Volunteer Tourism:
The Revival of Colonialist Thought
We have come to learn from history
that our efforts, however assured we are of their moral justification, may not
always be honorable; such is the case with colonialism. The effects of
colonialism on third world nations have long been debated, and efforts to
revert such effects may be severely impeding current and future development
within third world nations: a prime example being volunteer tourism. Volunteer
tourism provides volunteers with a sense of entitlement and belief that it is
their moral obligation to aid people in third world countries with their
development; beliefs epitomic of colonialism. And these beliefs only further
hindrance development in said countries, as they are merely band aid solutions:
solutions which cannot be sustained in the long term and make the people of
these countries dependent upon Western aid. Furthermore, volunteer tourism
provides volunteers with the misguided notion that they are empowering the
people of these countries, a belief analogous of colonialism, when in fact they
are depriving them of opportunities where they may learn to empower themselves
and are creating unsustainable institutions, thus furthering impeding future
long-term development. Finally, volunteer tourism exploits victims of poverty
and exacerbates conditions of poverty and inequality in already fragile
countries, thus only further impeding present and future development.
Ultimately volunteer tourism revives colonial thought by perpetuating the
ideological assumption of Western superiority throughout third world nations,
thereby thwarting present and future development in third world nations.
Colonialism is defined as “a
practice of domination”, driven by imperialism, “which involves the subjugation
of one people to another” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). The
consequences of colonialism on third world nations have long been apparent, and
colonialism may thus serve as the principal origin in the severe development
differential between the west and the rest. Additionally, colonialism and the impact
it had on the development of third world nations, may serve as a predictor of
the potentially devastating effects volunteer tourism may have on the
development of third world nations, as a result of it’s deep-seated colonialist
nature.
 |
| (Caricature about Africa's Colonization) |
People like to stand on morally high
ground and convince themselves that what they are doing is helping people, and
that they are righteous in doing so, but such assumptions are erroneous; this
is the case with volunteer tourism. Volunteer tourism is motivated by the
belief that it is the west’s moral obligation to stand on an international
stage and be seen as doing something, and as such provides its participants with
the feeling of moral superiority. This belief system is derivative of
colonialism; as the colonists believed it was their “moral duty and/or
obligation” to “educate and rehabilitate” the colonized as they were “unable to
manage and run itself properly, and thus needed the wisdom and expertise of the
colonizer” (bachelor and master, 2014). Both colonizers and volunteer tourists
maintain the same fundamental belief system and justification for their
actions, with development being “portrayed as conscientious western
intervention to save the poor and powerless” (Sutcliffe, 2012). Ergo, just as
the colonizers were under the ideological assumption that their ideals were
superior to those of the colonized, volunteer tourists are also under the
ideological assumption that their western ideals are superior to those living
in third world countries. And just as the colonizers perpetuated their
ideological assumption of European white superiority in their actions
throughout the nation, volunteer tourists perpetuate their ideological
assumption of western superiority with their efforts throughout the third world
nations, thus effectively reviving colonialist thought. Carlos Palacio’s,
author of the “Journal of Sustainable Tourism”, illustrates how volunteer
tourism resembles modern day colonialism when he states, “the Western intention
of helping underlying the development aid goal is humanitarian as much as it is
colonialist” (Palacio’s, 2010). Palacio’s statement accentuates how volunteer
tourism is the revival of colonialist thought. Similarly, Rohan Lea Stitch, PhD
in communications and culture, emphasizes the ignorance associated with the
idea amongst volunteer tourists, which evolved from colonialists, when she
declares, “white people cannot rely on their good intentions in order to know
how their discourse affects others” (Rohan, 2012). This statement demonstrates
how the ignorance of the ideological assumption of Western superiority amongst
volunteer tourists often worsens conditions of the people they are trying to
help. And thus the belief that it is the westerner’s “moral obligation” to
help, only further threatens development in third world countries, just as the
same belief that colonialists maintained thwarted development in these nations,
which ultimately resulted in the development differential from western
countries to third world countries. Therefore Rohan’s statement reinforces how
volunteer tourism is the revival of colonialist thought.
 |
| (Picture depicting colonialist roots of Western Superiority Complex) |
Moreover, volunteer tourism aid
merely provides Band-Aid solutions that cannot be sustained in the long term as
the people of these nations become dependent upon Western aid. Therefore this
assistance is only impeding further development, as they are not learning to
become self-sufficient but rather learning to become dependent on the
assumption that people will always be there to assist and solve their problems
for them. Rohan Stritch emphasizes this point when she states, “volunteer
tourism results in a curtailment of self-sufficiency in communities” (Stritch,
2012). In essence, volunteer tourism revives colonial thought by perpetuating
the ideological assumption of Western superiority throughout third world
nations, just as the colonizers perpetuated the ideological assumption of white
European superiority amongst the colonized. And as a result, volunteer tourism
thwarts present and future development in third world nations by making the
people of these countries depended upon western aid, just as the colonizers
made the colonized dependent upon Western subjugation.
One of the most publicized goals of
volunteer tourists is to empower the people of third world nations; yet such
goals only further harm the citizens of said nations by depriving them the opportunity
of learning to empower themselves. For example, consider an organization that
is building a school for a village using volunteer tourists. By building a
school to empower the citizens of village through education, you are depriving
them of the opportunity of empowering themselves, in a more long-term manner
that allows them to gain self-sufficiency. Not to mention once that school is
built, how are the citizens supposed to receive an education without teachers,
or wages to support those teachers? How are the families supposed to generate
enough income that they are able to spare a child by sending them to school?
How are the graduates supposed to find employment in an unstable country with
the majority of jobs being unskilled manual labor? It is not realistic, and it deprives
the citizens of these countries the opportunities to learn to thrive and
empower themselves on their own. This is another constituent of colonial
thought; that the people in these countries are unable to empower themselves,
and evolve on their own; hence it is “white man’s” responsibility to undergo
this task. The only difference being that “white man” now translates to
“westerner”.
 |
| (empty classroom exemplifying ignorant nature of western ideologies of empowerment) |
After the scramble for Africa,
European colonies dominated 90 percent of African territory, and sought to
“enlighten” and “lift the benighted natives out of their backward ways” through
the acculturation and education of the African peoples (African Age, 2002). Although
it does not specifically state motives of “empowerment”, the notion of the
natives being “benighted” implies a sense of moral and intellectual ignorance
and thus a lack of opportunity to empower themselves. Just as the colonialists
perpetuated ideological assumptions of the superiority of European imperialist
thought, volunteer tourists perpetuate the ideological assumption of the
superiority of western thought by assuming people in third world nations are
incapable of empowerment, and development on their own. And it is again implied
that because volunteer tourists believe that the people of third world nations
are incapable of development and empowerment on their own, it is a direct
result of the ideologies and beliefs that the people of these countries
maintain, therefore reinforcing how volunteer tourism perpetuates the
ideological assumption of the superiority of western thought: and thus acts as
an agent of reviving colonialist thought. And history may serve as an example
in how the perpetuation of such deluded notions of superiority onto another
nation may severely impede present and future development, as demonstrated with
colonialism.
In order for long-term development
to be successful and sustainable, it must originate from the grass root level.
A prime example of this being Eastern and Southern Asia, where most of the
recent success in the world economy is happening, not as a result of some
deluded, arrogant volunteer’s plan to end poverty, but for “homegrown reasons”.
William Easterly, American economist specializing in economic growth and
foreign aid, believes that this is because “ those who know the problems will
be best able to resolve them” (The Rotarian, 2014). Volunteer tourists insist
on “the perpetuation of Westerners‘ uncontested involvement in implementing the
“correct” course of development overseas” (Stritch, 2012), which is colonialist
in nature. This arrogant belief that “our way is the right way” and that “they
can’t do anything without our help” only further validates this ideological
assumption of western superiority that volunteer tourists perpetuate. And how
such an assumption is analogous to that of colonialism. In a research study
conducted by Rohan Stritch, she interview locals in Uganda and India, as to
their opinions of volunteer tourists and found that “locals did not appear to
perceive the programs as significantly empowering their lives, as the
romanticizing perspective of volunteer travel indicates” (Stritch, 2012).
Therefore, it is not to presumptuous to say that these misguided notions of
“empowering people” perpetuate a not to distant colonial thought on the basis
of western superiority. It may seem a cruel approach, but it has been suggested
that if we are to leave third world nations alone, and allow them to be
self-reliant, they will thrive and develop. For if we keep forcing our methods
and ideals onto these countries, history serves as an example to demonstrate
that we are impeding any hope of long-term future development.
 |
| (development projects initiated by community) |
The conditions of poverty and
inequality in third world countries are deplorable, but then again that is a
constituent of what defines a third world nation. So why would we seek to
exacerbate these already horrendous conditions? This is because, despite
evidence that such efforts are not working, these volunteers are under the
impression that these countries need their help: and are thus effectively
reviving colonialist thought by perpetuating the idea of the superiority of
western ideology. Volunteer tourism “tends to reproduce the same global
patterns of inequality and poverty, leaving intact- if not reinforcing- the
dominant position of the North” (Palacio’s, 2010). Note that “North” in this
context is referring to developed countries. Rohan Stritch (2012) further
reinforces the futility and destructiveness on development when she states,
“volunteer tourism has not only failed in its undertakings of development, but
is inherently flawed and has actually perpetuated poverty in many instances”.
It is then reasonable to say that, volunteer tourism is in fact doing more harm
than good, and it is this colonialist viewpoint that is justifying their
actions. Richardo Stanton Salazar, PhD and professor of sociology at the
University of Southern Carolina, emphasizes volunteer tourisms colonialist
nature when he affirms, “The consequences volunteer tourist colonialism are no
less deep-seated or penetrating than the more familiar economic and political
expression of colonialism” (Stritch, 2012). Ultimately volunteer tourism
exacerbates already fragile conditions in third world nations by perpetuating
the ideological assumption of western superiority in their actions and thus
effectively revives colonialist thought.
In summation, volunteer tourism is
in fact impeding current and future development as a result of its colonialist
nature. It provides the volunteers with a sense of entitlement and moral
obligation, beliefs derivative of colonialism, which are making these countries
dependent upon western aid, effectively inhibiting self-sufficiency. Moreover,
it provides its participants with the misguided notion that they are empowering
the people of these countries, when in fact they are depriving them of the opportunity
to empower themselves and develop their own institutions, thus thwarting future
development. Finally, volunteer tourism exacerbates the fragility of third
world nations, thereby preventing future development and reverting current
levels of development. Ultimately, volunteer tourism revives colonial thought
by perpetuating the ideological assumption of Western superiority throughout
third world nations, thereby thwarting present and future development in third
world nations. History goes to show the severity of the destructiveness of
colonialist thought and this serves as a warning of the potentially devastating
effects on third world nations if volunteer tourism is to persist. In
summation, “historicized imperial relations shape the world and our subjectivities,
so that if we do not understand how we are implicated in the perpetuation of
global domination, we are bound to help reproduce it” (Stritch, 2012).
References:
Colonial and
Post Colonial Theory. (2014). Retrieved from Bachelor and Master
website:
http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/criticaltheories/
about-colonial-postcolonial-theory.html
Colonialism.
(2006, May 9). Retrieved June 18, 2014, from Stanford Encyclopedia
of
Philosophy website: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/
The
Colonization of Africa. (2002). Retrieved June 15, 2014, from African Age
website:
http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/
essay-colonization-of-africa.html
Palacios, C. M.
(2010). Volunteer tourism, development and education in a
postcolonial
world: conceiving global connections beyond aid. Journal of
Sustainable
Tourism.
Reid-Henry, S.
(2012, October 22). Alamy [Cartoon]. Retrieved June 18, 2014,
from
The Guardian website: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/
2012/oct/22/resource-extraction-colonialism-legacy-poor-countries
Roots of
Western superiority complex
[Photograph]. (2010, September 4).
Rotarian
Conversation: William Easterly. (2014, May). Retrieved June 13, 2014,
from
The Rotarian website: http://therotarianmagazine.com/
the-rotarian-conversation-william-easterly/
Stritch, R. L.
(2012). Be Sugar in Milk: Local Perspectives on Volunteer Tourism
in
India and Uganda (Unpublished master's thesis). Royal Roads University,
Colwood,
British Columbia.
Sutcliffe, J.
(2012, October 12). A Critical Perspective on Volunteer Tourism
and
Development. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from E-International Relations
website:
http://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/04/
international-citizen-service-a-critical-perspective-on-volunteer-tourism-and-dev
elopment/
