Two Jewish children are hiding in a dirty old basement, counting the number of steps a German soldier takes as he paces back and forth in search of any Jew that managed to escape. A seven year old girl in desperate measures takes her hand and covers her little brother's mouth in order to silence her frighten little brother. She takes quick glances and notices that she is not alone; she is surrounded by a variety of aged Jews. Each one of their faces had a different story of fear. It was as if they were playing an extreme game of hide and seek, but there is a difference between playing the game and hiding in order to save your life. Every time the wood would creek, the Jews would tense up and hold their breaths. The little girl then noticed that her fear had caused her to create a puddle of pee between her legs.
Little did the girl know that her pee sent out an aroma that led the German soldier straight to her hiding spot; unfortunately everyone was captured by the German soldiers. One by one, they were lead to a train which carried animal feces, dead Jews, and many unrecognizable Jews that feared to know what would happen next. All the Jews were lead to the back leaving little to no space for themselves, while feeling of disgust was felt by the little girl. The little girl realizes how dehumanized they were being treated, while even animals were feed good portions of food leaving the Jews to starve.
The train finally comes to a complete stop, and doors open wide and a river of Jews unleashes leaving the little girl trampled on the train. Germans shout, "women on to the right, men to the left!" After making line, they were stripped of every valuable possession they had brought along with them. Germans easily manipulated the Jews in thinking they were going to be showered, but in reality death was awaiting them in massive ovens. The hope of survival was diminishing for every Jew, as they witnessed the cruel Germans tossing innocent children in the ovens. The odor that was released was the smell of death calling every Jew.
Every step the little girl took a step it meant a step closer their death. Finally she reaches the opening, and is dragged into the pitch black room. Seconds later, bodies are slowly burned to their death while the same thing happened to the males.
Genocides are "an attempt to eliminate, directly by killing them or indirectly by creating conditions (e.g. starvation) that lead to their death, a whole group of people" (Staub 368).There could be an existent genocide where there are small groups of killing over a small period of time. In contrast, there could be big groups of people being massacred within long periods of time (Akbar 4). Since the first genocide (Carthage) in 146 B.C, there have been other genocides that have long been mentioned throughout history books. Several genocides have made huge impacts on the world, and that is why they are so long remembered and mentioned by the people. Some historical genocides are the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Native American Genocide. From these past examples, we could say that genocides have occurred in different places, ethnic groups, and religions all over the world. Not everyone in this world is born with a benevolent heart. Greed can overpower someone's mind which can lead to them to intentionally do wicked things to people.
According to Greogry H. Stanton, from the US State Department, there are eight stages to classifying a genocide.
Is there anyone out there that can explain why people turn against each other? According to Eric Staub, the professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, genocides are placed under three different categories. He says, "There are many bases on which groups turn against each other apart from ethnicity, such as religion, political differences, and social class membership" (370).
Religion can stir brutal debates and conflicts among people; as a result, it can cost many lives. There is no formula to calculate how many people have been killed due to religious disagreements. But as time goes by, the number of deaths of people who practice certain religions are incrementing at a rapid pace. The most current example of a genocide caused by religion is the one in Nigeria. About eight months ago, five-hundred Christians were hacked to death by Muslims because of religious differences ("The Last Crusades"). The Muslim perpetrators have no pity for Christians, nor can they stand to put themselves in a Christian's shoes. According to Mark Hackett, a reporter from the OBS reports states, "150 bodies of men, women and children are shoved into wells and sewage pits in an attempt to cover up a massacre." Several bodies have been found decapitated and dismembered. More than a few Christians who managed to escape to a nearby village reported that the perpetrators would carry guns, and machetes. To add, Muslims would break into the Christians home and burn their victims alive("Operation Broken Silence"). They had no preference in killing any person, if they were Christians, Muslims had the duty to wipe them out. "Ethnic cleansing" would be a better phrase to describe the way the Muslims thought of the genocide ("Operation Broken Silence"). It is safe to state that the purpose of genocide could be to have dominant control over a group of people. "50% of Nigeria is now Islamic. Twenty years ago, the country was a bastion of Christianity in Africa with 90% of the population adhering to the Christian faith" ("Christian Martyr").
Unlike genocides caused by religious arguments, political difference genocides are caused because two parties oppose in political views. In other words, habitants of a country that do not concur with their government policies or ideas are bound to never see light for the rest of their lives. According to Scott Straus, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Darfur's government that is backed by "Arab" militias have been wanting to annihilate all black Africans off their country since February 2003. Straus also asserts that, "The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) began attacking government targets in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs" (127). Since the Darfur genocide began, "...government violence against the Africans has claimed the lives of more than 70,000 civilians" (Straus 123). The Sudanese government has used manipulating strategies to scare away the Africans by the use of, "…rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers and mass murder" (Straus 124).
Social class membership genocides are quite different from the religious and political genocides. Social class genocides are caused because one group thinks their culture or economic status is better than the other groups. In Rwanda, Hutus and Tutsis execute one another because they both have resentment accumulated in their hearts over who is superior in wealth. All this started back in 1916 where the Belgians considered that the Tutsis were superior in wealth than the Hutus. To add, President Juvenile Habyarimana which belong to the Hutu's was assassinated and the Hutus blamed the Tutsis for the death of the President. The Hutus do not stay behind; they assassinate the Tutsis for thinking that they are wealthier. This has become like a civil war, where both ends refuse to stop killing each other. Around 500,000 Hutus and 100,000 Tutsis have been killed in the process of the genocide. Neither parties cease fire, this is partly because if the Hutus declare peace, they might be attacked by the Tutsis when they least expect it, and vice versa ("How the Genocide Happened"). Tutsis that had been killed by the Hutus where then thrown into the rivers of Rwanda. Like the Muslims, Hutus also decapitate their victims.
Is there anything that we could really do to stop genocides? Maybe not. But what we could do is inform ourselves about events that surround us. Let us not forget that although genocides that impacted history have already passed; there will always be genocides around us.
