Options to Fight Genocide

Genocide exists.
It has existed for centuries.

Genocide as defined by the United Nations in 1948 means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national ethnic, racial, or religious group, including:

• Killing members of the group;
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

One would think that with the increase of knowledge about the world and its people that has occured since the beginning of the 20th century, genocide would not be as prevalent in today's contemporary society.

However, genocide plagued the world throughout the 20th century and we already have evidence of that pattern repeating itself today.



Are we not learning from our mistakes and the mistakes of our ancestors? Or do we just not care enough about the world OUTSIDE our own borders? You decide. HOW do we, as an INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, fight Genocide?
You have 4 options.





*Note: Option 4 refers to the US as we have seen that "as the US goes, so the world follows".

What were The Killing Fields?

This film was released in 1984 and follows the story of an American journalist, Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran, his Cambodian interpreter and fellow journalist. They have been working in the Cambodia, reporting the events of the civil war that was going on in the early 1970s. However, in 1975 everything changed.

On April 17, 1975, Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh, fell under the control of the Khmer Rouge, the communist guerilla group led by Pol Pot. They forced all city residents into the countryside and to labor camps. During the three years, eight months, and 20 days of Pol Pot’s rule, Cambodia faced its darkest days, an estimated 2 million Cambodians or 30% of the country’s population died by starvation, torture or execution. Almost every Cambodian family lost at least one relative during this gruesome holocaust.

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Pol Pot's Year O

Pol Pot declared 'Year Zero' when Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. He immediately directed a ruthless program to "purify" Cambodian society of capitalism, Western culture, religion and all foreign influences. He wanted to create Cambodia into an isolated and totally self-sufficient state. Anyone who opposed was killed. Foreigners were expelled, embassies closed, and the currency abolished. Markets, schools, newspapers, religious practices and private property were forbidden. The police, public servants, military officers, teachers, ethnic Vietnamese, Christian clergy, Muslim leaders, members of the Cham Muslim minority, members of the middle-class and the educated were identified and executed.

The country's entire population was forced to relocate to the agricultural labor camps, the so-called "killing fields". Inmates lived in primitive conditions. Families were separated. Former city residents were subjected to unending political indoctrination and brainwashing. Children were encouraged to spy on adults, including their parents.

An estimated 1.5 - 3 million worked or starved to death, died of disease or exposure, or were executed for committing crimes. These crimes which were punishable by death included: not working hard enough, complaining about living conditions, collecting or stealing food for personal consumption, wearing jewelry, engaging in sexual relations, grieving over the loss of relatives or friends and expressing religious sentiments

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"We will be the first nation to create a completely Communist country without wasting our time on the intermediate steps." -Khmer Rouge Minister of Defense, Son Sen

"To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss." -Khmer Rouge slogan


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It is at this point we find Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran. Sydney has been sent back to the United States, but his Cambodia colleague is forced to stay and sent to a work camp in the Killing Fields. Sydney is struggling to understand just who is responsible for these atrocities while his friend is struggling to stay alive.
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An Introduction to "First They Killed my Father"

Watch the following photo story and answer these questions: What do you see? What do you know? What do you feel? What do you wonder?



The Cambodian Killing Fields lasted 3 years and 8 months and 20 days. But what were they? Who were the victims? And who were the guilty parties that caused them? All of these questions, as well as many others, will be answered as we follow the journey of Loung Ung in

Question of Humanity

As we enter this study of "The Face(s) of Humanity", look at this picture recently released by the Dansk Folkeparti and share what you think about when you see this image.