Cymuned against Colonisation
Colonization, Colonialism and Anti-colonialism
– the ethical basis for “Cymuned”.
March 16th, 2006
Tim Webb moved to Wales from England in 1975, learnt Welsh and now lives in Bethesda, a Welsh-speaking community in Gwynedd. He has been active in community language politics for many years and was one of the authors of the Welsh Language Society’s policy document on a Property Act. The Act advocated that the housing stock in Wales ought to be accountable to community need rather than capitalist speculation. In the discussion paper below, he discusses the theoretical background to Cymuned in terms of anti-colonialism and anti-colonization.
The Background
When I first came to live in Wales in 1975, large areas of the country were solidly Welsh-speaking. I have seen Welsh-speaking communities being increasingly eroded over the last 27 years, and there is no doubt in my mind that the main reason for this is colonization.
In-migration and colonization – what is the difference?
The main problem is colonization, not in-migration. There is nothing wrong with in- migration as such. There has always been some migration into Wales (like other countries) for various reasons, as the surnames of many Welsh-speakers testify. In-migration can enrich a language, culture, communities and nation, as long as migrants are absorbed into the native language and culture whilst adding to them and enriching them. Colonization, on the other hand, destroys and replaces languages, cultures, communities and nations rather than enriching them.
However, in-migration can turn into colonization due to three factors (or a combination of them):
(a) If incomers have a negative attitude to the native language and culture, and don’t want to be absorbed. This can be a deliberate policy (as in North and South America, Australia, Africa etc.), or the result of ignorance and prejudice on the part of incomers (underlain by the ideology of colonialism – see below). Such attitudes are particularly likely if incomers are from a comparatively powerful, rich and populous country with a strong and confident language and culture (e.g. English), whilst the natives are less powerful, poorer, less numerous and lacking confidence, and their language and culture are weak and/or of low status (e.g. Welsh). For example, a B.B.C. survey carried out in 2001 indicated that 66% of non-Welsh speaking incomers to Welsh-speaking areas do not feel under any obligation to learn Welsh.
(b) Even if attitudes are positive, in-migration becomes colonization if communities (especially in thinly-populated rural areas) receive incomers in greater numbers than can be absorbed. For example, it has been shown that in schools, the language of play changes when the proportion of native Welsh-speakers falls much below 70%. This means that incomers assimilate the natives, and communities change their language and character (especially if natives are out-migrating at same time).
(c) If the natives are forced out of their communities and land. This can of course happen by killing/genocide or by eviction/ethnic cleansing (e.g North and South America, the ‘plantations’ in Ireland, Armenia, Bosnia, Kosovo); but in Wales it is being done by raising house prices and rents out of reach of the natives, and also by the economy being mismanaged in such a way that there is no suitable work for many of them.
All three of these factors – negative attitudes, numbers too great, pushing the natives out – are in operation in Welsh-speaking areas of Wales today. This shows clearly that colonization is taking place, and as a result, Welsh-speaking communities and the Welsh language, culture and identity are in a struggle for their very existence.
(Although plenty of Welsh people migrate to England, they do no colonize: they do not refuse to learn and speak English; they do not settle in such large numbers that they absorb the natives; and they do not raise house prices and push the natives out. They are immigrants, not colonists.)
What’s wrong with colonization?
Isn’t it inevitable that non Welsh-speakers will colonize rural Wales, and that the natives will be anglicized or move away? Are we not creating unnecessary friction and bad-feeling by opposing this?
On the contrary, it seems to me that we all have a duty to oppose colonization, for two reasons:
(a) These rural and semi-rural areas are the only places where Welsh is the majority language and the natural language of the community. Without them, Welsh will be a minority language everywhere, and will have no future; it may be gaining ground in the south-east, but these gains will not last without the ‘Heartlands’ as an anchor.
(b) What is happening is fundamentally unjust. Colonization is immoral – it is a form of theft – stealing a language, culture, community, land, country and identity not only from individuals but from a people and nation. Its end result is ethnocide, the destruction of a nation, which is a crime not only against that nation but against humanity, since it destroys part of the heritage of everyone in the world.
Ideology – Colonialism and Anti-colonialism
Colonization is not a natural and inevitable historical process, but is the result of an ideology – Colonialism. This is the ideology which claims that some nations, languages and cultures are superior to others, thereby giving them the right to colonize the territory of ‘inferior’ nations. (Colonialism is often closely linked to racism, since most colonizers have been white and most colonized people outside Europe black.)
However, there is an alternative ideology, namely the opposite to colonialism – anti-colonialism. This is the ideology which states that all nations, languages, cultures (and races) are equal; and that every nation has right to exist in its own communities and territory without being colonized by others. (Anti-colonialism is therefore also anti-racist).
This is not a conflict between two nations, Welsh and English, but between two ideologies – colonialism and anti-colonialism. It is a matter of principle, whatever our origin or native language; and it is not just about Wales, but about basic justice for all ethnic groups and nations facing colonialism and colonization.
Is Anti-colonialism racist?
No, it is not, for two reasons:
(a) Although the word race is often used loosely to mean a nation or ethnic, cultural or linguistic group, it is more correctly used to mean a group of people distinguished by their physical characteristics (especially skin colour). Race on the one hand and nationality/ethnic group on the other are not the same: it is possible to adopt a new language and culture, but it is not possible to change the colour of your skin. There is no racial difference between white Welsh people (whether Welsh-speaking or therwise) and white English people; the difference is linguistic and cultural, not racial (that is, you cannot tell the difference by looking at them).
(b) Racism is a form of oppression which discriminates on the basis of race (i.e. physical characteristics) rather than (or in addition to) on the basis of nationality, language and culture, and is founded on the idea that white people are superior to others. Racism and colonialism tend to go hand-in-hand, because white people have colonized (and are still colonizing) the countries of black people. Opposing such colonization is not racist but Anti-racist and Anti-colonialist; and the same applies in Wales.
(I am not saying that there is no racism in Wales; if white Welsh people, Welsh-speaking or otherwise, or white English people or anyone else, oppress people of any language or nationality on the basis of their skin colour, that is racism. But it is totally incorrect to describe opposition to colonization, or colonization itself, nor animosity, prejudice or even hatred towards either Welsh or English – however unacceptable – as racism.)
Is Anti-colonialism anti-English?
No, it is not. Anti-colonialism respects all nations and considers them equal, but maintains that no nation has the right to colonize another’s land; it is therefore pro-Welsh and also pro-English. Colonialism on the other hand is not only anti-Welsh but also anti-English, because:
(a) Colonization is a crime against another nation and against humanity, and like all crimes, it demeans and harms the offender. Colonization has demeaned the English nation for centuries and is still doing so. Those who support, encourage and justify colonization are therefore demeaning and doing great harm to England and the English people.
(b) Many English people and people of English origin are not and do not want to be colonists or colonialists. Colonialism, and those who encourage and support colonization, are not only an insult to non-colonialist English people (like myself); they also discredit and shame the whole English nation. Colonialists are anti-English (as well as anti-Welsh).
Conclusion
Defending Welsh-speaking communities against colonization and colonialism is ethically correct and the moral duty of all those who care about justice and fairness, whatever their origin or native language.