Oppression In The Rohingya

By establishing humans as inherently capable of evil, and perpetrators of evil as no less human, Hatzfield encourages a nuanced understanding of the causes of genocide. In doing so, Hatzfield warns readers of the ease with which genocide can take place and cautions against allowing prejudice to take hold in communities. In Rwanda, Hutus lived with Tutsis as friends and neighbors mere days prior to slaughtering them. However, the groundwork for the massacres “was the result of plans and preparations formulated essentially by collective decision” long before the genocide began (52). Radio propaganda drove tensions far in advance, and the assassination of the Hutu president was not the reason for the genocide but the signal for it to finally begin. Hatzfield establishes this point by humanizing the Hutus. One of the interviewees explains that when “you receive a new order, you hesitate but you obey, or else you’re taking a risk. When you have been prepared the right way by the radios and the official advice, you obey more easily, even if the order is to kill your neighbors” (71). While this could easily be dismissed as an excuse born of fear and guilt, understanding the truth of this statement is crucial to the prevention of further mass violence; indeed, if the preparation through propaganda and conditioning can be identified,

“How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think” (Hitler, Mein Kampf). As time passed, there has been many times in history where a genocide has occurred. A genocide is a one-sided massacre from one party toward an ethnic or different group of people. As genocides occurred, questions such as “Why do people kill?” and “How can people allow these atrocities to occur?” are asked. There have been many theories made up as people researched the reason behind genocides. Throughout different centuries in history, genocides such as the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the Asian genocide, have occurred because of the negative psychological effects on the people caused by propaganda, corrupted leaders, and differences in ethnic groups.

In the pursuit of safety, acceptance, and the public good, many atrocities have been committed in places such as Abu Ghraib and My Lai, where simple, generally harmless people became the wiling torturers and murderers of innocent people. Many claim to have just been following orders, which illustrates a disturbing trend in both the modern military and modern societies as a whole; when forced into an obedient mindset, many normal and everyday people can become tools of destruction and sorrow, uncaringly inflicting pain and death upon the innocent.

Throughout history, instances of genocide, mass murder, and extreme acts of violence are widespread and pervade through every culture and society. As demonstrated by Panh, Lifton, and O’Brien, similar examples of excessive violence can occur in widely different situations. In order for such violence to occur, there first must exist certain systematic factors. In this paper, I will argue that conditions of instability within a country allow for changes in belief and perception, and these changed perceptions leads to dehumanization and the loss of human rights. The Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide and the Vietnam War, all follow this pattern to some extent. First, I will compare and contrast the ways in which the Holocaust and Cambodian genocide follow this pattern, as well as explore the separate factors within each and possible solutions to these factors. Next, I will discuss the dramatically different Vietnam War, compare and contrast it to the other two, and explore how the uniqueness of the Vietnam War impacts the possible solutions for the loss of human rights within this situation.

“Who says life is fair, where is that written?” William Goldman. Life is never fair, but the solution never stems from bringing the ones more powerful down as well. This is what violence reaps. Whenever life is unfair violence tears everything down and those who fought so hard to be equal are left with nothing but brooding hatred on both sides. On the contrary, if the disenfranchised ones solve their issues through nonviolence, the ruling party has no one else to blame for what they’ve done but themselves.

Over 120,000 Rohingya people are fleeing Myanmar to Bangladesh due to ongoing violence and mass killings. Turkish president states that, “Those who close their eyes to this genocide perpetrated under the cover of democracy are its collaborators” (“Is Genocide Happening”). The world had no reaction, they just watched all they killings happen. Wiesel states “It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions…”(par. 8). He states the person who is “indifferent”, their “neighbor are of no consequence” and as a result their lives lives are “meaningless”(par. 8). He asks us “ Do we feel their pain, their agony?” We don’t take a stand or speak out until we experience suffering ourselves. For these reasons, Wiesel’s speech is more relevant now than ever, but that is only half of Wiesel’s message. He also discusses the importance of resistance and taking action to prevent human suffering during the

It is amazing how easily one can use his or her power to destroy communities, families, and lives to accommodate to their beliefs and ideals. In response to Elie Wiesel, human lives are no doubt priceless because one can never replace another life after it has been lost. It has come to my attention that Elie’s quote is based on his experience of seeing the lives of his fellow ethnic group members being eradicated for a superficial ideal; moreover, I strongly agree what Elie is conveying in his words. No matter what complication violence should never be the answer, but when one is forced back against a wall then there has to be self defense whether it is a bully at school or a psychopath who planned a genocide that killed millions of people. At that moment is when all humans should pay attention to the matter.

Throughout human history, mass killings have occurred on groups of people purely based on false stereotypes or rumors, built up aggression, power dominance, or physical attributions such as race. In the past 150 years, there has been a spike in the number of genocides, despite the culture that the killing takes place in. Therefore, it is impossible whether to deem these monstrous acts are of natural human, cultural, or sociological nature. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the causes, processes, and effects of the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide in terms of reification when comparing and contrasting the two horrific events. Additionally, elements of the logic of illogic and a doctrine of false concreteness will be discussed in an in-depth effort to uncover the mindset of these horrific atrocities.

Millions of people around the world have power, but they do not always use their power for the right reasons. Some people in a position of power abuse their power. When a person abuses their power they inflict fear and violence on others, which has a negative effect.

People who have power can have negative effects on others because they can be intolerant and dangerous. Power may seem like a good thing, but I can promise you it’s not.

What is the denotation of the term oppression? It is defined as unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power (MerriamWebster.com). Mao Zedong, a malicious and dictatorial tyrant, was a leader of China who exposed the nation to numerous forms of oppression. Through the movements known as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, Mao removed capitalistic and traditional principles from China’s society while implementing both communistic and socialistic ways. During the time period of the these movements, the civilians of China faced cultural, political, and even religious molds of repression. After the first movement, known as the Great Leap Forward, a campaign to radically conform China from agrarian standpoints to an industrialized communist society, millions of Chinese citizens died from famines and other forms of maltreatment. Deaths from hunger reached more than fifty percent in some Chinese villages and the total number of dead from 1959 to 1961 was between thirty and forty million, which is equivalent to the population of California (Edwards). After the time of the Cultural Revolution, over 1.5 million civilians died during the movement, and others were tortured, publicly humiliated, or suffered imprisonment (History.com). The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang brings to life the cultural oppression that the Chinese citizens faced during the time Mao Zedong led China.

Genocide, a dire event, has been recurring time and time again throughout history. In the past, there was the Holocaust, where Hitler exterminated over six million Jews based on his anti-semitic views. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish author, has become a very influential man in educating the world of the true events of the Holocaust due to his involvement in the disaster. Presently, a genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, in which according to Cheryl Goldmark, “a systematic slaughter of non-Arab residents at the the hands of Arab militiamen called Janjaweed” has been taking place since 2003. (1) Not only is genocide a tragic historical event, it also continuously occurs today.

In the past two years, a genocide has been going on in Myanmar that little people around the world know about. The victims that have been affected by this mass murder are the Rohingya Muslims, who originated from the subcontinent of India and are a minority group that makes up 5% of the country’s population. Today, the physical and emotional abuse endured by the Rohingya Muslims prevails a prominent issue in the Middle East. Over in Burma, many of the Muslims are murdered, beaten, or attacked by various religious groups, while government officials either stand and watch or occasionally help.

Burma, like many other Southeast Asian nations, is a land of much culture and diversity of ethnic groups. Unfortunately, unlike the people of other nations, the people of Burma have been stripped of their human rights. Since the military junta had overtaken the Burmese government in 1988, the people of Burma have been among the most oppressed people in the world. The continuation of the government’s brutality has caught the attention of many outside nations around the world who increasingly have been intervening in Burma’s issues to help its people. As these occurrences are a major issue for the people of Burma, these problems are not restricted to its boundaries. They are also becoming a problem for

The oppression of a group of people can create anger against those who are the oppressors. The oppressors in this story are the British who are in control of Burma. The police officer in the story witnesses this hatred towards himself and other Europeans. This is shown when he says “No one had the guts to raise a riot, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress. As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so” (Orwell). This shows how the Burmese hate the European people for being the ones that oppress them. The officer also mentions how he begins to hate the Burmese because of how they treat him. Imperialism creates anger and hatred on both sides and this is one