It has become increasingly “trendy” to refer to ourselves as global citizens, but do we really embody the responsibilities that come with that title? Do we even know what it really means to be a global citizen? Before this course, I thought I was a global citizen: simply someone that cared about the rights and dignity of all people and advocated for human rights to be upheld. However, this is only scratching the surface of what it means to be a global citizen. Being a global citizen is rooted in ACTION, not beliefs. I had a great BELIEF system that involved me advocating for disenfranchising power structures to be taken down. However, I never had any ACTION behind it. Being a global citizen not only involves being a humanitarian (donating to charities, helping those with depleted resources, etc.) But it also involves making humanitarianism actually WORK. The humanitarian aid sector has become awash of white savior complexes and people joining as part of a trend or trying to “find themselves.” This results in the affected communities needs not being met, and the prolonging of suffering. What needs to be done to be a true GLOBAL citizen, is for us to toss our preconceived ideas of right and wrong out the window and listen to HEAR the needs and concerns of this entirely different culture, religion, race of people.
Many of the issues that create the White Savior Complex have to do with the issue of neoliberalism. The conflict theory perspective explains how the rush for resources and the winner-loser system we have in America fosters an environment where true global citizenship cannot exist. Wealth is unevenly distributed, favoring the rich, and that extends globally as the rich countries increase their wealth while poor nations often maintain or delve deeper into poverty. This does not only exist in America, this exists GLOBALLY.
So what can we do to fix or even work around these barriers to global citizenship? How can we usurp the White Savior Complex? In the case of the humanitarian aid sector, one suggestion I would make would be to really re-shape the way in which aid workers enter communities. This might not seem important, but from our Skype guests and our readings in the class, I’ve come to understand that a certain level of cultural congruence is necessary for the affected community to trust the aid workers. And trust is far more important than many of us realize when it comes to global citizenship. In this class we have talked a lot about maintaining the dignity of the affected community, and I feel that establishing trust from the beginning when the aid organizations first enter the area, is essential to the dignity of the vulnerable population. In order to do this, I think NGO’s and INGO’s should have a contact within the group who can help to assimilate them into the culture and help them build relationships with the members of the community. Another important suggestion would be to consult the affected communities during every step of the aid process, from determining the location of the health clinic to deciding the types of medicines offered. They should not simply be NOTIFIED, they should be CONSULTED (i.e. asked for their opinion) which would not only maximize trust and dignity but also make for a much more effective and productive use of the donors’ money. In order for aid to be successful it must be in line with the communities wants and needs. This is a concept that is grossly missed in the aid community and it is one that someone with White Savior Complex has yet to understand. I want to be clear that White Savior Complex is not simply reserved for those who are evil or racist. People can be products of White Savior Complex due to a simple lack of understanding or an eagerness to help others so much so that you are telling them what would be good for them.
Now that I have talked about what it means to be a global citizen as it pertains to humanitarian aid work, I want to briefly applies these sociological theories to the everyday person who is not a humanitarian aid worker. How can we be global citizens in our everyday lives? The answer is really simple. As David Jefferess puts it, “Global citizenship is a way of understanding one’s place in the world, and valuing differences.” My interpretation of that quote is essentially understanding that we are all responsible for the well being of each other. When we can breakout of our ethnocentric, symbolic interactionist lens & understand that each of our places on this earth is distinctly different but equally valuable, we will suddenly find it easy to find day to day, simple ways to fulfill the humanitarian imperative & be a global citizen.