Genocide: Germany, Rwanda and Darfur..
gen.o.cide :
The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.
Genocide was often a word associated with the events in Nazi Germany. In history books we read about the atrocities committed on the Jews by the Nazis. In my childhood I read about "The Diary of Anne Frank" which revealed the horrors of what a simple girl like me went through because a group of people didn’t like another. As good people we hope and pray that humanity would not have to go through yet another heartless and senseless killing of people.
Alas, it happened again. In Rwanda.
One of the most poignant stories that we came across last year was the real life drama of Rwanda. "Hotel Rwanda" left us with a feeling of shock and anguish. In 1994, a systematic genocide of millions of the Tutsis of Rwanda, by the Hutus, was witnessed. What was worst is that the International Community stood and watched; no help came until it was too late.
What left me feeling sick was the fact that I was completely uninformed about the happenings in Rwanda.
Today it is happening again. Darfur, some 6000 people are marching 400 kilometers through unknown territories and forests, avoiding the known routes which are now heeded dangerous to travel because of land mines and collapsing bridges. Sudan has been at war and specifically experiencing genocide from 2003. There is no exact count on how many have died in this period. The displaced alone count to 2 million. Recently the UN commissioned a force to investigate into claims of genocide and concluded that there were severe human rights violations committed. To top it all, the food rations from the World Food Program have been cut in half, just as the UN reports occurrences of severe malnutrition. The rationing is happening in part due to the upcoming hunger season and in part due to the shortage of International donations. In spite of ceasefire and efforts at peacekeeping by the militia and the rebels, millions of Sudanese are facing starvation, the silent killer.
Mr. Morris, director of World Food Program, rightly asks, "Haven’t they suffered enough?"
Is this the world that we live in? Have we been brought up only to ignore moralities?
How many children, women and men have to die to shake us out of our inertia?
Think about it.. In my lifetime alone, in less than 35 years, I have witnessed 2 counts of genocide! We aspire to change the world we live in by our deeds.. how many more genocides should we see before we stand up and say "Stop!" There is a desperate need for each one of us to act and act now.. To contribute towards stopping this waste of lives NOW.. in any way we can.
Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3922461.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4954096.stm
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33060
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12554797/
http://www.hotelrwanda.com/main.html
Photo: courtsey www.unicef.org
gen.o.cide :
The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.
Genocide was often a word associated with the events in Nazi Germany. In history books we read about the atrocities committed on the Jews by the Nazis. In my childhood I read about "The Diary of Anne Frank" which revealed the horrors of what a simple girl like me went through because a group of people didn’t like another. As good people we hope and pray that humanity would not have to go through yet another heartless and senseless killing of people.
Alas, it happened again. In Rwanda.
One of the most poignant stories that we came across last year was the real life drama of Rwanda. "Hotel Rwanda" left us with a feeling of shock and anguish. In 1994, a systematic genocide of millions of the Tutsis of Rwanda, by the Hutus, was witnessed. What was worst is that the International Community stood and watched; no help came until it was too late.
What left me feeling sick was the fact that I was completely uninformed about the happenings in Rwanda.
Today it is happening again. Darfur, some 6000 people are marching 400 kilometers through unknown territories and forests, avoiding the known routes which are now heeded dangerous to travel because of land mines and collapsing bridges. Sudan has been at war and specifically experiencing genocide from 2003. There is no exact count on how many have died in this period. The displaced alone count to 2 million. Recently the UN commissioned a force to investigate into claims of genocide and concluded that there were severe human rights violations committed. To top it all, the food rations from the World Food Program have been cut in half, just as the UN reports occurrences of severe malnutrition. The rationing is happening in part due to the upcoming hunger season and in part due to the shortage of International donations. In spite of ceasefire and efforts at peacekeeping by the militia and the rebels, millions of Sudanese are facing starvation, the silent killer.
Mr. Morris, director of World Food Program, rightly asks, "Haven’t they suffered enough?"
Is this the world that we live in? Have we been brought up only to ignore moralities?
How many children, women and men have to die to shake us out of our inertia?
Think about it.. In my lifetime alone, in less than 35 years, I have witnessed 2 counts of genocide! We aspire to change the world we live in by our deeds.. how many more genocides should we see before we stand up and say "Stop!" There is a desperate need for each one of us to act and act now.. To contribute towards stopping this waste of lives NOW.. in any way we can.
Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3922461.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4954096.stm
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33060
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12554797/
http://www.hotelrwanda.com/main.html
Photo: courtsey www.unicef.org
