Reflection #16 EDF2085

Samantha Clarke
Reflection #16 EDF2085
Genocide and ethnic cleansing.

The term genocide refers to the planned or systematic process of the execution or killing of an entire group, whether it is an ethnic, religious or political group. While on the other hand ethnic cleansing refers to an intentional effort made to force or intimidate a group to evacuate a particular region. An example of this can be seen in Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur which will elaborate on later in the reflection. Ethnic cleansing and genocide should not be used interchangeably because they are not the same.

The act of genocide and ethnic cleansing occurred in Rwanda in 1994 as a result of revenge taken by one ethnic group on another. Rwanda comprised of two main groups the Hutu and the Tutsis. The Hutu’s been the majority but was dominated by the Tutsis who were the aristocrats at the time under the leadership of Belgian colonial rule; they exploited to Hutus and took their peasants which had lead to the chaos of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Rwanda. After the independence from Belgium, a quest for revenge was employed by the Hutu who regain power and returned the acts of injustice on the Tutsis. This has lead to numerous killings resulting in almost a million people.

The act of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia was also as a result of revenge where one group performs acts of violence on the other after their government was put out of power. This rival in Bosnia was influence by particular leader fanning the flame of long past problems which illuminates new chaos and acts of violence between the Serbs and Muslims. Serbs who were the minority, reports that they were mistreated by the Muslims who were the majority. In times to come Serbs and Jews were targeted and thousands were killed in concentration camps. This rival later ends up with Serbs killing thousands of their opponents which marks a mass genocidal act. Darfur on the other hand was also as a result revenge and this chaos resulted in mass murders that caught the attention of the international eyes. Many were also killed and this was a combination of both ethnic cleansing and genocide.