Who is Local?

Tracing the origins and changing meanings of the word in the lexicon of humanitarian aid through my experience

My first paid job was doing research on the post-conflict recovery strategies of communities in India’s remote northeast, which has a history of insurgencies and ethnic violence. When I went to those communities, I did so with a translator, looked nothing like them, and understood nothing of their culture beyond what I learned in my literature review.

My lived experience as a 22-year-old man from southern India with a Master’s degree was closer to someone living in a middle-income European country than someone who lived a subsistence lifestyle deep in the forests of Assam, looking after his slash-and-burn crops and young family. Despite all of this, and the fact that our homes were separated by 3500 kilometers, the fact that we were both Indian citizens qualified me as a “local” researcher/actor.

Where did we get the idea of “local” from?

The current delineation between “local” and “international” in the humanitarian space is defined in terms of sovereign entities created out of extremely flawed colonial actions. Perhaps the origin for the definition of a “local” vs “non-local” actor can be linked to the idea of ‘mono-lingual/cultural’ European nation states. Many current nation states were former colonies that were formed through the irrational and cruel clubbing together or division of distinct social systems under one political structure. These artificial governance structures reproduced many of the skewed power relations between peoples that is foundational to colonialism. The colonial tendencies of these states, and power relations with former colonies, shape and directs humanitarian aid to this date.

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This blog is part of CDA’s From Where I Stand series, designed to listen to people most affected by aid as they explore and amplify their leadership experiences, stories, and lessons for the aid sector.