11917 - Genocide as suicide

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Evi Charitidou

The notion of genocide does not constitute a mere word for us; it represents an unacceptable crime against Humanity and therefore it has to be studied and included in education of a people who not only do they learn about humaneness, but also how they have to confront barbarity when this continues genocide of memory, because it fears no institution as long as there is no penalization on denying the existence of genocide. Otherwise, as said by Albert Camus about the man, we do not realize that Humanity’s most significant problem is suicide. For, the humans and nobody else are the victims of genocide. While the children, the little humans, learn how to become more humane at school, they also have to be taught of the cases of genocide which have hurt Humanity; for, there have been societies which have stood indifferent to its future, because barbarity took advantage of the individuals’ inertia. Raphael Lemkin’s work ought to become more widely known especially in Greece; for, we all know that in order to explain with examples what he meant by the invention of the word genocide, he used the facts characterizing the cases of genocide of the Armenians, the Assyrians and the Greeks, three populations leaving in peace and freedom in our country, even though there is no institutional protection when it comes to barbarities dealing with them, by promoting ideas of denial; for, everything is allowed, because none of the politicians have ever had the courage to stand for the issue of penalization so as to avoid being accused of violating everyone’s free expression. Of course, if only each one of us could realize that this penalization of denial is nothing but one humane prohibition of barbarity. We accept the Ten Commandments concerning the humans, but we do not realize that Humanity’s rights are necessary. They may seem abstract, idealistic and yet utopian, but we forget that we used to look human rights in the same way in the past. We accept prohibition of committing suicide on grounds of religion, but we do not realize that there is a correlation with the notion of genocide. Penalizing denial equals to forbidding genocide, forbidding barbarity, protecting the innocents who have no way to defend themselves from the attacks and actions of barbarity. If we manage to say to all people that genocide is not only a crime against Humanity, but also Humanity’s suicide, then we will be able to move a step forward in the struggle for recognizing cases of genocide as well as in the process of correction, which is indispensable to remedy the crime against Humanity.