The Holocaust of Today: Genocide in Darfur
By definition, genocide is “the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.” According to Eric Reeves, writer for the Sudan Tribune, genocide “encompasses not only the killing of members of a national, ethical, racial, or religious group, as such, but also deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or part.” Whatever genocide may be defined as, it is the most grotesque form of massacre known to man. Millions of people are killed daily by hate groups in league with government organizations much like the Nazis of Adolf Hitler’s Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.
One of the most prominent and ongoing modern genocides is that ensuing in Darfur, a region about the size a France in western Sudan, Africa. The struggle between the Arab-lead Sudanese regime and the non-Arab civilians began with the 2003 attack on government troops by the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice Equality Movement (JEM). The situation spun rapidly out of control. Targeted groups, or tribes, include the Fur, the Massaleit, the Zaghawa, the Tunjur, the Birgid, the Dajo, and various others. Since its commencement in February of 2003, the Darfur conflict has claimed the lives of more than four hundred thousand people. This number does not account for the
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"What is the Crisis in Darfur?" 12 May 2009. University of California at Los Angeles College of Arts and Letters. 12 May 2009 .
The Darfur case however, revealed that both of these strategies are not effective. Responding to the genocide in Darfur, the US officials declared the label genocide to be occurring. Thereafter, a politically civil-society coalition emerged so as to lobby the administration. The net outcome of these two scenarios however was the same in the absence of effective policies that could halt the genocide. The Rwandan genocide has always acted as the point of reference for similar genocides taking place around the world. Since the 2003 crisis in Darfur, a lot of comparisons have been made to Rwandan genocide. Observers have likened the Darfur genocide to what happened in Rwanda and of course giving it two connotations. First, the violence in the western parts of Sudan has been referred to another Rwanda, by basing their arguments on the nature of the violence. Since whatever was happening in Darfur is similar t...
The Darfur-Sudan genocide and the Holocaust are just two of the many mass killings of certain groups of people that have taken place all over the world. The Holocaust was the persecution and extermination of Jews, Gypsies, handicapped people and homosexuals (Holocaust). The leader of the Holocaust and the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the Nazis) was Adolf Hitler (Holocaust). He rose to power in Germany in 1933 (Holocaust). Ghettos and concentration camps were set up to isolate all who the Nazis did not qualify as “pure” (Holocaust). The Holocaust took place between1939 to 1945 (“Introduction”). The Darfur-Sudan Genocide began in 2003 and is still going on today (“Darfur Genocide”). A militia of government-supported people called the Janjaweed has been killing and destroying villages of non-Arab people (“Darfur Genocide”). Al-Bashir general of the National Islamic Front has been leading the persecution (“Darfur: A History” 18). The Holocaust and the Darfur-Sudan genocide are similar in that both their countries and leaders had the same economic status and mind set, however they are different in how the United States and other countries’ were involved and the type of war that was going on during them.
The word genocide was derived from the Greek root genos (people) and the Latin root cide (killing), and did not exist in the English language until 1944, which was the end of World War II (Power). According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.” Such violence occurred during the Holocaust and during the separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The problems of ethnic cleansing and repression have become so prevalent in the last century that they have contributed to two world wars, over fourteen million deaths, and a new word. United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said, “Far from being consigned to history, genocide and its ilk remain a serious threat. Not just vigilance but a willingness to act are as important today as ever.”
As of March of 2008, a total of 300,000 people have died in Darfur, Sudan due to genocide. That is equivalent to the entire population of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Genocide started back in February of 2003 in Darfur, Sudan. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines the liberties set for everyone in the World. Established in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights displays the rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled to. The situation in Darfur, Sudan is known as Genocide, Genocide is defined as a systematic extermination or attempt at exterminating a national, political, racial or cultural group. The Darfur Genocide has violated Article #3, Article #5 and Article #9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Darfur Genocide violates article #3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article #5 has been violated by the Genocide in Darfur. Article #9 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been violated by the Darfur Genocide. Attacks in Darfur are mostly by a group called the Janjaweed which are an Arab based group supported by the Sudanese Government, to carry out attacks on people with different religious, economic and political views. The Darfur Genocide violates the rights of its citizens; steps should be enforced by United Nations and it allies.
As of February 2003 more than four-hundred thousand Darfuri citizens have been found slaughtered on the side of the streets of their home town. Prior to 2003, Darfur, Sudan has a population of six million people. In 2003, two rebel groups came to the conclusion of the government’s neglect in decision to rise against the government of Sudan. As a result, the Sudanese government unleashed the forces of Arab militias (also known as the Janjaweed). With blood on their hands, the Janjaweed have been the accused for the misplacing of many villages and people. As the war seems to expand, the Sudanese government seems to oppose any association with the Janjaweed. In spite of continuing a limited amount of humanitarian aid, many are still in contact with dreadful food shortages and disease. The U.N. (United Nations) has ventured in sending humanitarian aid repeatedly, but the Janjaweed have reused all help. Despite the ignorance of the Janjaweed, the U.N. is in the process of securing the comfort of all Darfur citizens, and not only for the foreigners, but for the road that lies ahead of Sudan as well (Reeves).
Genocide is according the united nations, any of the following actions committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Most people who hear the word are confused at first because it isn’t a very common term. According to endgenocide.org, a Polish-Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin sought to create a new term to describe Nazi policies of the systematic murder of Jewish people in 1944 he succeeded. His new word, genocide, is a combination of two words. Those words are the Greek word “genos” meaning race or tribe and the latin word “cide” meaning killing. The United Nations affirmed genocide as an international law in 1964, it took two more years however for them to provide an actual legal definition for the crime. They did this with the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. This gave people a way to understand what qualified as genocide and what was just a battle in a war or a for a lack of better words simple massacre.
Not everybody believes in genocides, other may have a different opinion or thoughts. Sometimes people don’t realize its genocide because they believe in what they are doing and they think there is no harm done because it’s not affecting them. To be taken away from your family, to go live somewhere else or to be killed can have a huge impact on your life. Genocides play a huge role in the world; it has and will affect many people. In Darfur there is a genocide going on, it has been going on for a few decades now. Genocide is the mass killing of a race. The people of Darfur and the Government of Sudan didn’t really get along. The Government wanted to do oil exploration where the citizens lived. There was and still is a lot of tension between the government of Sudan and the people of Darfur. (Sudan Backgrounder, United to End Genocide) This genocide didn’t make much since to me at first, because I didn’t know why the people of Darfur didn’t leave. Not everybody believes in genocides, other may have a different opinion
The purpose of this essay is to adequately depict the current conflict in Darfur and discuss the effects that the Darfur Conflict has had on the neighboring countries, the Horn of Africa region and U.S. interest. In addition, this essay will explore how Darfur Conflict affects global concerns.
Genocide is the “deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.” (Dictionary.com, 2010) In 1924, after World War I, Belgian colonists entered Rwanda and allowed the Tutsi dynasty to remain in power. However, after World War II concepts of right and wrong changed. Since the Belgians had been favouring the Tutsis, this change in ethics caused the Belgians to have compassion on the Hutus and promote the Hutu cause, creating tension. (Thompson, 2007) It was the Belgians who cre...
In conclusion, the events that occurred in Sudan from 2003-2011 can be defined as genocide due the evidence of rape, murders of ethnic groups and destruction of their livelihood to deliberately inflict on a their condition of life calculated to bring apart their physical destruction. However, if the Sudanese government didn’t organize and arm the Janjaweed militia to destroy the non-Arabs of Sudan, then the mass killings would be defined as civil war. The international community Is also to be blamed for not getting involved in the events leading up to the genocide as well as not doing as much as they could to stop the mass killings before they got to the extent that they did. Hundreds of thousand killed, millions displaced and/or affected either directly or indirectly, in a world that said “ Never Again”.
Straus Scott: Darfur and the Genocide Debate: Foreign Affairs, Vol. 84, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 2005), pp. 123-133 Published by: Council on Foreign Relations
In the north-east region of Africa, Darfur is located in the west of Sudan. Darfur had a sizeable population of six million, ranging from black Africans to Arabs. The overcontrolling Sudanese Government pushed all six million people of Darfur over the edge and marked the streets with blood at the sight of rebellion. The genocide in Darfur occurred due to the lack of respect for the civilians and their rights to be acknowledged by their own government.
The government of Sudan is responsible for 'ethnic cleansing' and crimes against humanity in Darfur, which is located on Sudan's western border with Chad (. The Sudanese government, along with the Arab 'Janjaweed' militias they arm and support, have attacked the civilians of the African Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups. These attacks involved massacres, summary executions of civilians, burnings of towns and villages, and the forceful depopulation of Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa land. The militia, Muslim like the African groups, have destroyed many religious artifacts including the desecrated Qorans that belong to their enemies (Human Rights Watch, 2004, p. 5).
In Western Sudan, there is a current mass slaughter and rape of Darfuri men, women, and children. As of today, over 2.8 million people are displaced and 480,000 people have been killed. This act of genocide is being carried out by the Janjaweed; government-armed and funded Arab militias. And although the systematic murder, rape, torture, looting, polluting water
The Darfur genocide was started on February 26, 2003. Darfur is located in Sudan, Africa and borders the Red Sea and is surrounded by Egypt, Chad, and Uganda. It started when two rebel groups rose up against the government and accused it of willful neglect.the Sudan government took sides with the Arabs and a military and government supported group called Janjaweed, started fighting the insurgents and citizens of Darfur. It didn’t long for the fighting between the citizens and the government to turn into a genocide.