The word Genocide is one of the few words in the English dictionary that has no close synonyms - not surprising. A word that evokes strong emotions of guilt, shame, denial, persecution, dehumanization, and hatred for hate itself - all in the dictionary of moral reasoning, and moral behavior.
Today the US congressional panel's resolution described as genocide the killings of Armenians in World War I....An act that is being hailed the world over(yes, you got it right - for having the courage to call Genocide, Genocide). "The Armenian government welcomed the vote, calling it "an important step towards the prevention of crimes against humanity".
On the one hand, a country is using all its strengths, and power to ensure that its actions against a particular group are not termed in right terms of our common parlance. On, the other hand, the victimized group is just happy to see that the world acknowledges the suffering, and pain endured by their ancestors’ years ago.
At the outset, it looks so very simple - nothing will change, except a few political balances in
I wish I could have a change - live in a world that provides all individuals with the courage and impetus to speak the truth - to call the sun by its name, to call the moon, moon; to call men, men; to call justice, justice; to call genocide, genocide.
It is humorous to see how we like to play with words, emotions, feelings, politics, human respect and dignity, and with history itself. Looks like History is not repeating itself anymore; we cant afford to let that happen, you see. Rather, we are in the process of defining, and redefining history, not in terms of social justice, but in the business of rendering evanescent appeasement. Wonder, what the victims of this heinous crime, would have thought of it, if they were alive today - yeah, we should think of it with a sigh of relief, man, I am glad IT IS NOT ME.
It's true that the very definition of genocide has become so politicized that the feelings of the victims and their descendants get completely lost in the background.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian government, for example, recently criminalized any mentioning of the genocide of Ukrainians in 1931-2. A genocide that killed between a quarter and a thrid of the entire population of the country now cannot be mentioned in Russia. Teachers are not allowed to teach about it in history courses, journalists cannot write about it.
What these politicans don't understand is that their own country will never be able to move forward unless it recognizes the atrocities it perpetuated upon other peoples.