A Primer on Stop Genocide
The term "genocide" encapsulates the worst of human behavior and experience—the most extreme actions motivated by the most extreme manifestations of racism, fear, and power. Though the precise definition of the term is subject to ongoing debate, in short, genocide entails the destruction of a people based on their membership to a particular group—a violation of the most basic right to exist, a crime against not only individuals, but entire populations.
Background Posts on Stop Genocide
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It's a more exciting debate than you think. Not excited? Ok, then it's an incredibly important debate with significant ramifications on (the theoretical possibility of) international response to genocide. Read on.
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Genocide is far from a straight-forward concept, and like anything else in the political realm, is mired in disagreements, misuse, and controversies. The common thread? Each of these controversies stands in the way of meaningful action to end genocide, once and for all.
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Over 1,000,000 6,000,000 and 5,000,000. 1,700,000. 200,000. 800,000. 300,000. And counting.
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My list of must-read books, blogs, columns...and one must-listen podcast.
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Raphael Lemkin's creation and development of the term "genocide" represents a mere mid-point in a life dedicated to the pursuit of protection and justice for marginalized groups. Before the rest of the world woke up to it, Lemkin recognized the particular horrors of mass human extermination.
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After his first exposition of "genocide" in Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, Raphael Lemkin sought to create a legal framework for the recognition of genocide as an international crime, which meant encoding prevention, protection, and punishment mechanisms into international law.
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In Episode 1 of 3 on the history of Sudan and the genocide in Darfur, we review the historical roots of the crisis, starting at the country's independence from Great Britain. (Though it actually goes even deeper than that.) The post-colonial history of Sudan is characterized by constant instability and near- constant conflict. The patterns of violence developed during the First and Second Civil Wars are now seen in Darfur. For those of you out there with history-induced narcolepsy--stop yawning. In order to fully understand the current situation in Darfur, it must be considered as part and parcel of this larger context. (Besides, it won't take you nearly as long to read it as it took me to write it.)
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“Khartoum will never go back to being a secular capital.” In Episode 2 of our three-part tour of Sudanese history, we turn to newly-imposed dictator General Omar al-Bashir and his penchant for violence and oppression. The Second Civil War with the South reached even greater levels of brutality under his direction, and the genocide in Darfur is a direct outgrowth of this period, as are the patterns of violence and ethnic cleansing.
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Episode 3 of 3 (but hardly the final chapter): The Genocide in Darfur. Its roots, its beginning, but sadly, not its end. 300,000 dead, 2.5 million displaced, and counting.
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The follow-up to "Sudan: A History in Three Part Disharmony," this post gives a brief update (there's always more to talk about) of major developments in Darfur this year.
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Don't be a Bystander!
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Videos on genocide tend not to be the most uplifting of visual experiences. However, even more than photographs, footage of genocide-related subjects can break through, to an extent, the abstraction and distance of the written word.
The Definition Debacle (or, The Many Meanings of Genocide)
5 Controversies on Genocide (...but not the only five.)
Top 10 Recommended Readings on Genocide
Raphael Lemkin: The Original Anti-Genocide Activist (Part I)
Sudan: A History in Three-Part Disharmony (Part I)
Sudan: A History in Three-Part Disharmony (Part II)
Sudan: A History in Three-Part Disharmony (Part III)
Darfur Developments in 2008: Indictments and Escalation
10 Things YOU Can Do to Stop Genocide
Your temporary guide to all things genocide
False History, Real Genocide: The Use and Abuse of Identity in Rwanda
Genocide in Rwanda: "A Distinctly Modern Tragedy"
Writers
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Michelle .
- Washington, DC
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Michelle became involved in the anti-genocide cause at a young age, and has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns, ever since.
