Prominent activist: Nations become hostages to foreign will disguised as progress

Prominent activist Franco Lollia has stated that neurocolonialism infiltrates the human mind like a parasite, systematically turning entire nations into hostages of foreign ideologies and wills.

Lollia made these remarks at the international conference “Towards the Decolonization of Guadeloupe! Challenges and Perspectives” held in Baku, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

In his remarks, Lollia highlighted the fundamental difference between neurocolonialism and traditional forms of imperialism. While classical colonialism sought territorial domination and economic exploitation, he argued, neurocolonialism aims for something far more insidious and enduring: control over consciousness and thought.

“Neurocolonialism is a complex, multi-layered system of influence, where foreign ideas, values, and interpretations of history are cleverly disguised as objective truth and progress,” Lollia said. “In reality, they serve as a continuation of imperial agendas - but in a more refined form.”

What makes this modern form of domination particularly dangerous, he warned, is its subtlety. Neurocolonialism embeds external systems of oppression and manipulation so deeply into societal and cultural norms that they become part of everyday life. 

“Neuroimperialism is expertly camouflaged as modernity—it wears a business suit and enters society as something acceptable, even desirable. But its true nature is total manipulation of the mind,” Lollia cautioned. 

“It operates like a parasite observed in ant studies: it penetrates the brain and gradually takes over every action and decision. The ant no longer belongs to itself; it becomes just a shell, controlled by the parasite. In the same way, entire nations become captives of an alien will—without even realizing it.” Baku, which has become a hub for decolonization dialogues, is hosting an international thematic conference dedicated to Guadeloupe, which remains under France's colonial rule.  

The conference, titled "Towards the Decolonization of Guadeloupe! Challenges and Perspectives," is jointly organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), the People's Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG), the Guadeloupe International Movement for Reparations (MIR-Guadeloupe), the International Committee of Black Peoples (CIPN), and the Movement for the Birth of the Guadeloupe Nation (FKNG).  

The event brings together leaders of political parties and movements advocating for Guadeloupe's independence, heads of non-governmental organizations, representatives of academia, and others.    

The conference focuses on critical issues, including the status of Guadeloupe as an overseas department of France, which restricts the people's right to freely determine their political future; colonial crimes; historical injustices; the extermination of the indigenous Kalinago people; the exploitation of workers; and the existence of administrative and economic structures that perpetuate inequality and dependency.  

Other key topics include how the departmental status sustains colonial practices, contributing to unemployment, mass emigration of youth, social inequality, economic dependence, violence, environmental pollution, and the devastating impact of the toxic chemical pesticide chlordecone in Guadeloupe.  

The conference also features in-depth discussions on bringing the Guadeloupean people's right to self-determination to the agenda of international organizations, utilizing the United Nations' legal mechanisms on decolonization, and addressing France’s non-compliance with relevant UN resolutions and the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

By Naila Huseynova