

Uzma Z. Rizvi — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 06:39:18 +0000

Hi Amba Sepie: Thanks for your note. I don’t find anything you say to be contrary to my position. Thank you for opening up a temporal dimension. I also stand by: “… Cree scholar Dwayne Donald, who says “we are all colonized, it doesn’t matter what colour your skin is.”” Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Cheers,
Uzma

By: Amba Sepie

Amba Sepie — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 12:52:51 +0000

I’d like to respond with regard to your points about decolonisaton, use or misuse. Decolonisation is political, yes, and is abut interrogating structures of power, yes, and social justice, and basically, all of what you listed – it is not, however, restricted to post-colonies and to undoing the violences of colonialism. Colonisation and colonialism are related, but separate, in that the first has been happening for a very long time and affects all of us, whether we possess a living memory of it or not. The latter is far more recent and has affected those who had maintained their traditions outside of the dominant already-colonised countries, nations, etc., or were previously not of interest or unknown to colonising forces. There is really only one difference – which is those more recently colonised under the name of colonialism can put together some picture of what life was like ‘before’ – most people cannot and are plagued with the sense of ‘missing’ something but no-one’s really sure what this is.

Colonialism is the most recent iteration of colonisation, which is a process of violent conversion of tribal or traditional lifeways for the purposes of using the resident population or land as a resource for the dominant political powers – Persia did it in Greece – it is by no means ‘new’. The effect is that everyone has been colonised, by force, by ancestry, or even sometimes by choice (if an uninformed choice). This means we are basically all living in a colonised state characterised by fragmented relations with each other, with non-human kin, without a guiding ethic, without elder leadership, in fear and service to a commodity-based technocracy which is progressively destroying our shared habitat. We call this ‘the west’ or ‘western culture’ and it accepts joiners at any time, provided we keep any traditional practices, beliefs, or ethnic inheritances in the private sphere. Over time, the replacement ethos of westernisation will replace these in any case, similar to the way Christianity was moved through the world. Exorcise local gods, absorb traditions, reorient power structures, threaten violence for disobedience. This fear of going ‘against’ the west is, for the long-colonised, almost second nature.

I read the cited paper on Decolonizing is not a Metaphor some time back and have been wanting to respond – whilst decolonial processes are without question linked to colonialism and dismantling this, decolonisation affects us all – no, its not a metaphor, I agree – but nor does it apply only to indigenous communities beset by the contemporary violences of colonialism. In this I stand with Cree scholar Dwayne Donald, who says “we are all colonized, it doesn’t matter what colour your skin is” – undoing this state of disconnection from place, the denial of our interspecies relationships, and the denial of our instincts and intuitions, is critical to decolonisation and as the ‘power’ presently resides with the unconscious majority for whom none of this matters too much, it is also critical for decolonial activities to be successful within a number of diverse social and political spheres.