GENOCIDE

1. GENOCIDE Lift the confusion from my eyes, Lord of sight and insight, And enable me to see clearly how you are suffering, And how your grace is working in the world. The dignity of your people is trampled in Darfur; Their suffering is terrible to gaze upon. But your servants keep watch and call out for justice. Help me recognize what is happening in our global community And help me begin to see the part I can play in solidarity. I am here, Lord, give me vision, give me hope. Amen. “There is a growing awareness of the sublime dignity of human persons, who stand above all things and whose rights and duties are universal and inviolable. They ought, therefore, to have ready access to all that is necessary for living a genuinely human life…” — Gaudium et Spes, #26

2. Genocide: An attempt to eliminate, in whole or in large part, a particular group of people (such as national, ethnic, racial, religious, social, or political groups). Mass Murder: The intentional killing of a large number of people who are either unwilling or unable to defend themselves. Ethnic Cleansing: The attempt to remove a particular group of people from a particular geographic area through the use of terror. Democide: the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, and mass murder.

3. “More than 50 million people were systematically murdered in the past 100 years- the century of mass murder.” • “In sheer numbers, these and other killings make the 20th century the bloodiest period in human history.” National Geo. 2006

4. Where does the Word Genocide Come From? Geno- cide Cide- From the Latin word Cida, which means to kill. Geno- from the Greek word Genos, which means birth, race of a similar kind, tribe, family

5. Genocide in History • There are many cases of Genocide which have existed throughout our history dating back to biblical times. Genocides From 1500-1950 • The Congo 1820-1920 • Ottoman Empire • (1932–1933) Holodomor • World War II • Mao Zedong

6. WORLD WAR II 1939-1945 Over 11 million People were killed. • During the Holocaust the Nazis’ killed 6million Jews, 3 million POW’s, 2 million Poles and 400,000 other “undesirables”(slaves, homosexuals and communists) The holocaust was most predominant from previous genocides because of the cruelty, scale and efficiency of the mass murders. People were killed by: open-air shootings, by killing squads, extermination camps (gas chambers, mass shootings)

7. Genocides from 1951-Present • Cambodia(1975–1979) • Rwanda 1994 • Modern Day Sudan

8. Cambodia 1975-1979 The Khmer Rouge killed 1.7 million • The communist party Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979. They were responsible for forced labour, starvation, and execution. • This was one of the most lethal regimes of the 20th century. • This communist party killed “suspect ethnic groups”- Chinese, Vietnamese,Buddhist monks, and refugees.

9. RWANDA 1994 • The Rwandan Genocide was the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia groups (Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi) during a period of 100 days from April 6th through mid-July 1994. • The Western and First World Countries did nothing to help this situation. • Prior to the attacks the UN did not respond to reports of the Hutu plans. • This Genocide was ended when the Tutsi rebel movement (Rwandese Political Front) lead by Paul Kagame seized power of the Hutu Government.

10. Rwanda 1994 • “Hutu Mobs armed with machetes and other weapons killed roughly 8,000 Tutsis a day during a three-month campaign of terror. Powerful nations stood by as the slaughter surged on despite pleas from Rwandan and UN observers” National Geographic 2006.

11. Sudan Civil War 1983- • Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2002- where they were accused of genocide. • Since the civil war began in 1983: • 2,000,000 people have been killed • 4, 000, 000 people have been displaced. Mukesh Kapila ( UN coordinator) has stated that "This is more than just a conflict. It is an organised attempt [by Khartoum] to do away with a group of people. The only difference between Rwanda [in 1994] and Darfur now is the numbers of dead, murdered, tortured and raped involved“.

12. Sudan Cont… • In 2004, it became widely known that a nomadic group Janjaweed was trying to get rid of 80 black African groups in the Darfur region. • This was is very similar to Rwanda. However professional/intellectuals are not being attacked- it is a fight between the nomads and farmers for land. • There is risk of famine and a threat to international security.

14. “Genocide is a process that develops in eight stages that are predictable but not inexorable. At each stage, preventive measures can stop it. The later stages must be preceded by the earlier stages, though earlier stages continue to operate throughout the process”. The eight stages of genocide are: Classification Organization Extermination Symbolization Polarization Denial Dehumanization Preparation

15. 1. CLASSIFICATION: • All cultures have categories to distinguish people into "us and them" by ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality: German and Jew, Hutu and Tutsi. Bipolar societies that lack mixed categories, such as Rwanda and Burundi, are the most likely to have genocide.

16.  2. SYMBOLIZATION • We give names or other symbols to the classifications. We name people "Jews" or "Gypsies", or distinguish them by colors or dress; and apply them to members of groups. Classification and symbolization are universally human and do not necessarily result in genocide unless they lead to the next stage, dehumanization. When combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of pariah groups: the yellow star for Jews under Nazi rule, the blue scarf for people from the Eastern Zone in Khmer Rouge Cambodia.

17. 3. DEHUMANIZATION: • One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects or diseases. Dehumanization overcomes the normal human revulsion against murder.

18. 4. ORGANIZATION: • Genocide is always organized, usually by the state, though sometimes informally (Hindu mobs led by local RSS militants) or by terrorist groups. Special army units or militias are often trained and armed. Plans are made for genocidal killings.

19. 5. POLARIZATION: • Extremists drive the groups apart. Hate groups broadcast polarizing propaganda. Laws may forbid intermarriage or social interaction. Extremist terrorism targets moderates, intimidating and silencing the center.

20. 6. PREPARATION: • Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity. Death lists are drawn up. Members of victim groups are forced to wear identifying symbols. They are often segregated into ghettoes, forced into concentration camps, or confined to a famine-struck region and starved.

21. 7. EXTERMINATION: • Extermination begins, and quickly becomes the mass killing legally called "genocide." It is "extermination" to the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully human. When it is sponsored by the state, the armed forces often work with militias to do the killing. Sometimes the genocide results in revenge killings by groups against each other, creating the downward whirlpool-like cycle ofgenocide.

22. 8. DENIAL: • It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. The perpetrators of genocide dig up the mass graves, burn the bodies, try to cover up the evidence and intimidate the witnesses. They deny that they committed any crimes, and often blame what happened on the victims. They block investigations of the crimes, and continue to govern until driven from power by force, when they flee into exile. There they remain with impunity, like Pol Pot.