30/07/2025
We Were Never Really Free: Palestine, Africa, and the Illusion of Independence
By Chitundu
As I sit and watch the slow death of Gaza — the starvation of children, the bombing of hospitals, the endless funerals of men, women, and entire families — I find myself deeply troubled, not just by the tragedy itself, but by what it reveals about the world and about us, the so-called “free.” Being Zambian, a thought crossed my mind that I have not been able to shake: while the 20th century was hailed as the age of African independence, why was the same period one of colonization, dispossession, and erasure for the people of Palestine?
Was it simply geopolitical misfortune? Or was it something more sinister — a matter of colour, identity politics, and global design? The deeper I think about it, the more convinced I become: what we call independence was never meant to be full, and what Palestine has endured was not a mistake. It was all part of the same world order — structured, protected, and preserved to benefit a few, while the rest of us live under illusions.
The UN: Resolutions Without Resolve
We often speak about the United Nations as if it were the moral compass of the world. But when it comes to Palestine, that compass spins wildly and goes nowhere. I went back and read the key UN resolutions on the conflict — and what I found was a mountain of words, and a desert of justice.
In 1947, the UN passed Resolution 181, proposing to partition Palestine without the consent of its indigenous population. That plan lit the match for the catastrophe that followed — the Nakba, or catastrophe, of 1948, when over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes. The following year, Resolution 194 declared that those refugees had a right to return to their land. To this day, that right remains unfulfilled.
After the 1967 war, Resolution 242 called for Israel’s withdrawal from the territories it had occupied — Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem. Not only did Israel refuse, it expanded. Settlements grew. Walls went up. Checkpoints multiplied. And the UN? It issued more resolutions, more condemnations, and more silence.
Even as recently as 2023, after another horrific bombardment of Gaza, the General Assembly passed Resolution ES-10/21, calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access. As always, the bombs kept falling. The children kept dying. And the international system, once again, looked away.
Africa’s Independence: A Flag Without Freedom
I cannot help but compare this with our own history in Africa. When Zambia gained independence in 1964, there was celebration, euphoria, pride. And rightly so — colonialism was a violent, degrading system, and ending it was a milestone. But in the years that followed, the limits of that independence became clear.
We inherited flags, national anthems, and government buildings — but the structure of control never truly changed. Our economies remained tied to global lenders. Our mines, forests, and oil were still in the hands of foreign companies. Our school systems taught us about the Queen of England, not the Kingdom of Kongo. And our leaders, in many cases, simply replaced colonial governors with strongmen beholden to Washington, Paris, or Beijing.
We were told we were free — but our development was dictated by the IMF. Our elections were watched and manipulated by the West. Our borders, drawn by colonizers, still divide our people. And today, in the face of global injustice, many of our governments speak only when it is safe — but fall silent when it matters most.
The Hypocrisy of the International Order
This hypocrisy isn’t just frustrating — it is staggering. As former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once asked in an interview with CNN: If the Holocaust happened in Europe, why must the Palestinians pay the price? That question has never been answered — only silenced.
And I must add my own: If Africans were fighting for majority rule, why was Palestine treated differently? If the ANC in South Africa fought for one man, one vote, why has no such democratic principle been applied to the millions of Palestinians under occupation or siege?
What exactly is the difference between Jewish supremacy in Israel today and white supremacy in apartheid South Africa? Or is it now enough to simply invoke scripture whenever logic fails? Do we accept racial privilege when it comes dressed in religious language — and reject human rights when it’s inconvenient for our allies?
These are not rhetorical questions. They are questions of conscience — and the fact that they remain unaddressed is proof that this global system is morally bankrupt.
Palestine as a Mirror
Palestine, to me, is not just a crisis. It is a mirror. It reflects everything that is unfinished, compromised, or betrayed about our own story. The colonizer in Palestine wears different clothes, but speaks the same language: of security, of civilization, of “right to exist” — while denying others the right to live.
The tactics are the same: land theft, ethnic cleansing, military occupation, divide and rule, and the constant rewriting of history to erase indigenous people. Just as Africans were called savages, Palestinians are now branded terrorists. Just as our resistance was criminalized, so too is theirs. Just as we were dispossessed in the name of empire, they are being erased in the name of Zionism.
And while this unfolds, I look at Africa — and I wonder: where are we?
Why do we issue weak statements, hold back from sanctions, or continue trade deals with those who bomb refugee camps and block food from reaching children?
If we are truly free, why do we act like we are still under orders?
What Was It All For?
We celebrate independence anniversaries with music and flags. We call each other “sovereign nations.” We speak proudly of our freedom. But I ask: freedom to do what? If we cannot stand with the oppressed, if we cannot speak against genocide, if we cannot say that children deserve food and safety regardless of where they are born — then what was all that struggle for?
Was our independence just symbolic? A ceremony, not a transformation?
If we cannot defend Palestine, we are not free. If we still ask permission to speak, we are not free. If we cannot prioritize humanity over diplomacy, we are not free.
And we should stop pretending otherwise.
Conclusion: The Empire Never Left
Zambia’s own history offers a lesson that most of us have forgotten. In the 1970s, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda took a bold stand and voted against Israel at the United Nations in support of Palestinian rights. As a result, the Israeli government withdrew from its commitment to help complete the construction of the University of Zambia (UNZA). That unfinished project became a lasting symbol of the cost of speaking truth to global power.
One must ask: was this the beginning of Zambia’s economic marginalization? Was the punishment that followed — including crippling IMF and World Bank restructuring programs — merely about poor management, or was it also about daring to defy the imperial consensus?
We see similar consequences today. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has faced smear campaigns and threats. Even the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, who dared to issue warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders, has been targeted with sanctions by the U.S. and its allies. This is the price of dreaming of justice in a world built on injustice.
As a Zambian, as an African, as a human being, I no longer find comfort in empty independence. I look at Palestine and I realize: our liberation is incomplete. Our struggle is not over. And the empire, though it may fly a different flag, never really left.
Until every child eats. Until every refugee returns. Until every people are free — from Gaza to Lusaka — we are still in the struggle.
And we should say it, without shame or hesitation: we were never really free.
©️Zambian Whistleblower