(Please don’t repost or edit my work. Reblogs are always appreciated)
Many wealthy countries—particularly Western, white-dominated ones—treat Southeast Asia as their playground and dumping ground, then have the nerve to blame Southeast Asian countries for the poverty and pollution they helped create.
These countries—which enrich themselves by devastating Southeast Asia through war and colonization, and by exploiting its labor and resources—have the capacity to process contaminated plastic waste, but because it’s expensive, they instead export the burden to Southeast Asia, which has far less means.
They’re just like the begpacker, who has the capacity to fund their trip with their own money but instead chooses to leverage their white privilege and exploit the kindness of Southeast Asian locals, and ends up draining rather than boosting the economy for the sake of personal “adventure.”
They’re just like the sweatshop-owning corporation, who has the capacity to pay a living wage and provide safe working conditions but instead chooses to exploit and abuse Southeast Asian labor because turning a profit is more important than valuing Asian lives.
They’re just like the sexpat, who has the capacity to pursue a romantic partner who is a peer but instead chooses to prey on desperate or even trafficked or underaged Southeast Asian victims because they expect no consequences for their depraved and violent behavior, and usually receive none.
These are only recent examples of the ongoing colonization of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asians around the world have long been regulated to positions of service/servitude such as maids, nannies, and nurses. We’re expected to clean up privileged people’s trash because we are seen as trash.
So when we talk about climate change, it’s not enough to call it a crisis—it’s a climate apartheid. We’re not all suffering equally and that’s by design. Southeast Asia and other countries who are majority Brown or Black are being hit first and worst thanks to white/waste supremacy.
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