EDF 2085 Reflection #16

Jackie Lawrence
EDF 2085
Reflection Paper #16

Ratko Mladic is the Serbian military commander who was largely responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia. Civilians were terrorized, raped, and left to die in concentration camps throughout the war. It didn’t matter if Serbs, the so-called superior ethnic group, were living in cities that were to be cleansed. They were warned, and if they neglected to evacuate, they might have been killed as well. The Serbs, as highly successful cleansers, had their method down pact: concentration, decapitation, separation, evacuation, and liquidation. Over two hundred thousand people were killed and millions more were left without a place to call home.
In 1994, half a million Tutsi people were killed in Rwanda when the Hutu majority decided to mass arms and wipe out an entire ethnic group. Political ideologies, ethnic tensions, religious beliefs and media propaganda were chief factors in the promotion of what ultimately became genocide. This civil war was extremely organized and weapons such as grenades, machetes, and AK-47 assault rifles were used.
In western Sudan, a region called Darfur, one million black villagers were driven from their homes and executed by the Arab military. The reasoning of the Arabs was based on the fact that their skin was lighter, which, in their minds, made them superior. Janjaweed were Arab bandits that were known for stealing livestock and attacking innocent Africans. They were eventually enlisted as foot soldiers for the Arab military during a resistance movement. Tension over cattle eventually reached its peak, so torture and massacre were justifiable. The Arabs used methods such as raids and air assaults to kill the Africans.
Racial and ethnic divisions only lead to turmoil and tragedy. The purpose of studying history is to learn from the mistakes of the past, and regrettably, history seems to sometimes repeat itself. The terrifying part is that as technology continues to progress, we become more capable of mass destruction and completely wiping ourselves out. The crimes committed during these ethnic cleanses are absolutely horrifying and should never have been tolerated, even by bystanders. Personally, I just cannot fathom detesting a group of people to the point I want them dead, especially just because of their religion or the color of their skin.