Giacaman Rita
Birzeit University Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit, State of Palestine.
Int J Soc Determinants Health Health Serv. 2023 Apr;53(2):146-153. doi: 10.1177/27551938231152768. Epub 2023 Jan 24.
Calls for decolonizing knowledge production are increasing considerably. Yet the domination of knowledge production by English-speaking, neoliberal, Western countries continues, with understandings and assumptions often irrelevant and unimportant to southern countries, and can contain racialized portrayals of the people of the developing world. Palestinians under Israeli military rule have also become governed by neoliberal funding northern institutions that have commoditized research and education and control what should be researched and how. The dual colonization of Palestinians by Israel and the hegemony of neoliberal political-economy among a captive Palestinian population-reinforced by the Zionist lobby's ferociousness in punishing whoever dares to raise questions about Israel's wrongdoings-is silencing Palestinians and those supporting justice to Palestinians in ways perhaps not experienced by others who want their voices heard. Yet Palestinians continue to teach and conduct research and to struggle for freedom and justice on one hand and for liberation from donor dictates on what to research and how to research and write on the other. We continue to hope that international funders and publishers would take concrete steps to turn calls for the decolonization of knowledge production from lip service to actions so that all knowledges can contribute to debates and societal advancement worldwide.
对知识生产去殖民化的呼声日益高涨。然而,以英语为母语的新自由主义西方国家在知识生产方面的主导地位仍在持续,其理解和假设往往与南方国家无关紧要,且可能包含对发展中世界人民的种族化描述。处于以色列军事统治下的巴勒斯坦人也受到北方新自由主义资助机构的控制,这些机构将研究和教育商品化,并控制应该研究什么以及如何研究。以色列对巴勒斯坦人的双重殖民以及新自由主义政治经济在被控制的巴勒斯坦人口中的霸权——犹太复国主义游说团体对任何敢于质疑以色列不法行为者的严厉惩罚加剧了这种情况——正在使巴勒斯坦人和支持巴勒斯坦正义的人沉默,这种方式可能是那些希望自己声音被听到的其他人所未曾经历的。然而,巴勒斯坦人一方面继续教学、开展研究,为自由和正义而斗争,另一方面为摆脱捐助者对研究内容、研究方式及写作方式的支配而努力。我们继续希望国际资助者和出版商能够采取具体措施,将知识生产去殖民化的呼声从口头上的表态转变为实际行动,以便所有知识都能为全球范围内的辩论和社会进步做出贡献。