Millions of people have died because of genocides. Some may or may not know that Syria is going through a mass killing right now. Syria is going through a civil war, which is the reason this conflict started. Genocide is an important topic because it allows people to learn that other people in different places don’t have as easy of a life as they do. Syria’s conflict is an important to talk about because the problem came out from a civil war unlike most genocide like problems coming from wars. The mass killing in Syria should not be considered genocide.
Before the government started to wipe out the Sunni, Syria started a civil war. This sparked the reason for the government to start killing the Sunni. They are killing the Sunni because the government believes that the Sunni are going to take over the Assad Family, which would result in the termination of the Alawite rule (Simon 1). According to Chip, the al-Assad regime were making chemical weapons to fight for the civil war, and once the government decided to eliminate the Sunni, they stared to use these weapons on them. Since 2013, around 110,000 people have died during the mass murder, causing people to believe that this problem is genocide (Amr 1).
The conflict in Syria should not be considered genocide because the government is killing the Sunni over a civil war. As stated by Chip, it was during the civil war they started killing the Sunni, so one can assume the government has a legitimate reason to kill them. Sources don’t specifically say, but one can also assume that Sunni were getting in the way of Alawites, so they were to kill them to win the war. If this is later stated true, it would defy the definition of genocide, because they are killing them over war reasons th...
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...should petition to help out many places going through mass killings to help stop them. One might think they are useless, but that one person could help save many lives.
Works Cited
Adams, Simon. "The World’s Next Genocide." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Cumming-Bruce, Nick, and Michael R. Grodon. "Genocide Watch." Genocide Watch. Google, 27 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Grant, R. G. Genocide. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1999. Print.
Salahi, Amr. "Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East." Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East. N.p., 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Carey, Chip. "Syria's Civil War Has Become a Genocide | World Policy Institute." Syria's Civi l War Has Become a Genocide | World Policy Institute. World Policy Institute, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
The initiation of the Syrian War was heavily influenced by the (what was supposed to be a peaceful) protest. As well as the many deaths of the Syrian citizens. These conflicts helped citizens realize all the issues that were going on at the time. There were many causes for the violence that went on during the Syrian Civil War. It can be inferred that the three main aspects that fueled the violence of the Syrian War were due to foreign influence, sectarian opposition, and conflicts between opposing groups.
Document A has a graph that shows how unarmed and innocent civilians are being killed more than any other group of people. According to the note in the document, “It is extremely difficult to track Syria’s war casualties due to the ongoing violence... As of February 2016, total death estimates ranged from 250,000 to 470,000.” (Doc. A). This means that because the violence that is practically non stop, so many innocent lives are being taken away. Also in Document A, a picture shows how many civilians were forced to flee their homes. Around 4.5 million people were forced to flee their country. In Document B, it tells how two sects, Sunni and Alawites. The Sunnis represent the opposing force while the Alawites represent the Assad regime. Both sides have been continuously holding each other responsible for violations real and perceived. In the document, it states, “This dynamic has given rise to a grim, self-perpetuating cycle of sectarian violence with civilians increasingly suffering on both sides.” (Doc. B). This means that the battle between the two sides is has been continuing indefinitely. This relates to the claim that this is driving the Syrian War into intense brutality because it shows how so many civilians are getting killed because of ongoing violence either by themselves or by the government that is supposed to protect
In the Darfur region, part of Sudan, a civil war (often referred to as genocide) has been occurring for approximately 8 years. The current conflict began in 2003 when rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, made up of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit tribes took up arms against the government of Sudan because the non-Arab Sudanese felt oppressed and that the government was in favor of Sudanese Arabs. A previous period of conflict in Sudan-Darfur during 1985-1988 saw only 9,000 killed, while during the first 3 years of this most recent conflict, 2003-2006, over 200,000 Darfurians are believed to have been...
L. Jones. (2010). Book Review: The Final Solution: A Genocide, by Donald Bloxham. The English Historical Review. cxxv (514), 776-778.
Much like the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide involved the use of concentration camps and violations against natural and human rights. Through the methods of destroying the Armenians, many of them were burnt, drowned in the Black Sea, or poisoned. Despite these horrific events, the Armenian Genocide remained as an undiscussed topic worldwide because once a genocide became evident, other nations were expected to step up and help. In a matter of a few years, the Armenian population had decreased by nearly half of their population due to the uncivil acts of displacement, murders, famine, and more. The Armenian Genocide took place because the Turks felt the Armenians were jeopardising their power because their religion conflicted with the nations bordering them, the Armenians were demanding an abundance o...
...rime of Genocide." "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Perennial, 2003. 62-63. Print.
There are many ideas of what genocide is, but, according to Webster’s Dictionary, the official definition of genocide is “The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group”. However, the more realistic and practical definition is “The unnecessary and unjustified killings of tens of thousands of innocent people all because of hate”. This was most defiantly the case in the Kurdish Genocide, which took place between 1986 and 1989. The result of this mass murdering left thousands of people without loved ones, and even more wondering why it had to happen.
The Syrian Crisis began almost three years ago. Since then, the killings, the bombings and the fleeing haven’t stopped. Obama’s administration was blamed for letting the Assad regime, which is an Alawite minority, tyrannize its Sunni people who are a majority, for all this time, and for allowing the radical jihadist power, a part of the opposition, to benefit from the uprising.
Valentino, B. (2004). Final solutions: Mass killing and genocide in the 20th century. United States: Cornell University Press.
The truth about genocide is each situation is unique, the motivations, mindsets and values can all change from example to example. One thing remains the same, genocide is always a deliberate action that results in the death of many people. Whether a genocide is meant to be a statement of power, a political scheme, or a means of cleansing a nation of people whom someone has deemed unfit to live there, genocide remains unto this day an almost natural reaction by which people solve complex issues. The importance of studying genocide is that understanding the motivations, no matter how deplorable, that lead to genocidal actions is the only way by which we can begin to present new less atrocious ways of handling these complex social issues to the depraved individuals who orchestrate genocide.
Stanton, Gregory H. "Genocides and Conflicts." World Without Genocide. World Without Genocide, 7 May 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
A genocide is currently taking place in Syria. In early 2011, the Syrian president Bashar
An attack on the Syrian state would fall within the boundaries of the international concept of the responsibility to protect. The crisis in Syria has escalated by protests in March 2011 calling for the release of all political prisoners. National security forces responded to widespread peaceful demonstrations with the use of brutal violence. The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refused to stop attacks and allow for implementation of the reforms requested by the demonstrators. By July 2011, firsthand accounts emerged from witnesses, victims, and the media that government forces had subjected innocent civilians to detention, torture, and the use of heavy weaponry. The Syrian people were also subjected to the Shabiha, a largely armed state sponsored militia fighting with security forces. Al-Assad continually denied responsibility to these crimes and placed blame on the armed groups and terrorists for these actions.
Syria is a country located in the middle-east, and is the main source of refugees that are spreading across the world today. I’ve done a lot of research over the past few weeks over the Syrian refugee crisis. I’ve found the Al-Assad family has led Syria for over 46 years. Hafiz Al-Assad led from 1971-2000, and then Bashar Al-Assad from 2000 to present day. I also discovered that in 2011 many neighboring Middle Eastern countries had revolutions, over throwing their ruthless dictatorships. The Assad’s during this time refused to step down from their place as rulers of Syria, thus creating a civil war.
Lawson, Fred H. "Syria." Politics & society in the contemporary Middle East. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010. 411 - 434. Print.