Genocide and Massacres in History

Genocide has claimed a lot of persons` lives and left many nations in a sorry state. It has proved to be a menace in history due to its sophisticated approach to crudely eliminating human life. One example of genocide was orchestrated during Adolf Hitler`s reign between 1941 and 1945. The extermination was done in phases as part of implementing the Nuremberg Laws that were adopted in 1935. Apart from the Jews, other notable targets were the terminally ill persons, slaves, Russian citizens and their soldiers who were captured in war, Jehovah’s witnesses, the gay men and political opponents of the Hitler.

The second was the Atlantic slave trade which entailed the transportation of Africans from Central and West Africa during the 16th and 19th Century. The Africans were supposed to work as laborers in farms as well as in producing clothes for exportation to Europe from America. The Africans were treated as commodities thus being placed with cargos. They were purchased from Africa and sold to Americans where they worked in sugar, cotton, tobacco, cocoa plantations and any other places that needed human input(Springer,46).

The third was the Armenian Genocide took place in 1915 whereby the Ottoman Empire killed its citizens. Ladies, children, and the old were deported and killed in the Syrian Desert. The men were massacred and given forcible labor. The fourth genocide involved the Japanese Army who murdered the Chinese army and civilians in 1937. Besides, women were raped in the ordeal, and the country`s capital (Beijing) was left in ruins.

The fifth example was the Cambodian massacre which was orchestrated when Khmer Rouge was in power. It was a civil war that lasted for five years as from 1970 to 1975. It led to the mass killing of people and burial (Rummel,30). The move was designed to intimidate citizens who were believed to support the previous regime or foreign governments. Besides, they also targeted the intellectuals and immigrants.

Lastly, is the Hutu and Tutsi of Rwanda where hatred and political fights between two communities led to over 500,000 dead. The Darfur massacre of Sudan arose due to the rebel from the non-Arabs against the government on oppression. This led to a counter-attack from the government that led to a lot of civilians losing their lives.

The author is perturbed at the senseless killings that are being done across the world. There are so many questions that linger on one`s mind but whose answers cannot be competently be answered questions such as why the loss of lives occur, when, where, and how are difficult to understand. Ironically, such actions are committed with relatives, friends, and people who stay in a community and are known to one another. These killings are done in well-organized fashion and involve the use of money (Springer,48). They arise from the hatred that brews from persons who are well known to one another.

Furthermore, the driving force to such activities is hatred, fight for resources and power during elections. Unfortunately, the negative impact of such fights affect the most vulnerable and innocent members of a nation, community, tribe, or religion (Springer,12). This is evidenced by the death and injuries subjected to the elderly, children, and women become the most significant casualties. In most cases, the perpetrators are known but the legal mechanism to arrest such bad leaders and organizers is lacking.

The genocides that arose in the 20th and 21st Centuries were well planned, and their pioneers could be identified. These incidents led to a lot of lives of innocent persons who had no means of defending themselves. Those who killed many people went scot-free while those who murdered few were given great punishment.  Besides, hatred was the driving force in the massacres (Springer,60). Moreover, a lot of lives cannot accurately be accounted for due to the carelessness and ruthlessness that was involved. Lastly, politics, power, religion, race, and colonialism influence were the precursor of hatred among rival groups.

The phrase of every genocide commencing as a hate crime informs the public of the root cause of the killings. Whenever, a community, a nation, or a group of people no longer feel any bond between them, the glue that holds them together ceases to exist (Springer,64). They start viewing one another as enemies who need to be eliminated. This kind of mentality makes such people lose their human feelings and behave like animals. Consequently, they start organizing mechanisms of torturing and killing one another. Eventually, it culminates into a full-scale massacre and loss of lives to both the attackers and the target. The hate can arise from various such as religion, tribe, political parties, neighboring countries, or foreign nations.

 The United Nations Human Rights Commission should be at the forefront of preaching peace in the world. Secondly, national governments should aspire to be truthful to their citizens, involve them in policy formulation and promote tranquility (Springer,132. The education system should include peace building and foster social relations among people. Lastly, the journalists should endeavor to encourage responsible dissemination of information. Wrong use of the media was responsible for fueling the Rwandan genocide.

The world should come together and aid nations that experience wars that are instigated by those in power. This will be possible by creating legislation that makes rogue leaders account for their actions. This will enable the civilians to stay in peace and avoid getting involved in hatred generated from their interest. Apart from that, every individual should endeavor to maintain order in his or her neighborhood. Apart from that, the state, civil society, and the religious groups should all aim at preserving and restoring peace in the nation. Moreover, courts that administer justice such as the International Criminal Court should be given more powers to conduct investigations and apprehend wrongdoers.

The best way of addressing the genocide in Darfur, Congo, Syria and any other nation in the world would first involve ascertaining the cause of the act. This will enable me to get an insight into what is troubling the particular country, its history, its people, and the warring parties. Once this is established, the next course of action will entail going directly into the given country and engaging the warring parties to determine the contentious issues. This will involve giving players an avenue to express their opposing viewpoints in details from the beginning to the end. From then, I will provide them with alternatives to solving the case and give them an opportunity to consult one another. If they adopt the proposed option, then it will be implemented under supervision from disinterested third parties. In case the proposals fail to be approved, then I will seek a compromise between the two parties to give a solution. The recommendations in this kind of scenario will in most cases deal with promoting peace and love, conducting free and fair elections, the sharing of resources equally, and respect between religions. Through these initiatives, the nations will stay in peace, and no more massacre will be witnessed.

Work Cited

Rummel, Rudolph J. Death by government: genocide and mass murder since 1900. Routledge, 2018.

Springer, Jane. Genocide: A groundwork guide. Groundwood Books Ltd, 2006.

Stone, Dan. Histories of the Holocaust. Oxford University Press, 2010.