Grieving the Colony: Humanitarianism and Postcolonial Power in Mayotte and the Comoros

Sammanfattning

This study examines how postcolonial relations shape humanitarian responses and representations in the aftermath of cyclone Chido, which struck the Comoros archipelago in December 2024. The study investigates how French political discourse constructs unequal “grievability” and humanitarian worth, focusing on whose suffering is made visible and whose is marginalized. The research asks: how are Mayotte and the Union of the Comoros represented in French political discourse after the 2024 cyclone, are distinctions created between whose suffering is made visible and whose is marginalised, and do these reflect broader postcolonial hierarchies? The study is grounded in postcolonial theory and draws particularly on Quijano’s concept of the coloniality of power, Said’s theory of representation and the Other, and Butler’s concept of grievability. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretivist case study design and employs Critical Discourse Analysis. The material consists of official French governmental sources, including speeches, press conferences, legal documents and public statements produced between December 2024 and April 2026. The findings demonstrate that French political discourse represented Mayotte as part of the French national community deserving protection, reconstruction and solidarity, while the Union of the Comoros remained largely absent or associated with migration and insecurity. The analysis further shows that humanitarian discourse was closely intertwined with securitization, governance and colonial hierarchies, producing unequal visibility and recognition of suffering. The study concludes that humanitarian responses in the aftermath of cyclone Chido were not politically neutral but shaped by enduring postcolonial power relations that continue to structure belonging, visibility and humanitarian value in contemporary international relations.