Genocide-NewWord, Old Concept

Genocide: New word, Old concept.

Genocide is a relatively new word, coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe a behaviour that has been documented throughout the history of man. Genocide is a combination of Greek and Latin words and in its simplest translation means tribe killing. Lemkin, 1945, describes his views on genocide as “a coordinated plan aimed at destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups so that these groups wither and die like plants that have suffered a blight”. This annihilation of a race of people can be achieved by many different means, be they social, political, removal of culture or dignity, and by violent force. Lemkin termed genocide in relation to the World War II atrocities that were being committed by the German Nazi’s against any opposing cultures, and any sympathetic German’s. The term has now been applied to more recent events, including Rwanda, Darfur and Chechnya, and has been backdated to past events, which have now been recognised as fulfilling the requirements to be termed genocide. The term genocide has now been formally recognised and ratified into law, allowing the people responsible for performing these acts to be held accountable for their actions. As stated in the Convention on the Punishment and Prevention for the Crime of Genocide (1948), genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole, or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such;
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measure intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Genocide is one of the most horrific acts man is capable of, however, there are many conflicts still occurring today. Why is this so? The causes behind genocide, and their interrelation with each other is quite complex. The combination of limited resources and overpopulation, previous interracial conflicts, propaganda, stereotypes, legalized discrimination and ethnic segregation/racial prejudice all play a role in the inception of genocide. The significance of a genocide is that these factors can occur individually in a society without genocide occurring. The problem appears when these factors culminate at the same time to create a tension so high it manifests itself as genocide. In more recent times, with the inception of the United Nations, ignorance and failure to act by other nations has allowed genocide to continue to be a problem throughout the world, with the most prominent at the moment being the conflict in Darfur.
To demonstrate how these incidents react to create a genocide, the conflicts of Rwanda in 1994 will be explored along with the atrocities committed in WWII.

One possible explanation for the act of genocide is the very real threat of limited resources, with not enough land or food to go around creating a sense of panic and ‘every man for himself’. Whilst this was not the case in Rwanda, through cleaver use of propaganda, this basic threat of overpopulation was provoked to instil a sense of fear and urgency (retrieved from website: www.hrw.org). The use and effectiveness of propaganda will be explored further in this piece.

Many prejudices occur within a society and it has been said that if we were to wake up one day with every person being the same race, creed and colour, we would find something else to be prejudice about (Aiken, cited in Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Racism is one such prejudice, which is rampant in today’s society and plays an important part in the instigation of genocide. Racism includes racist ideologies, prejudiced attitudes, discriminatory behaviour, structural arrangements and institutionalised practices resulting in racial inequality (Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, 1978). The basis behind these thoughts are sometimes falsely justified with factitious moral or scientific evidence. These false beliefs are then reflected in discriminatory legislation or regulations and promotes anti-social beliefs. The purpose of this legislation is to hinder the development of the victims and ensure power is retained by the group committing the acts (Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, 1978).

In the case of Rwanda, prejudices occurred between different ethnic groups. Three main ethnic groups coexisted in Rwanda for over two thousand years in relative peace. These being the majority Hutus, the second largest being the Tutsi and the Twa making up the remaining 1% of the population. The occupation of Rwanda by Belgian forces created a feeling of unrest within the existing tribes. Before occupation by the Belgians, literal translation of Tutsi and Hutu were descriptions of a person’s status. The Tutsi were considered to be rich in cattle, whilst the Hutu were sub-ordinate to or a follower of a more powerful person. These definitions were more akin to the Indian Caste system then defined ethnic groups. Beliefs by the Belgians were that the Tutsi were superior to the Hutu, and the Belgians reinforced this belief by promoting Tutsi leaders. The belief of the Europeans at the time was that the Whites were superior to the Tutsi, who were superior to the Hutu, who were superior to the Twa. Identity cards were introduced to further instil a sense of social categorization, with physical features predominately the distinction between the different tribes. This further lead the Tutsi to believe they were superior to the Hutu (retrieved from website: www.hrw.org). Hence, with the abolishment of European governance and the first democratic election, resentment and effective propaganda inflamed underlying tension.

Deindividuation signifies a loss of individuality and self-awareness, which occurs most often in the presence of others (Baumiester & Bushman, 2008). This results in people being more likely to act on their impulses, culminating in antisocial behaviour. In this case, with the introduction of governmental doctrines, the responsibility was removed from the individual, hence their sense of accountability for their actions is decreased, whilst the notion of ‘group think’ increases, with the result in Rwanda being a loss of at least 500,000 lives (Frontline, 2004).

Legalised discrimination describes the efforts of the government to invoke legislation to actively deprive a group as such that they inhibit normal standards of living (retrieved from website www.aad.english.ucsb.edu). The Nazi’s did this with much efficiency. All aspects of life were controlled by law, religious, moral, economic, biological and physical restrictions were put in place to limit the standard of living for all people who were genetically inferior. The most affected groups were Jew’s, Greek and French. Laws prohibited Polish people from working, even food rations were strictly monitored, with Germans earning the right to 77% of the fat ration, with the Jewish population receiving 0.32% of the ration (Lemkin, 1944).

Propaganda is a well-known and useful tool in inciting group thinking. It can be defined as a sustained effort by an institution to manage public opinion (retrieved from website: http://web.utk.edu). The institution in Rwanda was the Hutu government influencing the Hutu public to protect their land and assets. Many techniques can and are used to increase the effectiveness or propaganda to reach the desired result. Perhaps the most effective in both Rwanda and Germany was the incitement of fear against the ‘common enemy’ (Lemkin, 1944). Political ideology is espoused profusely within propaganda to ensure the needs for that party are met. All of this is undertaken with the intent of retaining power, to ensure the balance stays in the favour of the ruling party (retrieved from website: www.calvin.edu/).

In effect, there are many different, individual acts that, when collated, can produce enough fear and hatred toward another group of people to produce catastrophic effects.
Rwanda was overcome with this wave of fear, and their sense of duty was wrongfully called upon. Segregation of people based on racial characteristics, teamed with incorrect beliefs about these ordained races formed the basis for the events to come. Propaganda spouting incorrect information was spread throughout the country with mixed results. Hutu majority areas took to the propaganda immediately, with devastating effects, these effects eventually trickled down to the Tutsi majority areas with eventually the same results. Individual accountability was taken away from the people who confessed to acting under legitimate orders from the government, they killed because the government wanted them to kill. The introduction of laws enacting prejudice behaviours made it lawful for atrocities to take place, again, removing individual accountability.
As has been shown not only Rwanda and Germany, but also many more conflicts throughout history, there is not one main cause for genocide. Genocide occurs as a result of a combination of smaller psychosocial factors, combined with intent that creates the ‘perfect storm’ capable of destruction of an entire group of people.












References

Aiken, G. cited in Baumeister, R. F, & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social Psychology and Human Nature. USA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Baumeister, R. F, & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social Psychology and Human Nature. USA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide. (1948). Retrieved from website: http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/gncnvntn.htm on 30th August, 2007.

Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, 1978. General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from website: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_prejud.htm on 30th August, 2007.

Definitions retrieved from website: www.aad.english.ucsb.edu/pages/discrim.html on 30th August, 2007.

Definitions retrieved from website: www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ww2era.htm on 30th August, 2007.

Definition retrieved from website: http://web.utk.edu/~glenn/Definition.html on 30th August, 2007

Frontline (2004). Ghosts of Rwanda DVD
History retrieved from website: http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/ on 30th August, 2007.

Lemkin, R. (1944). Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. UK: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.