From Global Scars to Local Healing: Addressing Colonial Legacy in Africa
From Global Scars to Local Healing: Addressing Colonial Legacy in Africa
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The fight against colonialism and the pursuit of true reconciliation are interconnected in the ongoing story of power, memory, and justice in Africa. As marked by the International Day Against Colonialism and South Africa’s Reconciliation Day, this episode spans from global systems to the intimate realities of daily life in South Africa.
Colonialism isn't just history; its shadow lingers in economic systems and modern power dynamics. In a compelling discussion with Sputnik Africa, YeEyobzer Zewdie, a political science and international relations lecturer at Addis Ababa University, pushed the conversation beyond historical grievance. He warned of ‘new colonization’ and a critical, often overlooked dimension—internal colonization—and frames colonialism not as a concluded era, but as an evolving legacy affecting governance, economic structures, and Africa's place in a still-unequal world order.
“Even though colonization has been eradicated from Africa many, many years ago, [...] we at the same time face a new colonization for us and the other dimensions of internal colonization. So, it is mandatory to celebrate the day and hope things would fall into the free spirits of the world. It is good again to learn and relearn how the brutal treatments of colonization that have dominated and that continue to influence the African native and freeborn society [...] The African colonization is not only decisively determining African fate; it also decisively affects the international structures during the colonization period. Because the powers they extract from the African natural resources, be it in the name of politics or be it in the name of economy, or be it in the name of civilizing the African peoples, it ultimately shifts the structural influence of the world and powerful states [...] So, reminding in the celebrations of the commemoration day is also important not only to repeat the past grievances like an old gramophone, but it is important again to the studies of international structures,” Zewdie indicated.
This analysis is a powerful, localized echo of South Africa's Reconciliation Day reflections. Dali Tambo, son of legendary anti-apartheid activist Oliver Tambo and Melisizwe Mandela, great-grandson of Nelson Mandela, discussed with Sputnik Africa the practical and economic steps to reconciliation, the legacy of unity, and the torch being passed to a new generation.
“A harmonious South African society was born in 1994. And now we've got to put meat on the bones of that. And the only way you can truly reconcile is if you truly share [...] Reconciliation should mean that I come with my peace pipe, and we sit together, and we say, “Okay the cake is only so big—let's reconcile, let's ensure that both Black and white in South Africa move forward in a solid way so that there will not be another era of generational poverty.” That each—because we only get to live once—each community must in their own way combine to create this unified South Africa,” Tambo pointed out
“The young people are the ones that are going to transform this country to what we desire [...] they are the ones who understand what transformation is and what they wish for this country to transform to what they desire it to be. So this is the great generation that will transform this country, South Africa, to what we actually desire it to be [...] We need to have programs of cultural exchange [...] Education is very important. We must create a sort of way whereby there will be a transfer of cultural activities and programs, so to understand. And that's where unity will lie. That's where respect for each other will come from,” Mandela highlight
Tune in to listen to the full conversation with our guest on the Pan African Frequency podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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