Deleting the past is one of the main objectives of many populations. By doing this, they guarantee a calculated future that suits their purposes. History is written by the winners, replacing what really happened with a fictitious reality; but to achieve this, first the evidence must be cleansed, and aberrant acts must be committed, such as exterminating ethnic groups.
The bodies of 215 indigenous children found in the grounds of a school in Canada demonstrate how limits are crossed to silence and mold situations to the convenience of whoever has the power at the time.
The series ‘Anne with an E’ explored the issue, but unfortunately it was cancelled before the story was fully developed. However, it succeeded in raising a strong denunciation of these schools that used the vulnerability of indigenous children to abuse them.
The mentality divided between evil and good has forced us to label people and situations according to our teachings. And the need to fit in has allowed ideas of superior races to predominate. No one wants to be left out; to belong, it is better to pretend.
Recently, the president of Argentina made an unfortunate comment when he tried to quote, erroneously, the writer Octavio Paz. “Mexicans came from the indigenous people, Brazilians came out of the jungle, and we Argentines arrived from the ships, from Europe,” said President Alberto Fernández, which earned him a great deal of criticism.
This concept of European Argentina is a deeply rooted mentality in the South American country, where a large part of its population does not accept the indigenous and African heritage. When I traveled to Argentina a few years ago, a cab driver made a comment to me with the same idea: “You Venezuelans are indigenous, that’s why you have that color, we Argentines are Europeans”.
The comment showed me how deeply ingrained the thought I had already heard was: according to them, there was practically no inter-racial mixing in their territory. At some point in their history, they modified events to ignore their origins and whiten their population.
The cab driver’s skin color was much darker than mine. I wondered if these deep-rooted assumptions cloud our perception and our vision. Some claim that racism is a disease of the mind; these thoughts can even alter the way we look at ourselves and how we see others. Is what we see real, or is it part of what we invent in our minds?
Racism is present in all corners of the world, but in some places it is much more noticeable. For us Venezuelans, we know that we descend from indigenous people, Spaniards and Africans. Later in history, another wave of migration brought people from all over Europe and Latin America. Being Venezuelan means, in a generalized way, the acceptance and pride of mixed blood; but obviously not everyone shares this point of view.
In Argentina, museum workers told me about the terrible past of the indigenous populations; today very few survive in remote parts of the region. In those territories, some indigenous people were exhibited in a sort of zoo where those privileged, by their culture and race, paid to see these ‘strange’ dark-skinned beings. In Chile, something similar happened… also in New York at the Bronx Zoo.
It seems unreal, this scenario where people used their power to subject others to such grotesque humiliation. These are situations that have taken place in all parts of the world, with slight variations.
heritage was silenced and a history that whitewashed its origins was established
Uruguay and Chile also have an ingrained belief in their European blood. While I was visiting Santiago a few years ago, a friend told me about how he had been discriminated against because of his skin color since he was a child.
When he traveled to Italy, he was surprised to be part of a diverse group of people who accepted each other as friends, regardless of nationality or skin color. For him, a Chilean raised in Chile, this possibility was unthinkable because he had learned, the hard way, that his color dictated his value in society.
In Chile, according to learned history, the majority of the population thinks they are quite ‘pure’. The reality is different. The populations that colonized were mostly men, so, a population growth during that period speaks of another reality: a mixture between races.
Later, this heritage was silenced and a history that whitewashed its origins was established. The lucky ones who had a lighter skin color were accepted, the darker ones were excluded and discriminated against for a long time. In the years that followed, new waves of migration from Europe helped to intensify the idea of blood purity.
Venezuela is not exempt from racism and classism, but the history in this part of South America was a little different. Not completely inclusive, but enough to make us all feel like members of society. Unfortunately, a move by former president Hugo Chávez put the acceptance of diversity at risk, proving that exclusion can come from misconceptions and resentment at any point in history.
The vast majority of Venezuelans are convinced that, at some point in history, some of our ancestors joined another group or race, even if it does not show clearly in our skin color
During his administration, Chávez initiated a campaign of hate against foreigners. The rancor ranged from the colonizing Spaniards to the Europeans who arrived in the migratory wave during the Second World War. He went to the other extreme. Apparently, according to him, we Venezuelans could only be recognized as indigenous, forgetting that we are an integrating country and the result of a mixture of races.
Vocabulary also has a great influence on segregation. At one point in his government, he began to use the label ‘Afro-descendants’ for some communities. Although it is a term commonly employed in other countries and seems to work, here in Venezuela it is difficult to digest, because we all consider ourselves Venezuelans, without classifications of origin. At least, we have done so since the colonization period, when there was significant discrimination with different castes such as mulatto, mestizo or zambo.
The vast majority of Venezuelans are convinced that, at some point in history, some of our ancestors joined another group or race, even if it does not show clearly in our skin color. Many of us do not have an organized family tree, but that is not necessary to understand that 500 years have passed since colonization, and in every family there are people of all colors.
In Venezuela, indigenous communities still preserve their culture; some of them have a close relationship with the rest of the population, managing to protect their customs while joining the modern world that helps them make a living from tourism. Some others are less fortunate, and are part of vulnerable and impoverished groups.
Being part of a subgroup does not make them less Venezuelan, but they have been historically forgotten by governments, even by those who claim to defend them. The other part of the population, the descendants of second-generation immigrants and those mixed since colonial times, we are also Venezuelans.
Growing up, my group of friends represented the whole palette of colors. No one discussed the differences, because they were unimportant to us. However, these are generalized points of view, some did see themselves harmed or felt it through their friends.
My uncle reminds me that in Venezuelan television, very few dark-skinned actors got good roles in telenovelas, they mostly played the cleaning lady or the poor person. It is a reality, but not entirely true. Maybe my naive side is speaking, but I could see a more inclusive and diverse scenario; not with the same opportunities at all times, but more on track than in other places in the world. A path that could gradually expand and generate more options, without representing a major culture shock.
Current and past events make us wonder if we are acting in the right way. It is probably time to change many of our deep-rooted ideas. Is it necessary to continue with labels? Perhaps it will be required for some time, but at some point, we could let them go.
Rather than criticizing, canceling and hating the past, I think it is important to know it, understand it, accept it and look for solutions for the future. A future where we can all be considered first class citizens, regardless of skin color, origin or any other characteristic. To exist as a living being should be a quality enough.
Image credit: Ashim D’Silva