The sudden departure of foreign, mostly white, development staff from Pacific countries in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, created a ‘natural experiment’ where local staff continued to work but without the accompaniment (and oversight) of their foreign counterparts.
In a new paper published in Third World Quarterly, Yeshe Smith, Research Fellow Aidan Craney and Director Chris Roche reflect on evidence from the lived experiences of 12 experienced local development staff during this time. They detail how the absence of foreign staff led to increased opportunities for local staff, greater cultural sensitivity and relativity in the workplace, and the successful on-going operations of programs left in the hands of local workers.
They position these experiences in relation to broader issues of racism, neo/colonialism and the centring of whiteness in the development industry to highlight the on-going structures that inhibit black and brown colleagues, and to provoke white development actors to work to redress on-going injustices in the industry.
They specifically recommend white development actors openly discuss racism in the industry, enhance their knowledge of local cultures and politics, and work to cede space to local staff.
Read the paper.
