In Chechnya, the words "human rights" are totally ignored by the Russians. They have no respect nor pity for the thousands they have killed in cold blood. And why are they randomly killing innocent civilians? Chechnya wants to be free. They want a chance to be their own country, and Russia refuses to give them that chance. In turn, they are violating the rights that every person in the world is entitled to, and Putin and his followers don't care. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a good thing, but for some reason beyond my understanding, Putin has chosen to ignore it completly, and continue torturing people for no reason.
In the Holocaust, certain people were singled out for being 'subhuman', and were therefore eliminated. In the second Chechen war, the Russians are singling out an entire country. No one is safe from their wrath. They randomly pluck people from their homes, neglect to tell them where they are being taken or why, and are detained and tortured. In both the Holocaust and in the war happening now, human rights are swept aside and thrown in the garbage.
To Putin, this entire country has done wrong and deserves to be punished. Not only is it stereotypical, but it is also dangerous to those innocent standbyers who live in Chechnya. They are subjected to punishment that they don't deserve. There is only a small group that has done wrong, but they are not being hurt because of it. Even though Putin didn't send out anything like the Nuemberg laws, it is obvious to all that the Russians don't believe that the Chechens are worthy of equal treatment. Their torture of anyone they can get their hands on is proof of that.
I feel sorrow for these victims, and can't help feeling rage toward Putin and his followers. What is the world coming to when an elected leader randomly pulls people from the streets and shoots electricity through them when they did nothing to him? I also want to know how people in Russia are tolerating this from Putin, and why they don't take him out of office. He does kill anyone who dares speak out against him (he has sent assasins to kill 13 journalists since 2000), but that shouldn't stop people from raising up against him.
One of my main concerns is that this is not raising much alarm in the United States. We may be allies with Russia, but sitting by and letting this happen is just wrong. I didn't even know anything about what was happening until I started this project. After researching it a bit, I want to know why I didn't know about it before. Why don't journalists write about it? The West doesn't know a lot about what is happening, and I fear that it's going to be just like what happened with the Holocaust. At first, the United States ignored the Holocaust, thinking it wasn't a big deal. Obviously we were wrong. I believe the knowledge should be spread further, in order for more people to learn of this.
The United Nations has a job to keep the peace, and that's exactly what they should be doing at the moment. Invading a country and imposing on soverengty is necessary in this case. Everyone deserves a chance to their rights, and the Russian government is taking that away for no real reason. Times like these require the UN to reach out, and help those who have fallen. They should help, because if they don't, who will?
-Kate
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4 comments:
im surprised that they would just randomly kill people the way they did just because Chechnya wanted to be free from Russia. it almost sounds a little like what happened with the Holocaust, people were killed for extremely bad and unjust reasons. your reflections was well thought out and sophisticated
the above comment was by Bianca LaRocco
Kate- I completely agree with you that awareness needs to be raised about the case of Chechnya. I mean, this is a current event, it’s happening today, and barely nothing is being done to stop it. This is probably because people are scared of Putin, like him killing those 13 journalists. It is also probably because people don’t feel sympathy for people they stereotype as Chechen rebels. Every human has the right to life, liberty, and security of person, despite where they come from. Something should be done to raise awareness in a peaceful way, but no one wants to be the one to do it for fear of being targeted by the Russians. You wondered why journalists do not write about Chechnya, but it is obviously avoided topic because of fear. No one want to write about a topic that the last person who contradicted Putin was killed for. Though, it works the other way too. I know after doing this project, I would not want to go to Russia for fear of being taken hostage by Chechen rebels. This is probably what most people cannot get their minds off of, so they don’t want to stand up for Chechens. It is important to stand up for what you believe in, but I hate how the Chechen rebels are ruining independence and life for thousands of Chechens. Yes, it is wrong for the Putin to stereotype all Chechens as violent rebels, but the rebels should not be taking hostages and killing.
-Christina Garbarino
I would also like to know...Kate, what is your stand on the UN's interference/peacekeeping actions with the case of Chechnya compared to the war in Iraq?? Do you think it is the place of the UN to do more in both. Russia says they are defending themselves against Chechen terrorists, and the Bush says we are in a war against terrorism. Russia is obviously not targeting just Chechen rebels, but how do you feel about American action in Iraq? Should the UN help? Which one needs more help from the UN?
-Christina Garbarino
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