Last year I watched the film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune about a boy named Paul who tries to protect the desert planet of Arrakis, its inhabitants, referred to as Fremen, and its valuable spice reserves from brutal Harkonnen rule. If you are like me and did not read the book you too were surprised by the amount of worldbuilding reminiscent of Islamic or Arab traditions. Ironically however, none of the main actors portray Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) or Muslim backgrounds; rather, the protagonist communicated as meant to rescue Arrakis’ largely colored Fremen population turns out to be a white male. While Dune and its characters reside in the fictitious realm the storyline is one replicated far too often in the real world.
What Teju Cole calls the “White Savior Industrial Complex” refers to the harmful effects of prioritizing minute activism in developing nations that provides a cathartic release for industrialized people over tackling the root of systemic issues stemming from institutions in developed societies. Despite initial goals to make a positive difference, inklings of an underlying superiority dating back to the beginning of Western imperialism of the Global South seep through. Times of crisis in third world countries, or even disaster-ridden cities in the U.S., find caravans of privileged citizens rushing to “fix it” with immediate solutions to deep-rooted problems requiring long-term labor to upend. Trips to Latin America, Africa, or the Middle East are treated as self-reflective journeys under the guise of aid. Morality then becomes a racialized act wherein whites play the heroine rescuing nonwhite folks from themselves. Yet, no one questions how the whites know the land better than its natives?
What ensues is a cycle of hegemonic practices instituted by whites to which white knights in shining armor come to save BIPOC victims from injustice followed by self-righteousness and praise awarded to saviors for their nobility. Cole imagines one revolution of this trend completing in a day in which “[the] White savior supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening.” Meanwhile, the efforts of marginalized groups are ignored and their input dismissed. Discussions regarding matters that concern oppressed communities are void of their opinion. Outsiders to the Western world are deemed just that - outsiders or the “Other” - too helpless to fend for themselves, mere props meant to center the main character delivering relief when in actuality, pivotal foundational groundwork is the doings of those meant to be served. This fervor cannot be seen clearer than in contemporary time’s female Iranian high schoolers fighting for the right to choose whether or not to wear a headscarf under an oppressive regime. All over social media videos circulate showing youth cutting their hair and marching out of class with no help from an American who just got off a flight to “do some good.”
As a Muslim woman in the United States who is easily identifiable by my hijab I am constantly having to navigate the seemingly well-intentioned reassurances prominently given to me by white females speaking from what they deem to be a feminist approach. “Sweetie, you can take it off if you want.” “Why is it that you have to pray behind the men?” “Are you being forced to cover that beautiful body underneath?” It is as if living a lifestyle abnormal to Westerners strips all agency from those engaged. Contrary to common belief, leaving one’s autonomy in the hands of an external party claiming pure service is not liberating despite the owner of those hands citing a vulnerable circumstance as justification. Embedded within “saving” underserved populations is the desire to control the narrative resulting in erasure of experiential voices and any dignity afforded to them.
The urge to do good with one’s advantages is a respectable endeavor and understandable moral obligation internalized by Westerners. Ergo, I am not here to imply that humanitarian work is deceitful solely based on the skin color of volunteers. Simply being an American raises my own chances of falling into similar traps of positioning those overseas as passive, defenseless, and in need of “civilized” guidance. What I do want to bring attention to is the entitled assumption that being removed from a situation equates to objectively knowing better and the failure to consult disadvantaged people when interceding and respecting their struggle to retain some form of self-governance amidst unjust reign while trying to improve their own situations. Displaced peoples and asylum-seekers are not an opportunity to feed one’s ego and degrade their homelands to only the negatives of their condition.
So what do we do? How do we avoid perpetuating a damaging pattern of supremacy in humanitarian work? The first step is to take a step back and listen. Realize that helpers are not the center of the story but side characters in amplifying disenfranchised individuals in their space which you are entering. Ask yourself if you are here for some personal emotional experience fueled by voluntourism or to meet the real needs of the people. Just because these communities can benefit from your aid does not invalidate the specificities of their wants. Second, and most importantly, is to go beyond the performative photo op activism to toppling systematic corruption historically present around the globe. We are not innocent protectors upon arrival in places plagued with hardship. Many of the push factors forcing families to flee can be traced back to foreign policies in action as a result of voting done within this country. Delving into the problematics ingrained within systems of education, infrastructure, and healthcare that directly impact migrant and refugee communities in the US and abroad must be transformed to ensure true safety and comfort. Radical change in place of selfies and superficialities is what really satisfies that itch to make a difference.
Bibliography
Cole, Teju. “The White-Savior Industrial Complex.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 6 June 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-co mplex/254843/.
Gómez, Edwin. “‘White-Savior Industrial Complex’ in Leisure Studies: A Response to Anderson, Knee, & Mowatt.” Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 52, no. 5, 2021, pp. 557–560., https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2020.1854558.
Róisín, Fariha. “Hollywood's Love of White Saviors Is Modern-Day Colonialism at Its Worst.” Teen Vogue, Teen Vogue, 14 Sept. 2017, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hollywoods-white-savior-obsession-colonialism.