A Decolonial View

By Philemon Arens

The article that sparked my interest in the topic of my Master’s thesis deals with the idea of decolonial justice and the reparations proposed by the CARICOM Reparations Justice Program. The need for a decolonial justice approach is crucial, as the conceptualization of justice stems from a European epistemology created to justify colonial crimes. However, an honest conversation in a postcolonial context can only be held when the repressive system is abandoned. “Hence, to repair means to restore not only the legal dignity of the subject but to recognize the Other as equal” (Atiles-Osoria 2018: 364). A central notion is that “justice operates through recognition, generosity, and the ability to feel for/with the Other” (ibid., 350).

This idea is connected to Kora Andrieu’s outline of apologies: “the acknowledgment of a wrongdoing, the acceptance of one’s responsibility, and the expression of sorrow and regret for it” (2009: 5) with the aim of forgiveness. This can also be problematic when self-redemption becomes more critical than the role and voice of the victims (e.g., Czollek 2023). Andrieu touches upon this issue with the example of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), whose focus lay on “restoration and forgiveness,” pressuring victims to forgive (2009: 7). The TRC emphasized convincing victims to grant forgiveness, thereby granting amnesty to the perpetrators.(Bevernage 2011: 53).

Andrieu argues that reconciliation results from several factors such as “criminal justice policies, truth commissions, reparations, and reforms” (2009: 8). She points toward the power of apologies, when done properly, not to close the book but rather to open the conversation (ibid., 13). This aligns with the change in the power paradigm where the victim is now at the center and the perpetrator is at the margin (ibid.: 16-17). This connects to the idea that the non-beings are lifted from that realm into the seen, drawing on Fanon, Césaire, and Maldonado-Torres (Atiles-Osoria 2018: 350).

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission has also been criticized by notable scholars such as Jacques Derrida, who stated that the TRC could transform into a tool for “exercise in forgetting” (Bevernage 2011: 48), thus hindering a conversation about the past or opening a space for mourning. It can go so far as to exclude victims from the “new South Africa” if they are unwilling to forgive, blaming them for hindering the rebuilding of the nation (ibid.: 60), thus leaving almost no space for recognition of hurt or reparations.

References

Andrieu, Kora (2009) Sorry for the Genocide: How Public Apologies can help Promote National Reconciliation. In: Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 38(1) pp 3-23.

Atiles-Osoria, José (2018) Colonial state crimes and the CARICOM mobilization for reparation and justice. In: State Crimes 7(4), pp: 349-368.

Bevernage, Berber (2011) History, Memory, and State-Sponsored Violence: Time and Justice. London: Taylor & Francis Group.

Czollek, Max (2023) Versöhnungstheater. Munich: Carl Hanser Verlag.