Volunteer Tourism by Melissa H

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:

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Roots of Western superiority complex [Photograph]. (2010, September 4).

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     the-rotarian-conversation-william-easterly/

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