countries achieved not independence but “colonial independences,” as the same colonial patterns of power (structured along class, race, gendered, and sexual lines) remained largely in place in newly created nation-states.”
I think this statement is so powerful. It reminds me of comments like: "colonization happened years ago, get over it" Obviously, it happened years ago, but it doesn't mean that the aftermath wasn't brutal and tainting. Cultures were wiped and new ones forced. Fast forward to now, forms of modern coloniality include physical borders, which add to the narrative that one country, one economic level, deserves more at the other country's (and their people) expense. So thinking about the quote some more, yes, colonizers leave, but this identity of loss stays, and neighboring countries continue to take advantage of that.