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[Opening Scene — slow drums, map of Africa fading into images of London, Paris, and New York.]
KELVIN JASI (Voiceover):
Colonialism — it’s often spoken of as something that ended. Something trapped in old textbooks and black-and-white photographs. But what if I told you colonialism never truly died — it simply changed its face?
Today, it’s no longer about flags, guns, or governors. It’s about money, debt, data, and control.
This… is how colonialism still shapes the modern world.
1. The Economic Chains of the Past
When European powers “left” Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, they didn’t walk away empty-handed.
They took wealth — gold, diamonds, cotton, and labor — and in return, left poverty and dependency.
The modern world’s wealth distribution still mirrors the old colonial map:
The Global North manufactures, the Global South supplies.
We still send raw materials to the same ports that once shipped slaves and sugar.
Every iPhone, diamond ring, or bar of chocolate tells a story of colonial continuity — from Congolese cobalt mines to Ivory Coast cocoa farms.
2. Colonial Borders and Endless Conflict
Most African and Asian nations were carved up in European boardrooms — not by local consent.
The Berlin Conference of 1884 drew lines that ignored tribes, languages, and histories.
Those same borders still fuel wars, coups, and refugee crises today.
The lines remain, even though the empires that drew them are gone.
3. The Debt Trap
Colonial masters used taxes and forced labor; today, they use debt.
Through institutions like the IMF and World Bank, former colonies are kept in cycles of repayment.
Billions flow out of Africa every year — not as tribute, but as “loan repayments.”
The irony?
Much of that money was borrowed to rebuild after colonial damage — yet it keeps us enslaved to interest rates and conditional “aid.”
4. Control Through Trade
Even our trade systems are colonial.
Most African nations still depend on exporting cheap raw materials while importing expensive finished goods.
When Ghana ships cocoa and buys back chocolate, or when Zambia exports copper and imports electric wires — that’s not free trade.
That’s colonial economics in disguise.
5. The Power of Language and Culture
The colonizer’s language — English, French, Portuguese — still defines power.
It determines who gets a job, who gets heard, and who writes history.
Our education systems still glorify Shakespeare and Napoleon but barely mention Sundiata Keita, Nehanda, or Mansa Musa.
Even religion and media remain filtered through Western narratives, shaping how we see ourselves and our ancestors.
6. Neocolonialism: The New Masters
Kwame Nkrumah once warned: “Neocolonialism is the last stage of imperialism.”
Today, foreign corporations own our mines, our land, and even our data.
Chinese, American, and European firms extract wealth — while locals remain spectators.
Our presidents may wave the national flag, but the real power sits in foreign boardrooms.
7. Military and Political Influence
The colonial armies are gone, but the bases remain.
From U.S. AFRICOM to French forces in West Africa, military presence ensures that the old hierarchy stays intact.
When leaders resist — like Gaddafi or Thomas Sankara — they are isolated, overthrown, or eliminated.
8. The Media Empire
Colonial control of information never ended — it evolved.
Global media still portrays Africa as a continent of crisis and corruption.
Images of poverty, war, and wildlife dominate — while innovation, culture, and resistance remain invisible.
The narrative still belongs to the colonizer.
That’s why platforms like Yekare History exist — to retell the story from our perspective.
9. The Environmental Cost
Colonialism extracted human labor; now it extracts nature.
Oil in Nigeria, gold in Ghana, forests in the Congo — all feeding industries abroad.
Africa bears the environmental cost of global consumption while being blamed for the climate crisis it didn’t cause.
10. The Awakening
But here’s the hope — the world is waking up.
A new generation of Africans, Asians, and Latin Americans are questioning the system.
They’re reclaiming history, rewriting curriculums, and demanding fair trade and reparations.
Digital platforms, blockchain, and regional trade pacts like AfCFTA are giving the Global South a new voice.
Colonialism still shapes the world — but we are learning to reshape it back.
KELVIN JASI (On Camera):
History isn’t just about the past — it’s about power in the present.
And if we understand how colonialism still defines our world, we can finally reclaim our future.
Before you go — visit the Yekare History Shop (link in the description).
Explore African-inspired apparel, accessories, and home décor that celebrate who we are — bold, uncolonized, and proud.
Subscribe to Yekare History, where Africa tells her story — not through their eyes, but through ours.