A Witness to Genocide


Book Description

"Straight from today's front-page headlines comes this shocking firsthand account of the current genocide perpetrated by Bosnia's Serbs against that country's Muslims. A Witness to Genocide is a compilation of Newsday foreign correspondent Roy Gutman's reports from Bosnia, which won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting." "Gutman and photographer Andree Kaiser (whose photos illustrate this book) were the first Western journalists to visit the death camps, and Gutman was the first to interview the survivors and report on the atrocities that were taking place there. His articles were partly responsible for the United Nations' condemnation of the camps and insistence that the International Red Cross be allowed to inspect them." "The articles include survivors' accounts of being transported to the camps in cattle cars in which many died of starvation or suffocation, the systematic murder of prisoners, the government-ordered rape of all Muslim girls and women, and the destruction of the six-hundred-year-old Muslim cultural heritage, including over half of all mosques, historical sites, and libraries. Not since the Holocaust have such widespread, blatant, and unrestrained atrocities been committed against a defenseless minority." "The articles are framed by a comprehensive prologue in which the recent history and breakup of Yugoslavia are explained, and an epilogue in which Gutman gives his recommendations on how to put a stop to this ongoing tragedy, and prevent others in its wake."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved




A Witness to Genocide


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The Guatemalan Genocide of the Maya People


Book Description

The Maya Empire became a thriving civilization between the third century and the seventh century CE, but by 900 CE war, drought, and disease wiped out most of its cities and the Mayan people were greatly reduced. Unfortunately, the greatest threat to their existence was yet to come, when the Guatemalan genocide would decimate those who remained in the 1970s and '80s. The facts of the Mayans' story will be intertwined with profiles of individuals and in-depth looks at related topics. Readers will learn how to help those faced with genocide and understand a history that could otherwise repeat itself.




The Devil Came on Horseback


Book Description

A report and call to action from the heart of violent Darfur, by a former Marine working in Africa.




Eyewitness to a Genocide


Book Description

Why was the UN a bystander during the Rwandan genocide? Do its sins of omission leave it morally responsible for the hundreds of thousands of dead? Michael Barnett, who worked at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 1993 to 1994, covered Rwanda for much of the genocide. Based on his first-hand experiences, archival work, and interviews with many key participants, he reconstructs the history of the UN's involvement in Rwanda. In the weeks leading up to the genocide, the author documents, the UN was increasingly aware or had good reason to suspect that Rwanda was a site of crimes against humanity. Yet it failed to act. Barnett argues that its indifference was driven not by incompetence or cynicism but rather by reasoned choices cradled by moral considerations. Employing a novel approach to ethics in practice and in relationship to international organizations, Barnett offers an unsettling possibility: the UN culture recast the ethical commitments of well-intentioned individuals, arresting any duty to aid at the outset of the genocide. Barnett argues that the UN bears some moral responsibility for the genocide. Particularly disturbing is his observation that not only did the UN violate its moral responsibilities, but also that many in New York believed that they were "doing the right thing" as they did so. Barnett addresses the ways in which the Rwandan genocide raises a warning about this age of humanitarianism and concludes by asking whether it is possible to build moral institutions.




Blood and Soil


Book Description

A book of surpassing importance that should be required reading for leaders and policymakers throughout the world For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new book—the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times—is among his most important achievements. Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides.




Creating the Witness


Book Description

In the video game 'Darfur Is Dying', players must ensure the survival of a virtual refugee camp. The video game not only puts players in the position of a struggling refugee, it shows them how they can bring about change in the real world. This volume examines the role of film and the Internet in creating virtual witness to genocide over the past 100 years.




The Bosnian War and Ethnic Cleansing


Book Description

The Bosnian War (1992–1995) involved ferocious killing among a trio of the region’s major ethnic groups: Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. By the war’s end, as many as 26,000 Muslim civilians had been systematically murdered. This insightful resource offers a unique look at those terrifying events, including highlighting three possible perspectives on the war and the confusion these different perspectives can cause, even years later. Readers will also benefit from a review of Bosnia’s history and the events that culminated in this gruesome time.




Century of Genocide


Book Description

Through powerful first-person accounts, scholarly analyses and historical data, Century of Genocide takes on the task of explaining how and why genocides have been perpetrated throughout the course of the twentieth century. The book assembles a group of international scholars to discuss the causes, results, and ramifications of these genocides: from the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire; to the Jews, Romani, and the mentally and physically handicapped during the Holocaust; and genocides in East Timor, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.The second edition has been fully updated and featu.