The long-awaited death of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II has brought mixed reactions from many people in different parts of the world and all walks of life.
An overwhelming majority of those who come from a place of privilege are mourning her death, while millions of people that were oppressed and colonized by the British are celebrating.
The Chairperson of Inyanda Institute, Duduzile Tshabalala-Dhlamini, says South Africans must remain cognizant of the severe impact and devastation that has been the status quo since 1795 when the British arrived in our shores and compounded an already exhausting problem that was initiated by colonizers of Dutch-descent.
“We remember all victims of British savagery and barbarism in the last 227 years,” she said in a statement.
Tshabalala-Dhlamini stated that on behalf of Inyanda Institute and South African natives, she remains indifferent to the news of the queen’s passing.
“Our nonchalance is driven by the pain of knowing that the lives of our ancestors were turned upside down and ruined forever. Colonialism and imperial conquest has forced itself on every structure of our society.
“Through the London Missionary Society, its colonial army and other backhanded methods, the institution of the British Royal House successfully managed to impose itself on the natives.
“It is reported that half of the world’s gold was mined here in South Africa, and it is well documented that the biggest diamond that the queen used to wear was mined in Cullinan, Pretoria,” her statement read.
According to Utsa Patnaik, drawing from data collated between 1765 and 1938, Britain stole nearly $45 trillion from India.
The monarchy also owes Africa approximately $11.9 trn, Jamaica at least $3 trn, and the rest of the Caribbean roughly $9.7 trn in reparations.
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