Presentation Transcript

1. The Clash of Ethnic Groups Mia McFarland, Calista Ginn & Meredith Yoxall
2. Issues in Ethiopia & Eritrea The country of Eritrea, which is located along the Red Sea, became an Italian colony in 1890. Ethiopia, which was an independent country for more than 2,000 years, was captured by Italy during the 1930’s. Ethiopia regained its independence after World War II. The United Nations then awarded Eritrea to Ethiopia. The United Nations expected Ethiopia to permit Eritrea a large amount of authority and let it run its own affairs, but Ethiopia completely dissolved the Eritrean legislature and banned the use of Tigrinya, which is Eritrea’s major language. This caused the Eritreans to rebel, thus starting a 30-year fight for independence. During this war, it is estimated that 665,000 Eritrean refugees fled to neighboring Sudan. The rebels defeated the Ethiopian army in 1991, and two years later Eritrea became an independent state. War continued to flare up between the two states over border and ethnic disputes.
3. Issues in Ethiopia and Eritrea
4. Issues in Sudan Sudan is a fairly large country formerly the largest country in Africa until the southern area became the Republic of South Sudan in 2011 at the start of the third civil war (2011-present) Since at least the 17th century, central governments have attempted to regulate and exploit the undeveloped southern/inland Sudan. Many describe this ongoing conflict as a result of the Muslim central government’s threats to put southern Sudan (mostly non-Muslim) under Sharia (Muslim) law. The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it is considered a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972) by many. The war took place mostly in southern Sudan and was the longest and deadliest civil war of the late 20th century. Roughly 1.9 million civilians were killed in South Sudan, and more than 4 million were forced to flee their homes. The North, with roughly two-thirds of Sudan land and population, is Muslim and Arabic-speaking; they identify with Islam as their primary religion and Arabic as their main language. Meanwhile, South Sudan identifies mainly with native Africans in race, culture, and religion. Its primary ethnicity is native African, with some Western and Christian influences.
5. Religion in Lebanon Lebanon is a dense, populated, and small country with close to 4 million people in an area of 10,000 square kilometers. It used to be well known as a financial and recreational center in the Middle East, but in more recent years, the religious factions there have damaged it severely. The largest Christian sect (⅔ of the countries christians) is Maronite. They split from the Roman Catholic Church in the seventh century. The second largest Christian sect is the Greek Orthodox, accounting for ⅙ of the countries christians. The remaining ⅙ Christians left are Greek Catholic, Armenian, Syrian Orthodox, and Chaldeans. The current estimated percent of religions is: Muslim-60%, Christian-30%, and 10% other. ⅔ of the Muslims in Lebanon belong to different Shiite sectors, the largest ones called Mitwali and Hezbollah. The other ⅓ of Muslims are Sunnis. Lebanon also has a religious group called Druze, which combines Islam and Christianity.
6. Conflict in Lebanon Lebanon became independent in 1943, and their leaders were all of different religion. The president was a Maronite Christian, the premier a Sunni Muslim, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a Shiite Muslim, and the foreign minister a Greek Orthodox Christian. All the religious groups usually live in different areas of Lebanon. Maronites in the West central, Sunnis in the northwest, and the Shiites in the south and east. Even the capital, Beirut, is divided into an eastern Christian zone and a western Muslim zone. Christians used to be majority in Lebanon, but as Muslim became majority, they demanded equal rights. The government was unable to deal with the changing social and economic conditions, thus beginning civil war in 1975, with each religion guarding their land with militia. Israel tried to restore peace with the help of the USA, but after many failed attempts they drew out. The land was taken over by Syria until 2005.
7. Issues in Syria Arab unrest began when the Tunisian revolution reached Syria on March 15, 2011, when residents of a small southern city took to the streets to protest the torture of students who had put up anti-government graffiti. The government responded with force and demonstrations quickly spread across much of the country. Syria is run by Alawites, a minority sect of Islam whose members include President Bashar al-Assad and many in his inner circle. Although Alawites make up only 12 percent of the Syrian population, they are playing a crucial role in the war, fighting to support and keep Assad's regime.
8. Issues in Syria
9. Division of Ethnic Groups in South Asia When the British ended their rule of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, they divided the area into Pakistan and India. Pakistan consisted of two main areas, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by India. The main cause for the division between Pakistan and India was ethnicity. People living in Pakistan were primarily Muslim, while people in India were primarily Hindu. Conflict between these groups was so large that the British decided to place the Hindus and the Muslims in different states. The division of South Asia into two separate countries resulted in huge migration-- approximately 17 million people moved in the late 1940’s due to being a minority in the opposite country. 6 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 1 million moved to East Pakistan. Hindus who migrated to India included 6 million from West Pakistan and 3.5 million from East Pakistan. As they came to the border, Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India were killed by those of the rival religions. Because of this, Hinduism and Islam still remain the predominant religions in India and Pakistan today.
10. Conflict in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is a fairly large island off the coast of India. It has around 20 million inhabitants, so double the population of New York City! But since 1983, the Sinhalese Buddhists and the Tamil Hindus have fought endlessly, resulting in a loss of almost 60,000 people. The sinhalese are Buddhists who speak an Indo-European language, while the Tamils are Hindus who speak a Dravidian language. Since the Sinhalese overpowers the population at 74% (the Tamils are only 18%), they have dominated the military and most of commerce in Sri Lanka. The Tamils felt they were being discriminated against,and began their rebellion in 1983, taking a high point in 1993 when they assassinated their Sinhalese president. The fighting was ceased in 2002, but has been compromised many times violently.
11. Case Study: Dividing the Kurds The Kurds live in the Caucasus south of the Armenians and Azeris. The Kurds are Sunni Muslims who speak a language in the Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European and have distinctive literature, dress, and other cultural traditions. The Kurds used to live in a n independent nation-state called Kurdistan during the 1920s, but today 30 million Kurds are split among several countries. Kurds are one-fourth of the population of Turkey, one-fifth of Iraq, and one-tenth in Iran. When the victorious European allies carved the Ottoman Empire after World War I, they created an independent state of Kurdistan to the south and west of Van Golu under the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. Before the treaty was ratified the Turks, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal successfully fought to expand the territory under their control beyond the small area the allies had allocated to them. The Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 established the modern state of Turkey. Kurdistan became part of Turkey and disappeared as an independent state.To foster the development of Turkish nationalism, the TUrks have tried more than once to suppress Kurdish culture. The use of the Kurdish language was illegal in Turkey until 1991, and laws banning its use in broadcasts and classrooms remain in force. Kurdish nationalists have waged a guerrilla war since 1984 against the Turkish army. Kurds in other countries have fared just as poorly as those in Turkey. Turks in Iran attempted to have an independent republic and the Kurds in Iraq have made several unsuccessful attempts to gain independence.
12. Case Study: Dividing the Kurds In conclusion, despite their numbers, the Kurds are an ethnicity with no corresponding Kurdish state today. Instead, they are forced to live under the control of the region’s more powerful nationalities.
13. Case Study: Dividing the Kurds