Reflections of an Imperialist

Grewal and Kaplan (Global Identities) discuss the idea of "transnationalism from below," and in another class my readings this week talked about Globalization from below.

In my Junior year of undergrad I took a class about the Dominican Republic, but it also mostly focused on grassroots organizing, imperialism, and globalization. It made me realize a LOT of things including concepts and theories, one being the idea of doing something from the bottom up. The idea of transnationalism or globalization from the bottom up, seeks to include the masses -- the people whose lives are most affected by such capitalist movements. It makes so much sense now that I know, but many never think about it. A movement from the bottom up seeks to make an inclusive movement that serves the needs of all who are involved. I think it is a fabulous concept that I would love to think more about in my classes.

Another concept I learned on this trip, is that of being a tourist from an imperialist country and the self-realization that comes with that. Grewal and Kaplan say that "Power differentials are always implicated in the activity of travel." When traveling to the DR with my class, we didn't do service work such as paint a house or teach children how to read, we actually learned, a lot, from grassroots movements that were already there. Last class we talked about taboo issues, one being how to address a topic when you are coming from a position of power. Traveling in non-western countries as a member from an imperialist country is one of those. When I went to the DR, and then especially to Nicaragua this past Spring, I was CONSTANTLY reflecting on my privilege as some one from the US.

The US really messed up both of these countries through our history of over-involvement, and they are in the state they are, (seemingly) almost exclusively from our involvement. How does one deal with that? Guilt doesn't bring me anywhere, just keeps me in circles. What are my actions? What sort of service do I bring? It's difficult to mediate your position within their society -- a society accustomed to the aid of foreigners, but also screwed over by the "aid" of foreigners. Even more difficult still is mediating this amongst other United Statesians (coincidentally you cannot be an American in Latin America, as they [we] are all Americans). When people would ask me if I built houses or how I helped the people, it is difficult to explain things such as the charity model and what I feel our involvement should really be. That is also why it is nice to know that organizations like Witness for Peace are out there. They are all about bringing Americans (from the USA) to locations like Nicaragua and giving them tours of places like Free Trade Zones, so that they can go back to the USA and organize there.

Why are we so eager to go to developing countries and give aid and support, but not willing to try to make the change from our own country first.

A suggested song - http://www.annefeeney.com/media/sound/Richmanshouse.mov