La carga del hombre blanco o cómo descolonizar la ayuda humanitaria

The Burden of the White Man or How to Decolonize Humanitarian Aid

En vista de las crecientes críticas que ha enfrentado el sector humanitario internacional sobre el legado colonial que aún perdura y moldea el sistema humanitario, existe una necesidad por proponer un cambio estructural que ponga en el centro de la respuesta a las personas afectadas involucrándolas en el proceso, y respetando sus conocimientos y prácticas. En este artículo se hace una revisión crítica de la acción humanitaria, a partir de la teoría crítica y el pensamiento descolonial, concluyendo que el sector no está respondiendo a las necesidades reales de las personas, causando daño no sólo a las poblaciones afectadas sino también al mismo personal humanitario. La experiencia latinoamericana nos sugiere que es posible —y necesario— trabajar de la mano con la población en una respuesta coordinada y contextualizada donde el personal humanitario sirva como apoyo para fortalecer capacidades y recursos ya existentes.

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