Vol. 3 (1) Jul. 2021
Article ID. JHSSR-1098-2021
The Wretched of the Earth
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Introduction
Frantz Fanon’s manifesto on de-colonization made him the leading anti-colonialist thinker of the twentieth century. Written at the peak of the Algerian war for independence from French colonial rule. It is based upon his observation and experience in Algeria. He analyses the role of class, race, national culture and violence in the struggle for freedom. Fanon, who himself was a psychiatrist, makes clear the socio-economic and psychological degradation inflicted by the imperialism. Showing how decolonization must be united with building a national culture, this passionate and blazing relation between the West and the Third World is still illuminating about the world today. Thus, Fanon put forth the guidelines that characterize the decolonization and revolution.
In the chapter “Concerning Violence” Fanon says that “for National Liberation decolonization is always a violent phenomenon” (Fanon, p. 33). Any resistance against the colonizer must be violent in nature because it is the only “language” the colonizer speaks. Thus, violent resistance is a necessity imposed by the colonists upon the colonizer. Decolonization is also the process of replacing a ‘species of men by another species of men’ (Fanon, p. 33). Being a Marxist humanist he argues that decolonization sets out to change the world order completely not by a magical or natural shock but by the meeting of two forces opposed to each other by their very nature i.e. the oppressor and the oppressed (Fanon, p. 35).
Decolonization never takes place unnoticed; for it influences individuals and modifies them fundamentally it transforms spectators into privileged actors (Fanon, p. 35). In his understanding of decolonization, if the principle “The last shall be the first and the first last” is executed all decolonization will be successful (Fanon, p. 36). This can be accomplished by using all means including greater violence.
The main argument found throughout the work revolves around the violence in the struggle for liberation. Fanon’s idea of violence is that, it is the force only which can meet force, colonialism is held in place by the policemen and the soldiers, who are the official spokesperson of the settlers and their rule of oppression (Fanon, p. 37). Besides, the coup of nations by the European countries was a violent phenomenon that tried to destroy the ways of life of the indigenous people, their spirit and cultures. Hence, from its inception and in its maintenance colonialism is violent.
Fanon further argues that, the European humanism and values of enlightenment are nothing but a paradox, as the principle of equality of all men remained limited to white European men. While explaining the dehumanization of natives by the settlers, Fanon draws parallel between the capitalist societies and the native societies. “He says that the settlers’ town was a strongly built town, made of stones and steel and was charming like the bride, the settlers’ feet were never visible, they were protected by strong shoes though the streets of their town were clean and no holes or stones were found. It was a town of white people of foreigners”. Whereas, the town that belonged to native was a place ill famed, inhabited by men of evil repute. It was world of little space, where men lived on top of each other and their huts were built one on top of the other. “The native town was a hungry town, starved of bread, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of light. It was a town of niggers and dirty Arabs” (Fanon, p. 38).
As a result the colonizer leaves no stone unturned in making the conditions of the natives more wretched. The colonizer dehumanizes the native to such an extent that whenever they mention the natives, they decry them with the zoological terms like bestiary, spawn swarm etc.
According to Fanon, the violence which had ruled over the ordering of the colonial world, had ceaselessly caused the rhythm for the destruction of the native social forms and structures and had broken up without reserving the system of reference of the economy, the customs of dress and external life. But once the natives become conscious enough and decide to write their history according to their own will, they would adopt the same method of violence to overthrow the colonizers.
In the chapter “Colonial War and Mental Disorders” Fanon gives a series of cases related to mental disorder, resulted from the colonial occupation and war for liberation. The level of violence experienced by the Algerian–militants and civilians resulted in the psychosomatic disorders like insomnia, schizophrenia, insecurity, anxiety, phantasm, chimera etc. (Fanon, p. 253). The considerable number of people complained of sleepless nights, those who slept dreamt of bloodbath. Fanon further writes that “when a native is tortured, when his wife is murdered or raped he complains to none. The oppressor’s government can set up commissions of inquiry but in the eyes of native, these commissions do not exist” (Fanon, p. 255). As the world had never witnessed a case where the native had been treated according to the justifiable principles, in this context the native never expects justice from the ruthless colonizer.
According to Fanon, the way forward for post-colonial independent states in Africa and elsewhere is for the native intellectuals and native population to evolve a model of development suited to their socio-cultural and economic realities. In which, there exists the respect for their local language, race, culture and territory. He also warned that an imitation of the European model was bound to be disastrous and urged Algerian people to accept and be assertive in their originality (Fanon, p. 312). The emulation of the European model would further put the native population into deep slumber where it will be impossible for them to come out of it. So better is to evolve a model which fits their needs and aspirations.