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We’re witnessing genocides devastate resource-rich yet severely exploited regions worldwide from the comfort of our homes, clutching electronic devices made by companies implicated in modern slavery.
“Helpless” is a sentiment I often hear as we scroll through news feeds, trying to distract ourselves from the exploitation in cobalt mines in the DRC while vaping to ease our nerves.
True, these times feel bewildering as we grapple with global and climate catastrophes. But waiting until we fully comprehend everything before taking action is a fatal mistake.
Dear mental health field: we cannot afford to wait, nor will we ever become “experts” in oppression. We must simply trust in the lived experiences of the oppressed and follow their lead.
Follow, amplify, mobilize, learn, and repeat.
In response to genocides in African regions like Congo, Sudan, and Tigray, I often hear sentiments suggesting that these issues are unrelated to those in the so-called US/Canada. For example: “Aren’t African nations independent? Why is this my concern?”
However, our interconnected humanity cannot be denied, and the enduring legacy of colonialism continues to wreak havoc on this planet and all its inhabitants. Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities bear the brunt of this oppression and exploitation.
I hope Hussein Bulhan’s teachings on Metacolonialism can help us connect the dots and compel us to fight for COLLECTIVE LIBERATION, decolonize our minds, behaviors, and everyday choices.
While not an easy read, I aim to distill his work into more digestible pieces, fostering greater connection and mobilization for action.
Protest, donate, divest, boycott, exert pressure, advocate!
Action includes scrutinizing our own contributions to extraction, exploitation, and mass violence in Africa.
- What tangible steps must we take in solidarity and collective accountability?
- What behavioral shifts do we need to make to resist a dominant culture that prioritizes comfort, convenience, and self-indulgence?
- How do we recognize and begin to untangle ourselves from the webs of metacolonialism?
- In what ways do we perpetuate colonialism and metacolonialism in our habits, relationships, and clinical practices ON STOLEN LAND?
Take Action Now
Follow, Support, Amplify
Check our story highlights for constantly-updated resources and calls-to-action.
Hussein Bulhan, author of Frantz Fanon and the Psychology of Oppression, once taught at Boston University’s Doctoral Program of Clinical Psychology before returning to Somaliland to contribute to peacebuilding, democratic governance, education, and trauma treatment.
Citation: Bulhan, H. A. (2015). Stages of colonialism in Africa: From occupation of land to occupation of being. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.143
Image descriptions:
10 slides with brown backgrounds. Header: Stages of colonialism in Africa. Footer: Hussein A. Bulhan @InclusIveTherapists
Cover: Decolonizing Mental Health. Metacolonialism: connecting the dots between gen*cides in Africa & beyond
Teachings by Hussein A. Bulhan. Stages of Colonialism in Africa: From Occupation of Land to Occupation of Being
2) Colonialism and Coloniality
Colonialism is: economic, political, cultural & psychological
Colonialism in Africa left enduring legacies of European domination, in spite of independence
Coloniality: enduring Eurocentric epistemology, ontology, ideology upholding monopoly of power & knowledge
Know history to understand “cascading disasters” following independence in Africa
Read more: Fanon, Maldonado-Torres, Mignol, Quijano
3) Antecedents of Colonialism in Africa
Crusades: use of religion & racism to massacre non-Europeans for greed & cultural domination
Colonization of Americas: defined “races” to further justify exploitation of Land & People
African Slave Trade: Atlantic Slave Trade was largest in history of the world
Depopulated & traumatized Africa
Solidified racism to justify colonization
Europeans & descendants reaped land, wealth, industry, technology
4) Stage 1: Classical Colonialism
19th century
occupation of Land
control of population (genocide, captive in one’s own Land)
erosion of social bonding, Indigenous beliefs, values, identities, and knowledge
Stage 2: Neocolonialism
1960s –
“local elites” worked to the advantage of former colonial powers & allies
former colonizers (joined by US+) controlled economic & political power behind the scene
plundering of material resources continue
5) Stage 3: Metacolonialism
current
disguises exploitation & oppression as “globalization”
invades deeper in the psyche & social relations of all peoples globally
wider spectrum of beneficiaries and victims
analysis must keep pace with the dynamic changes of metacolonialism
6) Psychology of Metacolonialism
Contested Reality and Memory
Recorded history distorted to uphold domination & exploitation: falsely praising colonizer & vilifying the colonized
Complicit industries include: education, media, institutions
Eurocentric psychology hides the ravages of colonialism and neglects lived-experience of the colonized
Criticizing colonialism from the Global South is extra challenging
e.g. falsely labelling non-European & Muslim dissenters as “terrorists”
7) Manifestations
Economics: $ as measure of human worth
Behavior: international laws by Europeans deemed “just” and ”civilized”
Space: Europeans & descendants enjoy worldwide freedoms while destroying African Land & Life
Place: home is no longer safe
Time & human energy: manipulated for productivity & profit
Values, knowledge, language, identity: glorifies Eurocentric definition of intelligence, power, beauty, wealth, education, knowledge
Medicine & madness: claims to “treat” while ignoring oppression; punish victims
8) Motives and Goals
create mass, insatiable desire for consumer & imported goods
spread false belief that metacolonialism (globalization) equals human advancement
garner automatic cooperation without overt cruelty
aims to establish “New World Order”
replace colonial “nation-states” with Euro-American central authority
e.g., currency, language, international court, mega-military (NATO), so-called “peacekeepers” that conversely maintain colonial hierarchy
9) Psychology emerged with European colonization, self-classifying as “model of humanity”
Psychologists justified slavery
also: missionaries, journalists, biologists, anthropologists
Classical: invented false “incompetent African” narrative using baseless, racist “studies” to justify colonial violence
Neo: invented false “sick African” narrative through pathology
Meta: more subtle tactics (mind control, interrogation, torture, sedation) while ignoring colonial trauma distress
10) The process of shifting from:
Individual to Collective Well-Being
Obsession with Instinct to Promotion of Human Needs
Adjustment to Empowerment
Passive Victims to Self-Determining Actors
Top-Down to Bottom-Up Approaches
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