‘The White Man’s Burden’ is a poem from 1899 by Rudyard Kipling about the Philippine-American War of the colonial occupation of these islands. In this poem, it is portrayed what the task of the white man is. It gives green light for colonialism and at the same time puts the other non-white only in the weak rank that needs protection and needs to be led to light.
This happened many years ago, but what is happening now? We all remember what happened in 2015 and the famous saying ‘wir schaffen das.’ What we can? We can save them, we can give them to eat and drink and so on … But who are we? We are the European German society in particular!
Both, in the example story from 1899 and 2015 the white person is the one in the position to safe the ‘non -white one.’
But at end, there will stay one hero only, ‘the white one.’ The non-white people have to be happy to have that nice victim position in the story of 1899 to be a slave or in 2015 be the victim that needs help. And even if s*he puts himself in danger to come to the EU, the hero is the one who helps him, and he needs to be integrated in the society then maybe he will get chance to be in the media as the perfect example of integration. That’s what the white one needs!
How many migrants say in front of the sea when they get on the boat with others migrants ‘wir schaffen das’? I’m shure many of them, and some of them do it and they are here in Europe. But the only famous one is the ‘wir schaffen das’ by white Angela Merkel .
With full respect of what Carola Rackete has done, I’m asking structures like media and political groups around the topic of migrants: Do we really need white hero again?
And why are we reducing the right of the people to freedom of Movement to ‘Saving live is not a crime.’
Why we are playing with the system of the colonial game? Why do we try to victimize the migrants and only give them the chance to have a new white hero that would save them and do not talk about all the migrants who die trying to reach the EU? Why are we not talking abut the people who die in the sea and were the reason why Carola Rackete went there?!
Solidarity is important but not for the cost of victimization of migrants and creating new colonial image of the ‘white hero’!
Let us not forget abut the thousands of people who die there and say loud: the problem is the system and the politicians!
Instead of ‘Saving live is not crime’ we need to say loud: politicians who let people die in the sea are criminals!
Instead of saying ‘free Carola’ let’s speak out the names and tell the story of the people who died in the sea. They are the topic here!
Don’t make a new white hero again, but remember why Carola went to the sea.
by Adam Baher
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