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Haiti in a World of Neocolonialism and Imperialism
When I visited the British Museum and the Tower of London (home to the Crown Jewels) when I was in seventh and later eighth grade, I was confused. I saw artifacts, diamonds, books, and weapons from all corners of the world, concentrated under two roofs. And, even in my middle school mind, with little international political understanding, I asked myself and my family one question: “So when are all of these things being returned?”
In the nearly seven years since that first visit to the British Museum, I’ve grown to understand and develop what I feel like is a more thorough perspective on how these items came to the UK. All of the theft and exploitation for circumstances I didn’t quite understand were so obvious to me then. I saw all of this history, this culture, even human beings themselves, on display for the west to see what pillaging had taken place. Growing up, I never understood how dire and how challenging conditions were in Ethiopia even when my grandparents remained repeatedly proud of “never having been colonized.” But what I knew was that the vision for Ethiopia and Eritrea that were truly independent and could truly serve their citizens were non-existent in the world we live in today.
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