From Robert Heinmüller and Laura-Anne Thomas
Is Martinique an equal part of France or does the Caribbean island still have the status of a colony? Although Martinique officially belongs to France since 1946, this question is more explosive than ever.
All around the world, territories of the former colonial empire are today part of France’s oversea’s territory. In these regions, the political, cultural and economic structures are highly marked by colonialism.
This is particularly visible in Martinique. Only a few white families manage the country’s wealth, which their direct ancestors accumulated over the centuries by exploiting slaves. Although the so-called Békés represent only a small part of the population, they continue to have an important influence on the situation of the island – and for a large part of the population, it has no good consequences. The poverty rate in Martinique is twice as high as in metropolitan France, as well as the number of unemployed people. This is shown by figures from INSEE, the French national institute for statistics and economic studies. Beyond the numbers, many people of Martinique are confronted with everyday racism as well.
Therefore it is not surprising that many people from Martinique feel disadvantaged and blame the French state for social inequality. How do colonial structures that remain in Martinique manifest themselves and how do they complicate life in this so-called Caribbean paradise? This is what we will discover in our podcast.
Language: French, German
Music: Hicham Chahidi
Illustration: Chloé Huie Brickert
Sources:
https://www.cairn.info/revue-pouvoirs-2005-2-page-21.htm
Klicke, um auf etures-adosanslog_web.pdf zuzugreifen
https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/dans-l-hexagone-plus-du-tiers-des-natifs-des-outre-mer-et-leurs-enfants-declarent-subir-des-discriminations-1301112.html
https://www.cairn.info/revue-apres-demain-2018-3-page-13.htm
https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/5355099
https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6444543
About the authors:
Robert studies Modern and Contemporary History and Political Science in Freiburg and works at the student radio station uniFM.He actually loves traveling, but has unfortunately been stuck in Germany for far too long now. That’s why he’s thinking of starting a wanderlust podcast soon, to listen to other people’s travel stories and at least dream about past adventures.
Laure-Anne is 19 years old and in the third year of her German-French-Swiss Triple Bachelor in International Business Management. From a young age, she has always been very interested in societal issues and quickly became interested in politics (partly thanks to her father). She loves learning from others and forming her own opinions.
