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How to say no to recolonisation
It was just a half-hour introductory call.
I’d exchanged several messages with some guy who cold-messaged me on LinkedIn, having convinced himself that I must be showing up on his feed because of divine intervention.
That is how I found myself yet again staring down the barrel of the gun of recolonisation.
It wasn’t like he was masking it. It was clear within the first 60 seconds.
Yet, I spent the next twenty-nine minutes in the call. Listening to more colonial-apologist tech-solutionist power-agnostic nonsense romanticisation.
When I dig down deep, the only reason I can think of as to why I agreed to and stayed in the call is this —
At some level, I still don’t value myself and my work enough to be disciplined in avoiding relationships defined and dominated by coloniality.
I still give the wolf in sheep’s clothing the benefit of the doubt, simply because they claim to “be Global South”, even if I can see exactly where they retain their colonial perspectives, power and privilege, i.e. that they are indeed obviously wolf-like.
I’m still too nice.
These moments are where I can see my own learning edge most clearly.
And yet, what power do I have, apart from the power to abstain, reject and document?
Side note: I am collecting contributions to build the global decolonial movement’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Donate here.