Rwandan Genocide

Genocide is defined as the mass murder of an ethnic or racial group. Throughout history there have been a number of genocide occurrences in various locations all throughout the world. One of the fairly recent tragic events was the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when thousands upon thousands of people of Rwanda, Africa were brutally killed. The Rwandan genocide specifically targeted the Rwandan people of Tutsis and Hutus, two of the three primary ethnic groups that reside in the African country of Rwanda. Due to internal conflicts and power struggles within the Rwanda government, the Rwanda genocide was initiated by its own people, the Hutu people, who are considered higher up in the social hierarchy ladder than the Tutsis or the Twas, the third main ethnic group of Rwanda.

The Rwanda genocide is thought to have been initiated by the assassination of former Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. Habyarimana was assassinated on April 6, 1994 when the airplane he was riding in was shot down. The former president of neighboring country Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, was also in the aircraft when it was targeted and shot down near the Kigali International Airport. Former president of approximately 20 years, Juvénal Habyarimana was of the Hutu descent, and it is said that he heavily favored the Hutu people over Tutsis and Twas. His lengthy dictatorship created many internal conflicts and ethnic tensions within the people of the nation, and his assassination was the spark which started the tragic Rwanda genocide. The Rwandan genocide is documented to have lasted approximately one hundred days, maybe more, from the date of Habyarimana’s death, April 6, 1994 until sometime around the middle of July. The total death count of the Rwanda genocide is anywhere between 800,000 to one million men, women, and children of all ages. It is estimated that the Rwanda genocide depleted the nation’s population by almost 20%.

Prior to the start of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, internal conflicts within the nation brewed as ethnic tensions between the Tutsis and the Hutu grew stronger and more hostile with each passing day. A rebel group, who called themselves the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), was formed in 1987 and is comprised mainly of Tutsi refugees. The RPF, with the help of Uganda, a bordering country, invaded Hutu territory in 1990, declaring the Rwandan Civil War. The Hutus were supported by the French. From the Rwandan Civil War came about the establishment of the Hutu Power, an ideological group opposing the Rwandan Patriotic Front and all Tutsis. In current day Rwanda, peace has been relatively established and the RPF is currently the major political party of Rwanda.

The Rwandan genocide is a tragic event that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children of all ages. Though the Rwanda genocide happened almost 16 years ago, the nation is still feeling the effects of such a horrific occurrence. There is an abundance of information available via the Internet about the facts and special reports of the Rwanda genocide, as well as multimedia and survivor testimonials.

Bosnian Genocide

Genocides are atrocious acts of terror, usually initiated by some irrational thought or behaviors, which end up with far too many lives of men, women, and children of all ages being killed senselessly. These absurd acts of horror happen far too often in the history of the human race, with some of the most notable genocides being the Holocaust, which happened in the European nation of Germany. A far more recent genocide that took place in a different part of the European continent is known as the Bosnian genocide. The Bosnia genocide is one that is relatively obscure however, it was nonetheless a tragic event that crippled the nation’s population and forever scarred its history.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is a small country in Europe, bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the south, Croatia to the north, and Serbia to the east. The three primary ethnic groups that make up the majority of the population of Bosnia are the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. The country of Bosnia has a long and complex history, a direct result of national and ethnic conflicts between people of different religious backgrounds and ethnicities. Bosnia was originally a part of a larger country, Yugoslavia, which was created after World War I. The population of Yugoslavia was comprised of many different ethnic backgrounds as well as religious groups; most of whom which were bitter rivals, perhaps even enemies, with a long and tense history. The majority of Yugoslavia was composed of Serbs, who were mainly Orthodox Christians, Croats, mostly Catholics, and ethnic Albanians who were majority Muslim. During World War II, German Nazis invaded and divided Yugoslavia however, when the Germans conceded defeat at the end of World War II, Yugoslavia was reunited by communist leader Josip Tito. Over the years, the bitterness and hostility of the rival ethnic and religious groups sharing the same country was brewing and bubbling until a civil war finally erupted in the early 1990s. Bosnia parted from Yugoslavia and became an independent nation in 1992. The majority population of Bosnia was made up of Muslims, while Serbs became the minority, accounting for about 32% of the Bosnian population. The long and complex history of Bosnia is much responsible for the internal conflicts which ultimately led to the Bosnian genocide.

Once Bosnia was declared an independent nation, many of the Serbs residing in Bosnia were bitter and decided to take action. The main victims of the Bosnia genocide happened to be Muslims. It is documented that approximately 200,000 lives were taken during the occurrence of the Bosnian genocide. The procedure of the Bosnian genocide was comparable to the Holocaust. Men were systematically lined up and grouped to be gunned down and brutally murdered during the Bosnia genocide. Boys over the age of 13 were also main targets of the Serbs during the Bosnian genocide. Women and young children were victims of sexual violence and rape while the Bosnia genocide occurred. The Bosnia genocide is a truly horrific event that left thousands of families separated and until this day, there are still people considered missing and thousands more without a proper burial and funeral.

Armenian Genocide

During the First World War which occurred from the years 1914 until 1918, many horrific and tragic events took place in the relatively short four year span in various nations throughout the continent of Europe. The infamous Armenian genocide was perhaps one of the more notable events that had occurred during World War I. The Armenia genocide, also known as the Armenian Massacres and to the native Armenians, the Great Calamity, is widely documented to be one of the very first genocidal mass murders in the 20th century. The Armenian genocide is most often associated with World War I, just as how the Holocaust is associated with World War II. In fact, next to only the Holocaust, the Armenia genocide is the second most studied and documented case of a genocide in recent times. It is generally known that the number of casualties suffered during the Armenian genocide is approximately between 1 and 1.5 million men, women, and children of all ages. The exact date of the start of the Armenia genocide is unclear, however the official date commemorated by present-day Armenians is on April 24th, also known as Genocide Memorial Day. The Armenian genocide was initiated by the Ottoman Empire military, when thousands upon thousands of Armenians were suddenly extracted from their homes and were forced to march hundreds of miles without food or water to a desert.

The Armenian genocide is known to be one of the very first mass murders that were executed in a systematic and premeditated manner. The Ottoman authorities responsible for the Armenia genocide meticulously planned to have all the Armenian intellectuals and leaders grouped and murdered. Without their leaders, the Armenian people were hopelessly lost and manipulated by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Several hundreds of massacres were used to mercilessly murder hundreds of thousands of Armenians, with no regard for age or gender. Along with massacres, the helpless and vulnerable Armenians were forced to march for hundreds and hundreds of miles to a desert without food and water, another tactic used by the Turks to slowly induce suffering and kill the Armenians. Those who survived the march were stranded alone in the desert with no shelter and hardly any clothing, and most were killed upon arrival regardless. During these death marches of the Armenia genocide, women and children were brutally raped and humiliated. Families were often separated, and many Armenian children were kidnapped by the Turkish people. Able bodied men were taken from the march in order to help with the war efforts, and immediately killed thereafter.

Relief efforts to alleviate the pains and sufferings of the surviving Armenians have done little to ease the horrific memories of the Armenian genocide. The Republic of Turkey, what used to be the Ottoman Empire, strongly denies the Armenia genocide. Millions of Armenians were brutally murdered during the genocide, and throughout various European countries, more than 135 memorials dedicated to the Armenian genocide have been established.

Genocide in Darfur

The Genocide in Darfur is one of the most recent tragic events to occur in modern day history. The Darfur genocide has taken hundreds of thousands of lives in Darfur and the surrounding region, and the effects of the Genocide in Darfur are still very real and felt throughout the nation to this very day. In fact, the Darfur genocide has yet to cease, and it is believed that still even today, hundreds of people are being ruthlessly murdered and uprooted from their homes. Darfur is a region of Sudan, the largest country located in the continent of Africa. Sudan’s neighboring countries are Egypt to the north, Ethiopia and Eritrea to the east, Chad to the west, and the various countries of Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic lie along the southern border of Sudan. The Nile River, also the longest known river in the world, runs through the country of Sudan. Darfur is a region of Sudan which is approximately about the size of Texas, and is split into three main governments: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur. The majority of the population in Darfur is comprised of Muslim peoples, a racial diversity of several different African tribes as well as nomadic people who consider themselves Arab. Darfur is a relatively poor region, with many of the Africans and Arabs being peasant farmers and herders. The primary cause of the Genocide in Darfur is known to stem from the unfair and harsh treatment of the people of Darfur by the Sudan government. Though the Sudanese government publicly denies any prejudice and wrongdoing, they have been thought to support and fund the Janjaweed, a militia group mainly composed of Afro-Arabs, or Arabic speaking African tribes, who are primarily responsible for the initiation and continuance of the Darfur genocide.

It is believed that approximately 400,000 lives have been taken during the Darfur genocide, along with more than 2.5 million men, women, and children forced to leave their homes and become refugees, running for their lives. Presently, hundreds of civilians are being killed and chased from their villages. With each passing month, thousands more of innocent men, women, and children are killed, beat, humiliated, and raped while the Sudan government turns a blind eye. International intervention has done little to alleviate the Genocide in Darfur, and unfortunately, the crisis in Africa seems to show little to no signs of slowing down. Hundreds of relief effort groups and petitions have begun in the United States, and in 2006, Congress passed a bill called the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. This act calls for the International Criminal Court to take action against the ruthless criminals in Darfur who continue to murder and humiliate not only the Darfur civilians, but activists, journalists, and aid workers as well. There are many ways for individuals in the United States to assist with the Genocide in Darfur, and taking action can be quick and simple. There are online petitions available to persuade the United States government to create funds to assist those suffering from the Darfur genocide. There are also hundreds of anti-genocide and activist groups who are constantly working to assist in any way possible for the Genocide in Darfur.