Decolonial Dispatch

We are living in unprecedented times. A time when genocide, daily images of death and trauma are flooding our minds. A time of uncertainty characterised by the state of the world but also our whole environment.This week on Decolonial Dispatch, we speak to Writer, Embodiment Social Justice Facilitator and Author of Tending Grief, Camille Sapara Barton. We explore the concept of embodied decolonisation, a practice centred on repairing the disconnect between our minds, bodies, and the land we inhabit; Somatics and how we need to learn what rest feels like; and practicing emotional hygiene and what it means to not bypass the body’s limitations.The title of this episode is inspired by Audre Lorde quote “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”Subscribe to our newsletter: https://decolonialcentre.org/subscribe/Contribute to and/or Explore our Encyclopaedia: www.decolonialcentre.org/encyclopedia Follow us for more stories Instagram: @thedecolonialcentre Twitter/X: @decolonialcntr Website: www.decolonialcentre.org

Who controls the cameras on our streets? Who is harmed from policing by algorithm in a fair society? With the rollout of AI facial recognition technology across the UK, citizens face a massive experiment that treats us like Guinea pigs. Police vans and fixed CCTV cameras are scanning thousands of faces. Cases of misidentification, like that of Shaun Thomson. We speak to Jasleen Chaggar, legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch, to understand the history of these tools.Contribute to and/or Explore our Encyclopedia: www.decolonialcentre.org/encyclopediaFollow us for more storiesInstagram: @thedecolonialcentreTwitter/X: @decolonialcntrWebsite: www.decolonialcentre.org

It has been 66 years since the U.S. imposed embargo on Cuba. This is the most comprehensive blockade imposed on any country in the world. Cuba is excluded from international financial systems and any trade of goods. The UN general assembly has condemned the blockade more than 33 times. This week's episode of Decolonial Dispatch w/Bernard Regan, Secretary of The Cuba Solidarity Campaign in London. We speak about the blocade, Cuba's wider political history and the country's contemporary political systems. Episode link in bio

In this episode of Decolonial Dispatch, host Mohammed speaks with Benny Wenda, leader of the ULMWP and the Provisional Government of West Papua, to discuss the West Papuan struggle against Indonesian occupation. The conversation begins by contextualising the recent Indonesian protests against the ruling elite as a parallel decolonial struggle against a "dying empire". Benny recounts his harrowing personal history, from witnessing the 1977 massacres and surviving in the bush as a child to the deep-seated racism he faced in the Indonesian education system. They explore the "Papuan Spring" following Suharto's collapse, the assassination of independence leaders like Theys Eluay, and how the new generation has utilised technology to bypass censorship and lose their fear. The episode concludes with Benny's "Green State Vision," the intersection of slow genocide with corporate ecocide, and a direct call for a global boycott of products fuelling the destruction of West Papuan land.

Who profits from oil in Venezuela? And who should? With what was once one of the world's most productive oil basins, Venezuela's resource rich landscape made it one of the wealthiest country's in Latin America. But the petrostate has suffered in recent years, becoming a nation in crisis. One in five people have left due to political and economic instability under President Nicolas Maduro and sanctions ordered by Trump. Venezuela has been described as a failed state. But with the US army kidnapping Maduro, and US imperial ambitions, we speak to Global Witness to understand - failed by whom? And for whose benefit?

The collapse of the Iranian Regime doesn't necessarily mean justice. We're trying to find out who on the ground is trying to replace the regime with a vision for all of Iran's peoples that is pro democratic, anti-monarchist, anti-imperialist, and represents the aspirations of Iran's popular forces. Is the Iranian Regime Collapsing? This might be wishful thinking.. But if so, what will replace it?