Why should humanitarianism have to decolonise itself?
Humanitarianism is a loosely gathered bundle of numerous myriad organisations and individuals whose common goal is improvements to human welfare and positive social development. So how does decolonisation fit into this enormous global phenomenon? Simply put, humanitarianism as a concept exists now due to Western empires. This is not to say that the concepts of charity and solidarity did not exist before Britain invaded a fifth of the world (a glance at the holy texts of any large religion will quickly prove that humans have always felt a keen urge to help one another), but instead to acknowledge that the way that most humanitarianism functions now is largely built on colonial imperialism. During the long era of Western subjugation of the rest of the world at large, people became increasingly informed of the suffering of others. The economic routes which fuelled empires with slavery and extorted goods also carried news around the world, and ordinary people – regardless of...