Essays on Genocide

What Mean Term Genocide

The term genocide was first introduced by Raphael Lemkin to first describe the Holocaust (US Holocaust Memorial Museum). He stated that by “By genocide, we mean the destruction of a nation of an ethnic group” (US Holocaust Memorial Museum). There are eight stages of genocide which are predictable but not inevitable (Stanton). During each of these eight stages, preventative measures could be taken to end it (Stanton).

This is a non-linear process and logically the later stages of genocide have to be preceded by previous stages, however, all stages will continue to operate throughout the entire process of genocide (Stanton). These eight stages of genocide are classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, extermination, and denial (Stanton). All of these stages can be applied to the study of the Jewish Holocaust and the first six stages are the early warning signs. The Holocaust took place in between 1933 and 1945 (Paulsson, 2017).

It resulted in the murder of six million Jewish people which was called the “Final Solution” (Paulsson, 2017). It began with the first stage of classification. In classification, you have an “us versus them” mentality (Stanton). A society will begin to distinguish by nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion (Stanton). Classification is the main way to divided society and it creates a power struggle between groups (Stanton).

Rwanda Genocide

When thinking about the word genocide, the Holocaust is an example that will most likely come to mind. Many people do not know about any of the other genocides that have happened in the world because they do not get as much recognition as the Holocaust does. In 1994, a genocide in the country of Rwanda took place and mass amounts of people were killed. Like the Holocaust, there was a group of people who were the main target of death.

During the Holocaust all of the Jewish people were targeted, in Rwanda, people part of a tribe called the ‘Tutsi’ were targeted, all of the Tutsi people were the main victims of killing throughout the whole genocide. The leading ethnic tribe were the ‘Hutus”, they were the tribe that was going after the Tutsi people and causing the violence to occur. Although the Rwanda Genocide is not well known, it should still be an event that is remembered and respected because of the history behind it such as the events leading up to the start, the methods of killing, and the long-lasting effects it had on the world.

To begin, the country of Rwanda was conquered by Belgium during the colonial period, they were the country’s new rulers. The Belgians favored the Tutsi people over the Hutus which ‘created a legacy of tension that exploded into violence, even before Rwanda gained independence’ (Rwandan Genocide, 1). As the years went on, the Hutu population increased and became significantly more than the Tutsi population. In 1959, there was a Hutu revolution.

The Hutus tribe started a rebellion against Belgium and the Tutsi this resulted in many deaths and over 300,000 Tutsi people being exiled from their own country. This was later called ‘The Hutu Peasant Revolution’. This revolution turned Rwanda into a republic and later helped them gain independence from Belgium because the Belgians did not want to be associated with the violence. After this revolution, the violence began to slow down until the early 1990s.

In the early 1990s, the Tutsi refugees and few Hutu that made up the ‘Rwandese Patriotic Front’ planned to overthrow Habyarimana, a Hutu that was president and in charge of the military. This resulted in massacres directed toward killing off the Tutsis. In comparison to the Holocaust when the Jewish were given Stars of David to separate them from regular German citizens, the tribes were given identification cards to help distinguish the difference between the two. This made the genocide a lot easier to carry out because they were able to know who was a Tutsi and who was a Hutu.

To summarize, this genocide was an experience that nobody should ever have to go through. There were many tragic events before and during it that should never be forgotten about. Although the Rwanda Genocide is not well known, it should still be an event that is remembered and respected because of the history behind it such as the events leading up to the start, the methods of killing, and the long-lasting effects it had on the world. Families and people should not have to witness and go through something so devastating in their lives. It is sad to think that these cruel events killed enormous amounts of people and they do not even get enough recognition. This was an event that was fatal to millions of people and still continues to affect people to this day.

Darfur Genocide

The Darfur genocide is the first genocide of the twenty-first century. After the atrocity of the Jewish Holocaust, every man, woman, and child demanded “Never again.” Unfortunately, genocides such as the ones in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda ensued. Today, nearly forty-two years later, we are facing yet another genocide in Darfur. Darfur is the largest region in Sudan, and it is located in the western regions. It encompasses approximately six-hundred ethnicities and religions, divided by never-ending acts of prejudice. Violent acts such as murdering and tormenting innocent civilians are carried out by the government. The main thing that sets the Darfur genocide apart from the rest is that, these acts of inhumanity and barbarity are still going on to this day.

The northern region, centralized on the capital of Khartoum is predominantly made up of ethnically Arab muslims. Groups of christians and africans with ethnic differences in relation to the northerners inhabit the southern regions. The Khartoum government aims to create an islamic-based country. The southerners opposed this idea, leading to large conflicts. The government exploits these different groups by attacking them.

The killings against these groups with different beliefs began in 2003, disorder and brutality still go on today. These violent acts are implemented by a government-armed and funded Arab militia known as the Janaweed. Despite these orders coming from the government, the Janjaweed militia and the rebels are largely made up of ordinary citizens. Many normal citizens in Europe were also persistently involved in the Holocaust. The two main rebel groups who go against the government’s acts are, the Sudan Liberation Army, and the Justice and Equality Movement. These rebel groups claim to represent all of the oppressed in Sudan.

Armenian Genocide

One tragic event was the Armenian Genocide. This incident was so catastrophic that an entire race was almost wiped off the face of the earth. At least, that was what was attempted by Turkey. The main issue here is Turkey. They’re, evidently, so hungry for power, control and the elimination of races they hate, that they will do absolutely anything to achieve their desire. Turkey has shown up in the tabloids for a variety of “crimes”, but the Armenian Genocide was a memorable one. No matter how hard the Armenian community tries, we cannot get the Turkish to admit their wrongdoing. It’s important for people to know what the Armenian genocide is, why it happened, and why some countries and governments keep denying that it happened; if you look over the recent news regarding turkey, knowing and acknowledging the Genocide may force them into understanding their wrongdoings and not repeating them.

The history of the two counties is not too complicated. The two nations used to be close-knit. Armenians have lived in the Caucasus region for about 3,000 years and were also thought to be the first to make Christianity an official religion of their nation. According to an article on History.com about the “Ottoman Empire”, at its peak, which was about 1520 and 1566, it included Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Egypt, Romania, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, some of Arabia, and “a considerable amount of the North African coastal strip”.

Armenia became part of The Ottoman Empire in the 15th century according to an article on the “Armenian Genocide”. Even though the Ottoman Empire was mostly Muslim, they still had to endure other religions living in their nation; though other religions were thought of as unequal and not as meaningful to the Ottoman Empire. Because of the difference in religion, Armenians, being Christian, were required to pay higher taxes and had less rights than anyone who was Muslim.

Despite that impediment, Armenians flourished under Ottoman authority with both education and wealth, which caused the antagonism to start bubbling in the Turkish community. Everything was going good until World War One, when Turkey decided to use the war as a cover to start getting rid of Armenians. How they got rid of them though, consists of all the unpleasant and obscene details that no one should ever have the misfortune of hearing about.

Bosnian Genocide

In 1992 Bosnia finally broke free of Yugoslavia as a result of that the Yugoslavs lead attacks that killed roughly 100,000 civilians. Then a few months after the towns of Zepa, Srebrenica and Gorzade were considered as “safe” even declared by the united nations. As a result of that statement people that resided in Bosnia would attempt to live in one of those three cities. The Dutch army was even called to help protect the cities. But everything changed when the Serbian forces decided to lead an attack on Srebrenica. They overpowered the Dutch forces and lead a siege on the town of Srebrenica.

They pillage raped and killed innocent children and women, The estimated deaths of the siege were 7000 to 8000. Then as a result of those actions that most likely made everyone truly question their safety and individuals were right to do so. Shortly after the attacks of Srebrenica the town of Zepa was bombed and killed many citizens.These cities were under sworn protection by the UN but they did not help or decide to intervein about what has happened in the cities of Srebrenica and Zepa. (HMH, Holocaust Museum Houston)

But shortly after the U.N decided to take action and they decided to issue airstrikes on the Bosnian Serb rebels as a warning that they can and they are willing to take action and that actions like this will not happen without action (HMH, Holocaust Museum Houston). Based on the data we know now the airstrikes were not meant to kill anyone but as to serve a purpose as a warning to let the Serb rebels understand that the UN is now ready to take action..What was happening in Bosnia was such a big problem that president Bill Clinton had to address it.