April 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the murder of some 800,000 Tutsi by Hutu militias in Rwanda. Sadly, this horrific event was preceded and followed by equally horrific others.
What is genocide?
The UN defines genocide as: "a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part." The word genocide is less than a hundred years old. Raphael Lemkin coined it from the Greek in 1941 [genos (race, tribe) + cide (killing)]. It is safe to say that genocide existed for millennia before it had a name. Groups of humans have been trying to exterminate others they perceived as threats, competition, or merely different from themselves since humans first formed group identities. However, Rome's utter destruction of Carthage in 146 BCE is widely considered the first documented instance of genocide.
What are the worst examples of genocide?
One might think that as humankind has become more "civilized' and modern, our murderous urges and fear of the other would have lessened. They have not. Instead, we industrialized mass murder. The 20th century saw no fewer than seven large-scale acts of genocide (and, depending on your definition, many, many smaller ones).
- Stalin's Forced Famine: 1932-1933 - 7,000,000 Deaths
- Nazi Holocaust: 1938-1945 - 6,000,000 Deaths
- Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979 - 2,000,000 Deaths
- Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918 - 1,500,000 Deaths
- Rwanda: 1994 - 800,000 Deaths
- Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938 - 300,000 Deaths
- Bosnia-Herzegovina (The former Yugoslavia): 1992-1995 - 200,000 Deaths
Source: historyplace.com
Where is it happening now?
You could even look at that list and be forgiven for thinking, "Well, we're thirty years removed from the last ones, maybe..." But there are dozens of hotspots across the globe that, if not already classifiable genocides, could make future lists depending on the judgment of history--Israel's war against Palestinians, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and China's treatment of Muslim Uyghurs are the most often cited possible current examples.
What I do know is that hate begets hate; atrocity begets atrocity. It is hard not to look at what's happening in Israel right now and not see at least the broad outlines of the U.N.'s definition. It is equally difficult not to see Israel's massive retaliation for the Hamas attacks of October 7 in the context of the countless murders, pogroms, and expulsions the Jewish people have suffered from the middle ages onward that culminated, but did not end, in Nazi Germany's 'final solution.'
Is there anything we can do about it?
Given the situation in so many places across the globe and what seems to be a constant escalation of hate-filled rhetoric against marginalized populations, even in stable, prosperous democracies, it is impossible to end this on a hopeful note. But I will say that technology will make it harder and harder for mass murders to go unseen and denied by those who perpetrate them.
We, especially those who live in putative representative democracies, must demand that our governments take real, substantive action against those who spout genocidal rhetoric and those who carry out genocidal actions--even when it is not politically convenient. We must demand that morality trump expediency. Failing that, all we can do is remember. And watch.
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