Genocide Is a Traumatic Part Essay

In other words, until the amount of the dead is considered high enough to have an internal effect, there will be little or no aid to the endangered population.

Summaries

"Eyewitness Testimony"

Raphael Lempkin was a man who escaped Nazism in 1939 and came to the U.S. After the war, he worked with the League of Nations to ensure that crimes against a group of people would be punished. He is credited with coining the term "genocide." He was not just concerned with the murderous actions of the Nazis, but also of the Ukranians and Russians, Poles and Slavs, and all other groups who were victimized because of how they differed from the attacking group.

"Ghost of Rwanda."

In Rwanda, 800,000 people were killed by racial extremists. The Tutsis were massacred by the Hutu because of racial differences. The Tutsis had been a rebellious group which demanded equal land from Hutu-controlled territory. The UN determined that the Hutu would have to share land with the Tutsis. Not just Tutsis, but all "moderate Hutus" were targeted for extermination. The only part of the international community willing to aid Rwanda was the small country of Belgium, many of whom were murdered as well. The United States was not quick to act because of a prior failure in their involvement with Somalia. No group came to give aid, until the Red Cross stepped in. They were the group who got international attention to the issue and more Red Cross aid was allowed through the country. One man in particular, Captain Mbaye Diagne saved a thousand lives even while the UN was stalling. Samantha Power The speaker in this video explains how the United States could have created difficulties to perpetrators of genocide. There is a difference between ethnic cleansing and genocide, according to governments. Only when a number of deaths has reached the accepted level of genocide will international aid be provided. Part of this problem, Power states, is that the people do not punish politicians for failure to act on behalf of victims of genocide. Works Cited: "?Ghosts of Rwanda? - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 30 July 2011. . "Preventing Genocide - Gallery - Eyewitness Testimony - Raphael Lemkin." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 31 July 2011. http://www.ushmm.org/genocide/take_action/gallery/portrait/lemkin "?Samantha Power: America and the Age of Genocide? - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 31 July 2011. ......