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Michael Sleiman of Grade 9D wrote this compelling essay about the impact ongoing genocides can have on the world. It’s great to see our students express their thoughts on such an intense topic and be on the right side of history.
Blood on a Butter Knife
Humanity currently puts aside genocide like it is some topic to be played around with and does not accommodate or comprehend the catastrophic impact it places on planet Earth. It can’t be said to be a forgotten word in our vocabulary. It is a plague that surges across our planet, wiping away hundreds to millions of souls. Where’s humanity in that? Oppression and genocide can be rooted in many factors, ranging from economical to racial effectors. Forgotten are the deceased that are left to rot into ashes six feet beneath our feet; all due to genocide and racism. Yet, greater are the consequences that germinate from this harsh plague, whether it is the deterioration of mental health, destroying the future of current generations, or the drawback of a country’s economy.
When people think of oppression, they think of distant times and places, but they don’t recognize that it is still woven into the fabric of modern society. Racism can be named as the star of the show for sparking the flame to genocide. The two can be connected like a chain, like a spark to a flame and wildfire. The spark is racism, the flame is oppression, and the uncontrolled wildfire is genocide. You may ask, “how does such topic like racism lead to such catastrophe”. To put this into perspective the Holocaust is one of the largest genocides that mankind has ever witnessed or the ongoing war on Palestinians is clear marker of how discrimination can play a major role in fueling genocides.
What is not taken into consideration is the mental and psychological impact of genocide. From stress, to PTSD, to anxiety, or even permanent trauma. Just imagine having to live your daily life with the worry of getting murdered while doing the simple task of getting water for your family or attempting to fall asleep with the fear of being kidnapped or robbed throughout the night. This is not really living.
Not to mention the particularly young children who must indulge in this atmosphere. These children are being subjected to things that they should never have to experience at such a young age, but should be living life to its fullest.
“Children, family, community” What does this all scream? Our future! Genocide is the leading cause of the deterioration of our community and society. Homes, shelters, water sources, all diminished drowning with it our future doctors, engineers, or even the cure for cancer. The infrastructure of societies collapses, access to education halts, and the percentage of poverty increases. Children are our future, and genocide is terrorizing it.
Economy can be the foundation of a country, or the reason that causes it to collapse. Such topic can be parallel to an exponentially increasing chain. Once the rise of genocide commences, a lack of resources will be observed which in return will cause the country’s economy to crumble into ashes; consequently, putting the country beneath the dirt. As the lack of resources rises, the demand and heat over it will purge respectively, leading to civil wars or in simple terms a loop back to genocide.
Genocide and oppression are successors of mass murders; placing souls whether it is children or elder men to rest. Rippling from the term racism though greater or the substantial effects it has on us as
a community, from the deterioration of mental health, to pulverizing the country’s economic foundations and future generations. Genocide is nothing but a plague that roams the earth like a bug, for it is no hidden word in our vocab and has wiped ethnic groups and countries off the face of planet earth. Killing innocent people with something that is not justifiable hence the phrase “Blood on a Butter Knife.”
