Reflections from the BGDF 2021
Colonialism: We need to have this debate

By Philipp Sandmann

‘By gaining greater knowledge of how others think, we can become less certain of the knowledge we think we have, which is always the first step to greater understanding’, writes Julian Baggini in his book ‘How the World Thinks’.

The essential message in this sentence by Baggini is the underlying advice that we as human beings, as thinkers, as intellectuals should always understand, that we can never know everything. And of course, the message is also to always question what we think we already know. When it comes to the topic of colonialism and the difficult question of historic reappraisal, then this way of thinking is crucial.

The British-German Democracy Forum at Cumberland Lodge had set itself this ambitious goal of historic reappraisal. Cumberland Lodge, the former home of the Queen Mother, but maybe more importantly, the place where the author Amy Buller was able to pass on her research about German nationalism and ultimately teach her findings on how Germany went down the dark path of fascism, was therefore a fitting venue, even though – for some – also controversial, due to its other former residents, who had a colonial history.

The conference was marked by intense debates. Questions were asked by delegates and speakers such as: What really is our shared history? Was colonialism a crime against humanity? A speaker remarked that colonialism was not necessarily portrayed as equally bad by those affected by it. A delegate responded: ‘I find it troubling that some parts of colonialism are portrayed as good’ and added ‘There was never a time when it benefited those that were affected.’

Who gets to tell the story?
In one talk a speaker raised the subject of ‘we are here, because you were there’, which refers to the fact that centuries of colonial exploitation in Asia and Africa led to migration. It is also closely linked to the urge of the West to ‘educate’ other societies and to define what poverty is in the eyes of the colonisers. But arguably the most important question connected to this sentence nowadays is: Who gets to tell the story? Should it be told by people who are the descendants of those that experienced colonialism? Is research too often being done by privileged people in a very elitist academic world?

Suzanne Alleyne, Cultural Thinker and a speaker at the conference, argues that research on colonialism in academia is not objective. In a phone call after the conference she says: ‘Historically it has been a problem and it continues to be a problem. It is about the lens through which we view the world. If you only have people that view the world through a specific lens, then objectivity, which I would argue rarely exists, gets defined through their collective subjectivity.’ Alleyne adds that academics, who have largely been white and middle class, ‘have agreed and defined that their way of doing things is objective.’

Who owns what?
Furthermore, the very current and interesting subject of restitution was discussed. There was a debate about whether certain artefacts such as the bust of Nefertiti should be returned to its rightful owner. But this in turn raised the question: Who essentially ‘owns’ the Nefertiti bust today? Can it really be Egypt as country? Or could one also agree that it has found a good place in the museum in Berlin, where it is accessible for the public at all times? The delegates did not come to a final conclusion.

In one debate, it was also discussed that certain definitions and wordings need to be scrutinised and possibly re-evaluated today. A speaker broached the issue of the Mau Mau Uprising in the British Kenya Colony between 1952 and 1960 and used ‘detention camps’ to describe the punitive camps that were set up by the British colonizers. A delegate remarked that it is also part of the problem that these camps are defined as detention camps and not concentration camps, which they ultimately were. The description ‘detention camp’ in turn could suggest that they were not as bad, as they really were.

What the British-German democracy forum showed: It is vital to speak openly about the topic of colonialism. Whilst some of the discussions were uncomfortable, they did spark what Baggini refers to as ‘greater understanding’. And in a time in which some debates are shut down before they are even held, the British-German Democracy Forum was certainly a bright spot.