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Importance of peace
How war affects the population
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If you think about war and then think about peace is war really all that bad? Without wars there would basically be no human life because no one would have anything really. Wars are defiantly not all good but they are also not all bad if there are not a bunch of them. A successful war in transition to peace was the Guatemalan war of 1960-1996 because they are still living in a bit peaceful country today but are making major progress. An example of an unsuccessful war in transition to peace is the 1991 Somalia Civil War which is still ongoing today. Corruption is on of the main things this essay will be about since corruption is on of the leading causes of most wars in the world.
The Guatemalan civil war was one of the longest and deadliest wars ever fought in Latin America; the poor country is still recovering from this tragic even today and trying to make progress in making peace. One of the reasons for the war was: before the official beginning of the war the United Fruit Company, backed by the United States, took over Guatemala. The indigenous Mayan people were being forced to work for the companies fields. They also were tortured by the Ladino’s a part European who thought they were better than the Mayans. During the “Ten Years of Springtime” the presidencies of both Juan Jose Arevalo and Jacob Arbenz Guzman made the situation better for the Maya people but the United Fruit Company didn’t let that happen for long. Another cause of the war was the United States President watched Guatemala closely and decided that their actions were a major communist threat. After that the United States influenced the Guatemalan army to take over the country, with the help of the CIA, led by Carlos Castillo Armas; the communist threat was over...
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"Somalia Civil War." Blog. 08 Mar. 2010. Web. 02 July 2010. .
Garvin, Glenn. "Guatemala Heralds a New Era of Peace." Miami Herald (Miami, FL). Dec. 30 1996: 1A+. SIRS Researcher. Web. 02 July 2010. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SPASCO-0- 3034&artno=0000015871
Hegstrom, Edward. "A Civil War's Legacy of Fear." Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD). Feb. 9 1999: 2A. SIRS Researcher. Web. 02 July 2010.http://sks.sirs.com/cgi- bin/hst-article-display?id=SPASCO-0-6442&artno=0000096805&type=ART
Gordon, Dan. "Guatemalan Civil War History: A Look at the Country’s 36-Year Armed Conflict." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 01 Mar. 2008. Web. 02 July 2010. .
When focusing on Nicaragua one will need to pay close attention to the rebel group called the Sandinistas who took over Nicaragua’s previous dictator, Anastasio Somoza in 1979, in which the United States Congress decided it would be best to provide them with aid that lasted till 1981.1 Nicaragua’s geographic location made it a big concern for President Reagan based on his philosophy that surrounded the Reagan Doctrine. At that point, President Reagan ended the aid deal and adamantly advised that support be sent to those who were trying to over throw the new socialized, Sandinista leadership.2 Furthermore, the Nicaraguan’s were dealing with some of the worst warfare ever, by the mass killings that took place, which were at the mercy of death squads.3 This gruesome realization allowed President Reaga...
It is no secret that the United States has a history of economic and political interventions in countries around the world, especially in Latin America. By comparing the lives of the characters in Tobar’s novel, The Tattooed Soldier, to events that occurred in Latin American history, this paper will focus specifically on how U.S. imperialism, political and economic interventions in the central American countries of Guatemala and El Salvador forced many to flee and immigrate to the United states. Where the newly immigrated Central Americans faced lives of hardships and poverty compared to other Latin communities such as the Cubans who had an easier migration due to their acquisition of the refuge status.
Rigoberta Menchu, a Quiche Indian woman native to Guatemala, is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for politically reaching out to her country and her people. In her personal testimony tittled “I, Rigoberta Menchu” we can see how she blossomed into the Nobel Prize winner she is today. Following a great deal in her father’s footsteps, Rigoberta’s mobilization work, both within and outside of Guatemala, led to negotiations between the guerillas and the government and reduced the army power within Guatemala. Her work has helped bring light to the strength of individuals and citizen organization in advocacy and policy dialogue on the world scale. In a brief summary of the book I will explore why Rigoberta Menchu is important to Guatemalan development, what she did, and how she helped her people overcome the obstacles thrown their way.
The literary analysis essay for A Separate Peace entitled Chapter 7: After the Fall notes that Gene’s brawl with Cliff Quackenbush occurs for two reasons: the first reason being that Gene was fighting to defend Finny, and the second reason being that Quackenbush is the antithesis of Finny. Cliff Quackenbush calls Gene a “maimed son-of-a-bitch”, since Gene holds a position on the team that is usually reserved for physically disabled students, and Gene reacts by hitting him in the face (Knowles, 79). At first, Gene remarks that he didn’t know why he reacted this way, then he says, “it was almost as though I were maimed. Then the realization that there was someone who was flashed over me”, referring to Finny (Knowles, 79). Quackenbush is “the adult world of punitive authority personified”, his voice mature, his convictions militaristic (Chapter, 76). Quackenbush reminds Gene of the adult world and all of the things that Finny and Devon protected him from, such as war.
The Civil War in El Salvador lasted from 1980 to 1992, and the El SAlvadoran government was doing their best to minimize the threat of their opposition. Their main opposition, The Frente Farabundo Marti Para La Liberacion Nacional; otherwise known as the FMLN, was a guerrilla group that was organized to fight the corruption in the country. 175). One of the main goals of the organization was to create a new society that is not degrading its citizens and promotes equality. Throughout El Salvador’s history, one organization to the next would run the country through repressive actions and social injustice. One of the main reasons that the FMLN fought the acting government were due to these social restraints on the lower- class citizens in El Salvador.
America had begun to indulge in the unilateral environment afforded to it during the Cold War. As the Soviet Union began to collapse in the 1980s, the United States was on its way to becoming a solo super power. This acquisition of complete power would inevitably lead the country into new problems, including those foreign and domestic. One of the main issues that came around in the 1980s for the Unites States was the Iran-Contra Affair, which involved the Reagan Administration. With the United States readily inserting influence across the globe, the Iran-Contra Affair proved how foreign intervention can lead to scandal and disgrace in the modern world. Along with detrimental scandals, the Iran-Contra Affair showed how America’s imperialistic behavior in South America was beginning to catch up. In order to remain a dominant influence in South America, the United States had no choice but to topple governments that did not align with American ideology. Using guerillas like the Contras insinuates America’s cornerstone of doing what is necessary in order to satisfy foreign interest.
Beginning in the late 1970s Liberation Theology, Marxism, and U.S. Cold War policy collided in El Salvador culminating in a civil war that lasted over a decade and ultimately produced democratic political institutions that persist into the 21st century. Despite the prejudices against the church on behalf of government and media organizations in the U.S. and El Salvador, religious actors fought for human rights and the implementation of democratic institutions throughout the period of conflict. The Salvadoran Civil War, which occurred in the context of the Cold War, was one of the bloodiest and longest events in the history of Latin America after the Guatemalan Civil War. The conflict lasted from 1979 to 1992, left approximately 75,000 people dead, and a country in ashes. The conflict started after the fraudulent elections of the Coronel Arturo Armando Molina (1972), who focused his term on repressing the communist political parties that wanted to work for a social reform. This aroused the anger of the popular sectors, which started to organize groups and demonstrations demanding fair election and improvement of social conditions. The government responded to their demands with savage violence, focusing primarily on the oppression of campesinos because they were the ones who supported the revolutionary leftist forces. These actions alienated the Salvadoran population even more and caused many people in the Catholic Church to start denouncing the government’s actions. Thus, as the Civil War started to rise, the church started to radicalize and to and spoke up against the government’s actions. One of its most fervent advocates was Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who during his short time as the Archbishop of San Salvador manifested hi...
During the second half of the twentieth century, when the Cold War was on its midst, the United States played an important role in world affairs. The increasing military power that the United States had during the Cold War, allowed it to influence the political decisions that many countries had during this time. The United States directly opposed the idea of communism, which the Soviet Union promoted. This conflict between this two great powers, lasted for five decades, and it tremendously affected the political ideologies of the world. Both countries tried to push their political and economic interest to as many nations as they could, especially those close to their borders. During this time, Guatemala was undergoing a social revolution with communist ideas. The revolution happened as a response to the social injustice committed by the United Fruit Company. The United Fruit Company started to lose land, due to a land reform passed b...
The Guatemala genocide was completed in 1982 by the Guatemala Army, or as they refer to themselves, “killing machines” ("Talking About Genocide-Genocides-Guatemala 1982"). The army was targeting Mayan descendants, whom they accused of being communist” ("Talking About Genocide-Genocides-Guatemala 1982"). Whether they were or not, “Covert operations were also carried out by military units called Commandos, backed up by the army and military intelligence. They carried out planned executions and forced 'disappearances'.” ("Talking About Genocides-Genocide-Guatemala 1982"). The victims were tortured in various other ways as well, including rape and “death pits” in which they were thrown on top of each other into enormous holes in the ground ” ("Talking About Genocide-Genocides-Guatemala 1982"). As a result, many progenies of an ancient culture were lost. A decade later, another tradgedy would strike, this time in Eastern Europe.
Cultural conflicts often revolve around certain topics such as: quality of life issues, the recognition or strengthening of identities, third generation rights, and the concept of cultural citizenship (“Understanding Social Conflict” 40). The five main addressed issues within these topics are political struggles, public safety issues, environmental issues, human rights conflicts, and issues of values, beliefs, and identity. A well known and unfortunate event caused from cultural conflict is the Guatemalan Civil War. The Guatemalan Civil War, which lasted from 1960 until 1996 began as the indigenous Guatemalans fought out against poverty, oppression, and the lost of land from foreign companies.
John Knowles writes a compelling realistic fiction about the lives of two teenage boys throughout the start of World War II in his novel A Separate Peace. Peter Yates the director of the movie plays the story out in a well organized theatrical manner. There are similarities and differences in these two works of art. However; there are also similarities.
Every day we are surrounded by stories of war. In fact, we have become so accustomed to it, that we are now entertained by it. Video games, movies, and books filled with heroes who once dominated the battlefields. However it is constantly stated, “no good comes from war.” Even famous songs state “war... what is it good for… absolutely nothing.” But what if war was actually necessary? Throughout history, we see examples of the good things wars have brought. War has freed slaves, modernized medicine, brought down evil empires, and even brought countries together
The lives and prosperity of millions of people depend on peace and, in turn, peace depends on treaties - fragile documents that must do more than end wars. Negotiations and peace treaties may lead to decades of cooperation during which disputes between nations are resolved without military action and economic cost, or may prolong or even intensify the grievances which provoked conflict in the first place. In 1996, as Canada and the United States celebrated their mutual boundary as the longest undefended border in the world, Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows over a rocky island so small it scarcely had space for a flagpole.1 Both territorial questions had been raised as issues in peace treaties. The Treaty of Ghent in 1815 set the framework for the resolution of Canadian-American territorial questions. The Treaty of Sevres in 1920, between the Sultan and the victorious Allies of World War I, dismantled the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and distributed its territories. Examination of the terms and consequences of the two treaties clearly establishes that a successful treaty must provide more than the absence of war.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.