Anthropology is indeed the creation of colonialism..

Anthropology is the  creation of colonialism during “The Scramble for Africa”. Missionaries had taken the lead in providing important information for the colonial powers about the “exotic” and “unknown tribes” of Africa. The “dark continent “as they called it and portrayed it as a continent of “Terra Nullius” to be claimed by any one with a gun powder.

This historical burden of “objectifying” the people of less privileged countries is continuing unabated even now. The continuous process of creating “us” and “them” is tantamount to maintaining western supremacy. One can ask why one group should have the monopoly of “studying” and “writing” about others as if they have a monopoly on truth too. History is always in the making and everybody should be able to have a say about it. Diversity and multiculturalism should be the rule of the day.

I never felt comfortable with this classification and aired my views back in the days as a university student in Lund, Sweden. My teachers were not happy with my critical mindset towards anthropology and its association with colonialism.

They refused to approve my bachelor thesis at some point. I was not ready to compromise and back down which irritated them even more. The department of anthropology in Lund was full of people who really believed in colonial paternalism. I actually wanted to study anthropology to understand Europeans and get some explanations for their bloody history. I had thought that I would understand myself better by understanding them first. I ended up more confused than ever before because Europe is as Frantz Fanon says the place where they talk about the Blackman and universal human rights eloquently but chase the black man in every corner they see him. Leave therefore Europe before it is too late.

“Professor “Kajsa Ekholm Friedman and her husband professor Jonathan Friedman together with Mr. Silly Christer Lindberg were the avant-gardes of the colonial residue. Kajsa went even further and participated in a conference that was arranged by a racist group in southern Sweden. She also wrote an article in the leading Swedish news paper “Dagens nyheter” in April/may 1997.

The main message of her article was that Sweden was being “invaded” by immigrants and the country would eventually end up like the former Yugoslavia. There are many Anthropologists who are obnoxious and have racist agendas in the academic world.

The ever increasing anti-immigrant sentiments that are being heard across xenophobic Europe are not news anymore. It is so liberating to be in one´s own land where I do not have to feel stress and anxiety because of my skin color or origin.

Anthropology should play a leading role in bridging gaps of civilizations and creating understanding between different cultures. My mere existence is always dependent on the confirmation by others but this otherness is not a permanent sanctuary. The world changes as much as culture does. I have become who I am through different processes of giving and taking at various times.

I understand myself better now than ever before because of my exposures to challenging and enriching realities of life here in Eritrea. Understanding others and feel their pains makes my life more holistic and blessed. I am because we are. Unbuntu