Decolonization

Decolonization

Revolution is an attempt to change the political or social structure of a society or a state. Colonization, on the other hand, is the situation where a state or a group of people decides to take total political control over another state or a group of other people. A debate arises however on whether the fight for a revolutionary course should be peaceful or violent. According to Fanon, violence was an integral part of the fight for decolonization. The relationship between the colonizer and the decolonized appeared to grow sour with the passing of time. Fanon represents colonization as an opposite experience from what people think; that colonization is not a new world order as argued by many people but as a total disorder caused by two sides opposed to each other by nature. The necessity of violence in the struggle for true independence is that the colonizer is kept on toes in the fear that international attention will be drawn easily by violence than through peaceful negotiations.

The colonial society is made up of two divisions of the world; an area inhabited by settlers with well-established lifestyles and an area inhabited by natives who are opposed to the structure being forced by the settlers. Fanon tries to change the perception of the readers concerning the relationship between the colonizers and the colonized. The towns inhabited by settlers are represented as strongly built and brightly lit. On the contrary, the towns inhabited by the colonized are represented as areas full of evil men who get no attention from the colonizers, and no one cares about the lives of the colonized. Fanon gives negative definitions of the towns inhabited by the colonized. Mostly, the representation of the colonized is viewed as a group of black people. According to Grady (p. 213) the blacks are seen as a sign of segregation in the life magazine of 1969. Most advertisements in life magazines are aimed at solving the needs of white people at the expense of black people.

The colonizers lead by a totalitarian authority that depicts the colonized people as evil and a jealous race. The colonialists used the support of the army and police to force the colonial ideologies to the colonized people. The film, The Hunt, gives the story of a predator-prey relation and the experiences of the opposed groups. The relationship between the colonialist and the colonized can be related to the predator-prey relations and under no circumstances would the two groups dine at the same table. Fanon gives violence as the only option for fighting for true independence; otherwise, the structure would remain a colonizer-colonized organization. Also, fanon reveals that the settlers would use zoological terms to refer to the colonized, a situation that meant that the colonized had no respect for the subjects. Using different methods to come into an agreement concerning independence other than violence would prove futile in the long run since the colonizers would only respect the colonial ideologies.

Fanon represents the Colonized group as a violent group. The colonized natives are said to be at risk of losing nothing by being violent. The idea of having nothing to lose puts the natives at a better position of fighting for independence and respect from the colonizers. The determination of the natives towards the decolonization process is represented by the reactions of the native while listening to speeches about western culture. “[W]hen the native hears a speech about western culture, he pulls out his knife- or at least he makes sure it is within reach…,” (Fanon, p. 258).   Fanon does not emphasize violence based on baseless facts since some elites from the colonized group try to negotiate with the colonizers to give independence. However, the colonizers do not take the matters of negotiation seriously and thus force the elites to opt for violent means. The idea behind Fanon’s argument is that the colonized group should change from an environment of violence to violence in action.

The Violence by the colonized group is only a response from the violence by the colonizers. The subjugated group has no other option other than becoming violent. The colonized group is suffering from vices like rape and killing by the colonizers, and no commissions are set in place to protect the colonized. Fanon assures the subjugated groups that the struggle is worth the fight and the natives should ensure that the point of no return is achieved. Fanon also reminds the natives that the struggle is continuous since even after the successful fight for revolution, the individuals will join the fight against poverty and graft and will forever be struggling.

The relationship between a colonizer and the colonized appears to change for the worse with the passing of time. Fanon represents colonizers as an opposite experience from what people think, and that colonization is not a new world order as argued by many people but a total disorder caused by two sides opposed to each other by nature. The necessity of violence in the struggle for true independence is that the colonizer is kept on toes by violence than would be the case when peace negotiations are employed.