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 the intentions of capital or racism – began to feel outrage and sympathy for people half the world away. In order to negate the power of this rage and quell dissatisfaction, the rulers of empire were corralled into making concessions, and thus the idea of humanitarian rule was invented. The idea of supporting peoples far away with spare pennies while continuing to profit from their exploitation has remained strong ever since.

Michael Barnett in particular has demonstrated this history in multiple articles and in Empire of Humanity, a weighty text which skewers humanitarianism’s various efforts to fudge history and presents instead a cutting expose of the paternalism humanitarianism is built on. If critical history does not appeal, there are plenty of examples closer to home: consider the furore surrounding Comic Relief every other year, especially in how it portrays Poor Countries abroad as if entire countries were built of sticks and mud (the irony being that Comic Relief also raises funds to combat serious poverty in the UK, but the ‘image’ of Comic Relief remains a wealthy Western white woman holding a starving African black child).  

Elsewhere Jeff Crisp, former head of policy at the UN’s High Commission for Refugees, can be found on Twitter (@JFCrisp) denouncing the ways that the UN and other humanitarian organisations use suffering people to highlight their logos and promote a ‘brand’ of humanitarian assistance. The precedence of image over assistance is a painful reminder that some people’s humanity has to be bought at the cost of their anonymity or dignity.

Humanitarianism, as a product of colonialism, desperately requires decolonisation so that we do not stray into faux-humanitarian efforts which endanger lives. Any humanitarian effort can be corrupted because humanitarianism itself is shaky ground: our human urge to help each other can be twisted by other incentives such as economics and prejudice. The humanitarian push for the Right to Intervene following the tragedies of Rwanda and Srebrenica paved the way for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds, and led to the infamous observation that humanitarian efforts can become “force multipliers” in warzones. 

Our very urge to help can thus become deadly in the wrong hands. All humanitarian efforts keenly need decolonisation in order to critically examine the effects of our actions, and to accept that best intentions are never an acceptable reason to cause further human suffering.

Mei Morrish

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