EXTINGUISH ACTS OF HATRED THAT CAN IGNITE GENOCIDE
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY
Sept 26 2006
Tatyana Seyko Chiley
Guest essayist
(September 26, 2006) – Genocide is "the deliberate and systematic
extermination of a national or racial group." When I read this
definition, it sends chills down my back.
A well-known genocide is the Holocaust: the mass murder of Jews during
the 1940s. Throughout world history, and up to the present day, many
genocides have occurred. And it seems as if every time a genocide ends,
people say, "Never again."
Yet here we are today, in 2006, with too many people ignoring the
Darfur genocide. However, it cannot be ignored no matter how hard the
world tries. Once a genocide begins, the scars are deeply rooted in
a people and nation.
It takes just a single person to start a genocide, but it also takes
a large group of believers to get the process going. If nations
continue to ignore the warning signs, most definitely a genocide
will start rapidly unwinding. In a short time, hundreds are dead,
then thousands and then millions. Genocides occur mainly because of
the four-letter word: hate. One group thinks it is superior, so it
plans carefully to exterminate that target.
Small acts of persecution, abuse and hate can rapidly spin out of
control. How? Simple. No one stands up for the truth. Thousands watch
on the sidelines, thinking, "It’s not my fight," or "I’ll get hurt
if I try to intercede." I believe it’s worth it to suffer for others
rather than to idly watch them suffer.
Genocides first start very small and quietly. Witnesses and even
victims think that a mass murder will not occur from such a small
event. Large, powerful nations hope the genocide disappears on its
own. Why don’t people show interest when millions are killed? Aren’t
a thousand innocent lives slaughtered enough to gain attention? The
only way for a genocide to subside is if it is stopped or if the
extermination is completed.
Don’t let small acts of hatred mushroom. If you see someone putting
down someone or someone’s belief, step in.
We, as the new generation, cannot let history repeat itself. Don’t let
the Armenian genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian genocide, Bosnian genocide,
Rwandan genocide or Darfur genocide go unnoticed or be repeated. If
one person can send hate around the world, then one soul can also
send love around the world and back! Little things matter.
Tatyana is a ninth-grader at Greece Olympia High School.