Causes of Genocide Essay - 1675 Words

Genocide is an action that is not unique to any one set of specific circumstances. It knows no bounds of time or location. From thousands or years ago to present day and on every civilized continent, the eradication of entire groups of people has occurred. The current definition of genocide was established by the United Nations in 1948: â€Å"(a) Killing members of [a] group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group† â€Å"with intent to destroy, in whole or in†¦show more content†¦Perhaps one of the most relevant examples of genocide denial is in the United States’ history. It is estimated that in 1500 there were some 12 million Native Americans living in North America, but by 1900 this number had been reduced to 237,000 (Lewy). Yet while mass murders of American Indians were all too common during this time period, Ward Churchill, in his book A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present, explains discussion of these occurrences is limited in early education and the media to only a few events such as the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre so they may be dismissed as anomalies (2). He also explains that this denial is furthered in two more fashions. The first is the underestimation of the number of Native Americans living in North American prior to European colonization because â€Å"the deaths of people who never existed need not be explained† (2). The second is the image of the â€Å"warlike† and â€Å"aggressive† American Indian, which permits the murders of such savages to be portrayed as defensive and necessary when the true source of Native American aggression wa s more likely due to settlers ceaselessly encroaching on their homelands (3). Churchill likens this scenario to a hypothetical German victory during World War II, â€Å"When the Poles, led by sullen Jewish chiefs,Show MoreRelatedCauses Of The Armenian Genocide1508 Words   |  7 PagesThe Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and ended in 1923 when the Ottoman Empire dismantled and became the Republic of Turkey. The Ottoman Empire consisted of regions in three different continents which caused their empire to be multilingual and multinational. The empire reached from Southeast Europe, parts of Central Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. The Turks, who controlled the Ottoman Empire were Islamic and some people within their empire were not, but thatRead MoreWhat was the Cause of the Rwandan Genocide?1116 Words   |  5 PagesInvestigation What was the cause of the Rwandan Genocide? The assassination of the president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, was the event that started the 100 Day massacre of the Tutsis by the Hutus, known as the Rwandan Genocide. The objective of this investigation is to find out the root of the cause of the Rwandan Genocide. The body of evidence will investigate the history of the conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups and the events leading up to the genocide. The evidence includesRead MoreRwand The True Cause Of Rwanda Genocide1960 Words   |  8 Pageshas three main ethnic groups the Hutus, Twa and Tutsis. The hutus were farmers eking out a modest living from the land while the tutsis dominate the hutus with wealth and power their cattle gave them. The true cause of Rwanda Genocide was because of foreign imperialistic powers that causes indifference and hate among the tutsis and hutus. In the 20th century Belgium was in control of Rwanda, the Belgium rulers saw the tustsi and hutus as two separate tribes introducing identity cards that dividedRead MoreCommon Causes of War and Genocide Essay example1271 Words   |  6 PagesGenocide, or the systematic destruction of a race or tribe is an all too common phenomenon in our planet’s history and even more so in Africa. Genocide and war share many common causes such as desperation brought on by a declining economy. Experts on the Central African Republic believe that current events point to a possible repeat of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which over one million people were killed. Many think that U.N. involvement is necessary to stop the escalating violence in the CentralRead MoreThe Holocaust was the genocide and the cause of death for about 6 million Jews during World War II.800 Words   |  4 PagesThe Holocaust was the genocide and the cause of death for about 6 million Jews during World War II. The Hol ocaust affected many, including Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally and physically disabled, and anyone who did not fit the description of Hitler’s â€Å"master race†. Hitler was an anti-Semitist who believed in a superior race and killed many Jewish people by putting them in concentration camps. Adolf Hitler was born in Austria on April 20, 1889 to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. He was the 4th out ofRead MoreForeign Influence and Its Positive and Negative Impacts1285 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluence also causes conflicts. For example, Britain split up the Hindus and Muslims in India which led to years of fighting and hatred. The majority of people believe that there isnt a specific cause for genocide. However – as shown by the Sudanese and Rwandan Genocides—foreign influence, and the absence of it, plays a big role in causing genocide. Before exmaning the effects of foriegn influence in causing genocide, it is important to understand the concepts of foreign influence and genocide. The UNRead MoreThe Genocide Of Rwanda s Genocide1624 Words   |  7 PagesThe Genocide in Rwanda INTRODUCTION Genocides happen when ethnic divisions become apparent. Many times, these ethnic divisions were due to colonization from people of different race. These cases are especially true in Africa when Europeans colonized their territory, with clear racial divisions between them (Gavin). These genocides go on because of nations acting on ignorance and refusing to help out the nations in turmoil, allowing the genocides to continue, without wasting their own resources.Read MoreGenocides And Genocides Of Genocides987 Words   |  4 PagesAfrican Holocaust Genocide is a million African people being butchered by hand by their neighbors, with household tools and homemade weapons—machetes, hoes, and hammers. Genocides are commonly overlooked throughout many countries. Africa has had many genocides and wars occurring over the past century. The most known genocides are ones that occurred in Rwanda and Darfur. Researchers have found that most genocides show the same patterns and key elements. As different genocides of Africa have occurredRead MoreA Look at the Rwandan Genocide Essay1014 Words   |  5 Pages Thousands of people died. The only reason is because they were a different political party. There are terrible economies. People are suffering and have very little hope. Genocide is the only reason. Everything could have been prevented if genocide didn’t exist. The world basically ignored the genocide and pretended like it never happened because they didn’t want to spend the money. Thousands of people could sti ll be alive if the world stepped up at helped the victims of this horrible crime. RwandaRead MoreGenocide Committed during Second World War 1181 Words   |  5 PagesThe genocide committed during Second World War is one that still scars the human psyche to this day. The horrors of the Second World War lead to Raphael Lemkin’s creation of a new word, â€Å"genocide† in 1944 (Conversi 2006: 320). The definition of genocide is still under dispute by academics (Dallaire and Coleman 2013: 778; Manaktala 2012: 179; Hinton 2012: 11). For the purposes of this essay the definition used is the one created by the United Nations following the signing of resolution 240 (Stanton