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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 8

Publication Date: August 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/assrj.88.10678. Karaman, Z. T. (2021). Exploitation and Administration of Disasters. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(8). 400-425.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Exploitation and Administration of Disasters

Zerrın Toprak KARAMAN1

Derrière chaque grande fortune il y-a un crime

(There are great crimes behind all great fortunes)

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)

Different countries have varying types of disasters, and their severity is ever-increasing. In

addition, in some cases, the widespread impact of disasters is getting bigger due to climate

change and various intercontinental interactions. The microbes that transmit various diseases

from one country to another through "strong winds and pollination" that nature provides has

also been the focus of recent research studies as well. In addition, “humanitarian terror,” which,

just like the virus, is transmitted from one country to another, is also at the center of disaster

discussions. The resulting losses (apparent destruction) and damages (cost) are of interest in

the eyes of public opinion. In addition, although they are not directly mentioned, the

administrative structures of the country are also in front of the public eye with their

development and cultural indicators and images shared through global media channels.

However, the loss is not just limited to agricultural products. There are deaths and other losses

as well and these are not clearly broadcasted. In addition, the administrative and social root

causes of disasters are often not clearly conveyed to the global public. This article reveals the

importance of the amplifying effect of the relationship between mismanagement and

exploitation in the demolishing and destructive damages of natural disasters. Just as the words

democracy and centralism do not juxtapose, the words colonialism and democracy cannot seem

to juxtapose in a way that positively strengthens the meaning of each other. Due to the fact that

the human factor itself is “an element of risk and threat”, human beings are particular sources

of fear in disasters. In the chaotic environment created by disasters, terror is also looking for

opportunities at the global level. However, when examined comparatively, the countries that

suffer the most damage among these multifaceted relations are the ones that are being

exploited. Except for the several studies that question the colonial era 2 due to increasing

number of storms, this study that reveals the relation between "Exploitation and Disaster" is

among the first studies in this field.

INTRODUCTION

Human history is an unfair political arena. Human-induced activities further decimate

economic inequality between countries. Undoubtedly, this inequality has not suddenly

1 Prof. Dr., Dokuz Eylul University, zerrin.toprak@deu.edu.tr.

2 While there were 68 deaths in Houston, there were 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico and this has raised some questions. To

see the link between the analysis of four storms in Puerto Rico, Houston and Texas, see. Storymaps.arcgis, 2019. It has

been found out that Puerto Rico is defenseless in the face of the effects of natural disasters because of its population, the

unequal distribution of resources and services, and the fact that it is not represented in the U.S. government. Accessed on

14.05.2021

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Karaman, Z. T. (2021). Exploitation and Administration of Disasters. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(8). 400-425.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.88.10678

occurred. An ancient form of a behavior that fuels this inequality and consumes all kinds of

resources is being transferred to following years and the future eras. Outsiders come to new

lands with an "interest/sense" of promising to develop those lands with their own perspectives

or philosophies. And they evolve by inventing new styles of exploitation. Decolonization is

considered a factual reality in which stories of suffering, fueled by slaughter, develop between

those who stand out with their technological and up-to-date power and seek resources or

sacrifices to maintain this power and those who cannot own and protect their resources and

compete with these powerful states. Colonized, indigenous peoples on their territory say that

the missionaries who set foot on their land with the Bible in their hands taught them to

pray by closing their eyes, but when they opened their eyes, they saw the Bible in their own

hands and the land they had lost in others' hands...

Due to natural events and human activities, disasters occurring at different danger levels

increasingly threaten the quality of life on various scales at global, national and regional levels.

Atmospheric events affected by climate changes have diversified disasters around the world,

expanding their power and sphere of influence. Disasters create various security threats that

can also vary depending on their impact. Disaster types include the ones directly related to the

climate such as severe heat, severe cold, drought, storm and tornado. They might also be

geological such as earthquakes, landslides, rockfalls, avalanches, volcano eruptions and

tsunamis. Biological, nuclear or chemical weapons and various accidents (in mines, industries)

and cyber-attacks can be classified as technological disasters. Political disasters include war

and terror. And lastly, biological ones can be seen in various occasions as erosion, forest fires

and epidemics, insect infestations. A few of these disasters can also coexist. For this reason, in

terms of security measures, disaster administration requires interdisciplinary research and

integrated institutional structures in which different specialties should be included.

But more than the striking effect of nature, the destructive effect of humans damages the safe

balance of life. It is theoretically easy to explain the characteristics of disasters, which multiplies

its impact due to the sophistication or underdevelopment of countries by using the context of

population balance and other socio-cultural and economic indicators. However, it is not easy to

control these variables. In addition, the increasing effect of “barbaric” behavior of mankind,

which has “no link with any sort of education” and which simply falls into the definition of

“terrorist act”, similarly erodes all countries. For the countries that cannot seem to develop,

their underdevelopment is actually because of them being "the subjects of exploitation” rather

than the discussions on Homo Sapiens' evolvement. The philosophy of the exploitation order

developed by capitalist (exploiting) countries for these underdeveloped countries does not

allow social development. This is why both nature and human-induced disasters, especially in

undeveloped countries, are constant sources of struggle which feels like an uphill battle.

Natural and human resources of exploited countries are disappearing either completely or step

by step at different rates depending on the severity of exploitation.

The ever-continuing exploitation mentality which can be defined as “human-induced disaster"

comes with the promise of developing new energy resources, etc. but this mentality is actually

an unlimited practice of exploitation that ends with the arrival (exploited) countries becoming

poorer, deprived and destroyed in all respects. The arriving (exploiting) countries also impose

what is right and fair on the peoples through the administration of that country. Today, the

exploitation scheme continues around the world as the main method of undeserved capital

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 8, August-2021

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

accumulation. Especially the imperialist effects of increasing disaster types around the world

are becoming more visible in the cause-and-effect relationship of colonization.

In this process of exploitation, which consumes resources on someone else's territory,

administrators of the exploited country are turned into political puppets under the influence of

political imperialism. Other stakeholders of this game, even international environmental

organizations, help implement eco-imperialism by preventing nations from managing their

own resources (Soomin and Shirley, 2009: 848, 856). Scientific articles also create an

environment for confusion about which claim is true. The relationship between colonialism and

resource usurpation is briefly examined below by taking a look at their historical indicators

over ages.

THE HISTORY OF EXPLOITATION

The millennial period between BC II and BC I is a period of conflict between the empires in

Mesopotamia and Egypt and also among the empires themselves. Conditions conducive to the

development of coastal cities, in the case of the Phoenicians, have led the governments of this

coastal region to create the starting point of their colonies, which will deeply affect the Great

Adventures in the Mediterranean and the face of the Western Mediterranean (Eco, 2019: 206).

Carthage (814 BC), an important colony on the coast of North Africa, was founded during this

period. Within a few decades, numerous Phoenician and Punic colonies and commercial bases

were established starting from Cyprus to the Atlantic coasts (Cadiz, Tangier, Lixus and others),

to the coast of North Africa (Carthage, as well as Kyrene, Djerba, Leptis Magha Naucratis, Utika

), to Sicily (Mozia, Palermo, Solunto), and to Sardinia (Bithia, Cagliari, Nora, Sulcis, Tharros).

The list keeps going on. Kythira, Rhodes, Thassos, Telos, Thera in the Aegean; smaller islands

such as Gozo, Lampedusa, Malta, Pantelleria in the Mediterranean; Abdera, Baria, Cartagena

and Malaga in the east of Spain and the Balearic Islands have become the colony centers of Ibiza

(Eco, 2019: 210). By the middle of the 8th century BC, the Assyrians decided to stop being

content with tributes and to annex the land, while those who opposed it were indescribably and

brutally punished to set an example to others. From that day until these centuries, looting,

looting and annexing someone else's property and taking its culture into use to sustain their

own development cycle through war have become the elements of a routine practice of state

administration. Of course, it is possible to go back to the Sumerian (4000 BC - 2000 BC)

civilization, which is considered the oldest known civilization in the world in terms of the

persecution of the family. In history, many civilizations residing in the southern Iraq such as

Sumerians have always used capitalism of monarchies and governments as a tool for their own

sustainability.

In history, European expansionism begins with the Crusades which are actually the first

applications of "imperialism". Frietz Rörig is one of the first to say with clarity that “the only

purpose of the Crusades is to move the resources of the East to the West” (Rörig, 1945: 24).

However, Western tradition interprets this act of slaughter as the reclaiming of the Holy Land,

which is originally a Christian land, from the hands of Islam. When we look at the history of

colonialism, holy wars are also an item as important as the discoveries of the era. The First

Crusade (1096) that started with Anatolia, Syria and Palestine continues with the Second

(1145) and the Third (1189) Crusades. There has always been an excuse for “booty hunting

attacks” on the territory of foreign countries, which today means easy and unfair accumulation

of capital. These attacks are also supported by the phenomenon of slavery. Undoubtedly, the