The crisis in Zimbabwe gained some significant international attention, and in the British House of Lords, the topic of Zimbabwe came up. And as it came up, one British Lord, Adrian Palmer, suggested the recolonization of Zimbabwe, much to the amusement of fellow lords in the house.
The suggestion of colonizing Zimbabwe again to end the crisis in the country was met with laughter, but carried serious insensitive overtones. The remark is simply unacceptable and should not be tolerated for a bit.
Lord Adrian Palmer asked the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations Tariq Mahmood Ahmad if he had "considered the idea of recolonizing Zimbabwe. It’s tragic to see what’s going on."
Lord Ahmad replied that he had not considered this on a personal level. "I have to be very honest as I always am, that is not an option I have personally considered."
While this may have provided some comic relief in the House of Lords, it is utterly absurd, and calls for colonization in this age are just so primitive, as they should never be tolerated at all. Colonialism wreaked havoc in Africa and destroyed the Africans in all ways one can possibly imagine.
It is this imperialistic notion which should not be given any space whatsoever. In any case, foreign intervention to African problems has proven to be catastrophic and extremely disastrous. Take for instance Libya. Foreign intervention never proffered any lasting solution there, but brought more chaos.
Africa should look for solutions on its own, and eschew foreign intervention. Colonialism is heavily deplorable, and one must never forget the negative consequences that were brought on Africa while the European countries benefited from exploiting Africa.
Zimbabwe is in a grave predicament. Life in Zimbabwe is hard and almost unbearable right now. But to ask for recolonization? That's just absurd!
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