Alan Kurdi: Genocide In The Western World

The door slammed with a loud BANG. The stench of waste death and despair pulled over me. Why am I here? What did I do? Am I going to die? Scared out of my mind I yell "I want out" but it's like no one heard my cries for help. the door to my cell swung open. A young man walked in, he was tall with black hair and a long thick beard. he walks up and says "come with me he is ready for you." I stand up shaking.As I walk out the door the smell just gets worse it was like the camp was made out of dead bodies and waste. the door slams behind us. The whole time we walked not one word came out of his mouth. We stumbled upon a small room he opens the door shows me inside and points at one of the chairs. On the table, there was a small packet. I am startled

Genocide is one of the worst crimes against humanity and it still continues today. The definition of the word genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. Compared with war crimes and crimes against humanity, genocide is generally regarded as the most offensive crime. Unlike war, where the attack is general and the object is often the control of a geographical or political region. Genocide attacks go after an individual’s identity and the object is control, or complete elimination, of a group of people. The history of genocide in the 20th century includes the 1915 genocide of Armenians by

On September of 2015, the image of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi went viral. “The toddler’s lifeless body on a Turkish beach had reverberated across the globe” (Parkinson & George-Cosh, 2015). Aylan’s family had “fled the brutal civil war in their native Syria and only attempted the boat crossing after Canada denied their application of admission as refugees. The image led to an astonishing outpouring of support for Syrian refugees” (Hein & Niazi, 2016).

In the past 150 years, tens of millions of men, women and children have lost their lives to ethnic cleansing or genocide. Although the definition is often scrutinized, according to Merriam Webster, "Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political or cultural group". The most notable event associated with the term is the Holocaust. Stated by Judah Gribets, Edward Greenstein and Regina Stein, "nearly six million Jews fell victim to genocide during the years of the Holocaust". Of This number, one million were children who were unable to take care of themselves. People's hopes and dreams for the future were stripped from them, and many families were ripped apart. Many of these people were tortured or raped

The slaughtering of 1.5 million innocent people at the hands of a cruel failing empire. Families and friends torn apart for no reason and all while being silenced from the rest of the world. The Armenian Genocide was swept under the rug by the successor to the Ottoman empire, the Turkish Republic. The cruelty in slaughtering millions of people, to using them for slave labor, and numerous death camps for women and children the Armenian Genocide was a tragic time in the history of Armenians and they are being denied recognition for their ancestors tragic loss of life. The crimes against humanity caused by the Ottomans and the Turks in the killing of millions of people is further inflated by the deliberate withholding

During World War Two the Jewish people were being “exterminated” by their fellow neighbors, own government and even their own loyal worshipers. They were not even being attacked for a valid reason, this was all set into motion by the beliefs of Adolf Hitler, German Dictator. Hitler held beliefs known as anti-semitism, he was not the first person to hate the Jewish people as a whole, but he was the first person to establish an entire army and country against them. Many of the Jewish people began to flee the country, in hope to escape the genocide. This task became extremely difficult when neighboring countries realized why they were fleeing. The refugees were denied access into the United States and Cuba, but later were taken in by very few countries in Europe and in the surrounding areas .

The Armenian genocide has its place in history as one of the first large-scale genocides of the 20th century. Technological advancements of the period allowed for the efficient killing of large amounts of people, making genocide possible. Automatic weapons made it easy to commit mass killings, and advances in communication allowed for much easier coordination of these killings. The era was characterized by an obsession with race and nationalism, and these topics dominated world politics (Kaplan, 2016, p. 41). This was an environment plagued by racism and xenophobia, which helped to facilitate the Armenian genocide.

Alan Kurdi was a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish background, whose family had been evidently trying to reach Canada in order to escape the violence of their own country. However, that was not to be, and as a result, his picture quickly spread throughout the world provoking international reactions. In Canada, this incident proved to be a pivotal point in the Federal elections of 2015. In fact, due to a major outcry of Canadians, “prime ministerial candidates responded to public opinion in favor of increased resettlement by each offering their own pledge to resettle Syrian refugees.” While former Prime Minister and the former leader of the Conservative Party, Stephen Harper, stated that accepting more refugees is not the solution due to the risk of terrorists slipping into the country, the leader of the Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau, announced and promised that his party, if elected, would accept 25,000 refugees. Not giving into fear and enthusiastic to help, one can argue that one of the main reasons as to why the Liberal Party emerged victorious was due to their promise of bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees, as Canadians wanted their government to be actively involved in the international community and be open to aid those in need. In fact, once elected, not only did Justin Trudeau fulfill his promise, but rather continued with the aiding of Syrian refugees; as of

Humans tend to feel morally compelled to help others in times of tragedy and chaos; however, there are limitations on the force of compassion. During recent and historical genocides, many outsiders’ universes of obligation have narrowed due to social and political factors, turning them into bystanders of ethnic crisis. Similarly, the world was unresponsive to the ethnic eradication of Tamils in Sri Lanka since 1983. For twenty-six years, tens of thousands of helpless Tamils suffered as human shields for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and were caught in the crossfire of a civil war between the extremist group and the national government. The collective desire for the United States, UN, and Sri Lankan government to maintain

Our system of excessive communication seems as though it should be an incredible asset in hindering genocides from occurring, yet they are still present and little seems to be said. Activists working to inform people about the issues occurring across the world are now able to make movies and websites that let others be informed, but you would be hard pressed to find an informative activist group with as many viewers as something such as facebook. When you do find places designed to inform you of present world issues such as genocide, they are often politically charged. A website such as “endgenocide.org” is a basic place to start when trying to learn about genocides occurring across the world now and in recent years. It has to be recognized, however, that the website is also incredibly politically charged because not only is it presenting you with the issues at hand, but it immediately follows it up with phrases such as “without immediate action by the United States” (endgenocide 2014) and other politically charged statements.

What is genocide? Is what some people want know. Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. It happens everywhere all around the world. In my opinion I don 't agree with the acts of genocide. They were to harsh on those people who didn 't even deserve to be treated that way. The holocaust started in january 30, 1933. The president during the time was Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany. In march 20, 1933 a officers opened the Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich. The camp was help for people like jews to be tortured and it wasn 't any good thing about the concentration camp. The Dachau concentration camp was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist government. This camp was located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the northeastern part of the town of Dachau. During the first year the camp held about 4,800 prisoners. In the early 1937 the SS was using prisoner labor and began construction of a large complex of buildings on the grounds of the original camp. The prisoners were forced to do the work starting with the destruction of the old munitions factory. It was under terrible conditions. The construction was completed in mid August 1938 and camp wasn 't changed until 1945. The number of jewish prisoners at Dachau rose with the increased persecution of jews and on november 10 to 11, 1938 in the aftermath of Kristallnacht. There was more

On my second day in Canada, I took a stroll outside in the community of Salmon Arm. The warmth of the sunshine on my face and the fresh breeze weaving by helps me forget for a moment that people are still suffering from the war in other places - places like my home in Syria. Back in Syria, piles of rubble made up cities, buildings were stained with blood, and rebellious symbols were painted on every alley. Innocent families roamed the streets in search of a safe haven to spend the night. I can still vividly picture the Syrian children: faces smeared with dirt, eyes tainted with hopelessness that forever concealed their shine, and mouths moved in a uniform motion that cried out their anguish.

The images of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler who drowned while his family were trying to reach the Greek island of Kos sent shock waves around the world and inspired a collective call to action. Immediately, advocacy groups took to social media to generate awareness and support for the plight of asylum seekers. Subsequently, the hashtag #refugeeswelcome circulated on social media together with a number of online petitions that urged world leaders to adopt a more humane policy towards asylum seekers (Getup 2015; Rajan, A 2015). This is an

This issue was chosen due to its scope. The Syrian refugee crisis is among a list of issues that will not only shape the world in 2016 but also dominate news outlets in upcoming years. Because of the despairing situation, many governments are struggling to find ways to handle the rush of individuals seeking asylum, for the fact that it seems the crisis is worsening. In addition, the media coverage on the topic sparked my interest and led me to research information because I had no idea what was occurring and the detriment of the issue.

Aylan Kurdi is the name of a young boy who could not grow up and enjoy the spoils of human life. At the age of three, the innocent body washed up on the shores of the Greek Island of Kos on September of 2015. Images circulated around the globe of a lifeless body face down in the dirty sands of the beach. International outcry attempted to prompt change to a growing problem our world has not seen since the 1930’s and the domination of the Third Reich. Aylan’s death is a heartbreaking and an unfortunate symbol of the migrant crisis that is sweeping across Europe.