Blog Post 3 News article

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/opinion/how-to-halt-the-butchery-in-syria.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=syria&st=cse

The article “How to Halt the Butchery in Syria,” is intended to persuade Americans on the best possible way to help end the conflict in Syria. In the article the author argues that the strategic location of Syria means that a long lasting civil war could be detrimental to America’s interests and that the best way to help resolve the conflict is by setting up “no kill zones” along the borders.  The author argues that “America has a major stake in helping Syria’s neighbors stop the killing,” but that “simply arming the opposition… would bring about exactly the scenario the world should fear most” (Slaughter, 2012). A civil war the author argues “would spill into Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan” and “would also allow Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups to gain a foothold in Syria” (Slaughter, 2012).  The solution the author suggests would be to “set up ‘no kill zones’ near the Turkish, Lebanese, Jordanian boarders” (Slaughter, 2012). These “no kill zones” would be run by the Free Syrian Army forces which would be backed by Turkey, Qatar, Britain, and France, but only if such assistance is used for defensive purposes only. In the article the author also argues that  the rest of the world, such as the Arab League and Turkey, must be prepared to help Syria because if given the means the Syrians can make all this happen: “ The Syrians have the ability to make that happen; the rest of the world must give them the means to  do it” (Slaughter, 2012).

This news article is related to my book because the conflicted in Syria and the authors suggested solution for it are very similar to the Bosnian genocide. Though the conflict in Syria is not completely sectarian yet, it has the nature to become sectarian, and there are some parts of the conflict already that are sectarian. The author’s suggestions for “no kill zones” also closely resemble the safe zones, like Gorazde, that were set up in Bosnian.  This can’t help but make me worry slightly that perhaps the “no kill zones” will end up making it easier for the Syrian government to slaughter a large number of innocent people just like it did for the Serbs in Bosnia. 

Blog Post 2 Letter

Dear Joe,

                How have you been recently? Is your work in Gorazde going well? It’s been a while since we last saw each other.  In fact I think the last time we saw each other we got into an argument which I would just like to apologize for. After all the distribution of bon-bons is a rather frivolous thing to spend time discussing. Yet for some reason I can’t help, but think about your bon-bon distribution policy.

                As you probably know I don’t think giving the kids themselves the bon-bons is a good idea. I mean bon-bons aren’t exactly cheap candy, and children have never been known for being responsible. What if one lost their bon-bon and stole another child’s bon-bon?  Suppose their parents don’t want them eating candy. If they find out that you’ve been giving their children bon-bons behind their back it could damage your relationships with them. That could be detrimental to the investigating you’ve been doing in Gorazde. 

                I know this probably seems like a silly thing to worry about in a desolate, war stricken place like Gorazde, but the topic has been bothering me and I just wanted to share my opinion with you.

                                                                                                                                Your friend,

                                                                                                                                                Whit

English Blog 1: Stages of Genocide

One stage of Genocide that is clearly evident from even the very beginning of Safe Area Gorazde is classification. The first step in the eight stages of genocide classification is making a distinction between “us” and “them” based on ethnicity, religion, nationality, etc.  Near the very beginning of Safe Area Gorazde the author gives us a brief over view of Bosnian history to help the reader better understand the conflict. In this over view of the history he talks about the different groups present in Bosnia, such as the Serbs, the Croats, and the Muslims. The author also mentions several different groups such as the The Chetniks that began terrorizing other groups: “The Chetniks were a somewhat loose alliance of groups of Serb nationalists and royalists who typically sought the establishment of a Greater Serbia cleansed of non-Serbs” (Sacco, 21). This is a clear example of classification between different ethnic groups within Bosnia. 

**Note this blog post was posted late due to the fact that I was absent Monday and Tuesday.

Aid Agencies

Amnesty International is the best organization for us to donate our money to because it is extremely relevant to a lot of things we have studied so far. In class we have learned about events and conflicts all over the world, many of which in some way involved the violation of human rights, and Amnesty International fights for the protection and promotion of human rights all over the world.  It is also a great organization to receive our money because it is well established globally. It has been around since 1961, and is involved in the protection of human rights worldwide. These are the reasons why Amnesty International is the best organization for us to donate to.

Syria Genocide or not?

By definition the conflict in Syria is not a genocide because the killings are political not ethnic, or religious. However, personally I feel that killing people for their polictal beliefs should be added to the definition of genocide because it exactly the same thing as killing people for their ethnicity, or religion. So in my opinion what is happening in Syria should be considered a genocide. 

Placing Blame: Rwandan Genocide

Personally I believe that humanity is responsible for the Rwandan Genocide. It would be easy to blame the Hutu for killing  the Tutsi, the Belgium for creating the racial tension between the Hutu and the Tutsi, the international community for not doing more to prevent it, or even the Tutsi for not wanting international help. Honestly though it took all of those groups for the situation in Rwanda to reach the point it did. Genocide is never cause just by the perpetrators of the murders, it is caused by many things, and lots of people. However, it is easy to blame a few for what happened then realizing that we has humans are all partially responsible for the deaths of thousands by just sitting back and doing nothing.

Assessing Blame

The proper response of the Pope during the Holocaust would have been to make a public statement against the Nazis and to have encouraged people to stand up against the Nazi regime. The proper response of the U.S. during the Holocaust would have been to publicize what was happening more, and actually tried to step in and stop it. Today it’s also the international community job to try to do everything they can to stop genocides that are accruing because if we see something happening, and do nothing about it then we’re just as responsible as the people who are actually carrying out the genocide.