The Genocide of Human Rights
Civilization is comprised of millions of different identities, with each person, every culture and religion comprised of something that makes it unique. These individual identities all come together to create the mesmerizing and terrifying symphony that is life. The Declaration of Human Rights, a list of all rights allotted to every human being, put forth by the United Nations, was created so that all people were allowed an identity, and allowed equality. Of these rights, there are several that all humans should be guaranteed, no matter what. The right to a nationality, the right all freedoms, and the right to practice any religion are key and cannot be denied of any persons. Without these rights, the complicated …show more content…
N. Universal Dec. art. 2). Article Five says that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel … treatment or punishment”, but this right is often denied to many (U. N. Universal Dec. art. 5). In Night, Elie describes the frequent hangings he witnesses during his time at the camp, many of them designed to send messages to the other prisoners, to invoke fear. During the first hanging he witnessed, the SS officer made an announcement to “let this be a warning and an example to all prisoners” (Wiesel 62). These killings, along with many other murders throughout the Holocaust, were simply done to ignite fear within those imprisoned, or done for the pure pleasure of it. Although the Holocaust occurred before the Declaration of Human Rights was written, it is clear that these killings and the torture the victims suffered was more than cruel, and therefore a violation of this basic human right. In addition, in 2002, during the Darfur genocide, the Khartoum government of Sudan obstructed access to Darfur as well as “the withholding of humanitarian aid to cause death by starvation” (Khan). This trapped the civilians, who were stranded without any outside help, and without anywhere to take refuge. This shows yet another time when people were denied specific freedoms outlined for them in …show more content…
From 1915-1918, however, the Armenian people were massacred by the Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire, supposedly for being Christian in a primarily Muslim empire. Although the Armenians were an impoverished group, “a small minority had excelled as best they could… with many serving as professionals, businessmen, lawyers, doctors, artists, architects and skilled craftsmen” (Armenian, unitedhumanrightsnation.org). These people were categorized by their differing religion, despite their work to bring culture and help the declining empire. The identities of the Armenians pulled from their religion, as well as from their empire, but once the genocide began, they must have lost their faith in their God, as well as in themselves. Similar to this, many Jewish victims of the Holocaust also felt the loss of faith after they were discriminated against for their religion. Elie, in Night, blamed his God for the Jewish peoples suffering, claiming that “I [Elie] was the accuser, God the accused… I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty” (Wiesel 68). Before the concentration camps, Elie was known in his community and in his family as being very dedicated to his religion. He now considers himself to be stronger than his almighty God. Because of the discrimination of Jews, and because God had allowed Jews to suffer in this way, Elie lost his faith, a huge part of
Civilization is comprised of millions of different identities, with each person, every culture and religion comprised of something that makes it unique. These individual identities all come together to create the mesmerizing and terrifying symphony that is life. The Declaration of Human Rights, a list of all rights allotted to every human being, put forth by the United Nations, was created so that all people were allowed an identity, and allowed equality. Of these rights, there are several that all humans should be guaranteed, no matter what. The right to a nationality, the right all freedoms, and the right to practice any religion are key and cannot be denied of any persons. Without these rights, the complicated …show more content…
N. Universal Dec. art. 2). Article Five says that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel … treatment or punishment”, but this right is often denied to many (U. N. Universal Dec. art. 5). In Night, Elie describes the frequent hangings he witnesses during his time at the camp, many of them designed to send messages to the other prisoners, to invoke fear. During the first hanging he witnessed, the SS officer made an announcement to “let this be a warning and an example to all prisoners” (Wiesel 62). These killings, along with many other murders throughout the Holocaust, were simply done to ignite fear within those imprisoned, or done for the pure pleasure of it. Although the Holocaust occurred before the Declaration of Human Rights was written, it is clear that these killings and the torture the victims suffered was more than cruel, and therefore a violation of this basic human right. In addition, in 2002, during the Darfur genocide, the Khartoum government of Sudan obstructed access to Darfur as well as “the withholding of humanitarian aid to cause death by starvation” (Khan). This trapped the civilians, who were stranded without any outside help, and without anywhere to take refuge. This shows yet another time when people were denied specific freedoms outlined for them in …show more content…
From 1915-1918, however, the Armenian people were massacred by the Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire, supposedly for being Christian in a primarily Muslim empire. Although the Armenians were an impoverished group, “a small minority had excelled as best they could… with many serving as professionals, businessmen, lawyers, doctors, artists, architects and skilled craftsmen” (Armenian, unitedhumanrightsnation.org). These people were categorized by their differing religion, despite their work to bring culture and help the declining empire. The identities of the Armenians pulled from their religion, as well as from their empire, but once the genocide began, they must have lost their faith in their God, as well as in themselves. Similar to this, many Jewish victims of the Holocaust also felt the loss of faith after they were discriminated against for their religion. Elie, in Night, blamed his God for the Jewish peoples suffering, claiming that “I [Elie] was the accuser, God the accused… I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty” (Wiesel 68). Before the concentration camps, Elie was known in his community and in his family as being very dedicated to his religion. He now considers himself to be stronger than his almighty God. Because of the discrimination of Jews, and because God had allowed Jews to suffer in this way, Elie lost his faith, a huge part of