Past Injustices, Present Dilemmas: The Reparations Tightrope

Discussions about historical injustices in South Africa often gravitate towards apartheid, the policy of rigid racial segregation that held sway from 1948 to 1994. While this focus is historically warranted, it often overlooks the extensive land dispossession, coercive labor, and cultural subjugation endured by the country’s First Nations groups. On October 20, 2023, at Cape Town’s historic Slave Lodge—a living testament to the painful legacy of slavery in South Africa—Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima found themselves confronted by a passionate group of indigenous South Africans, shouting slogans “about Dutch colonizers stealing land from their ancestors.” Their demand? Reparations for the historical injustices committed by the Dutch Royal Family. However, the methods they suggested, such as Dutch contributions toward and involvement in development projects like hospitals [and] schools, raises critical questions about the thin line between well-intentioned reparations and neocolonialism in the 21st century. In order to better understand the complex dynamics at play in South Africa, we can examine another instance of foreign investment that toes the line between aid and neocolonialism: The relationship between China and Zambia. The Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (ZCCZ), established in 2011, was a venture marked with mutual advantages. It represented an...