Genocide - “never again” ??????

The image above is of Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial for all the murdered Jews of Europe. I visited it at the end of last year and it is one of the reasons that I have decided to choose the subject of Genocide for my first blog. Previously I had no interest in War or things like the Holocaust probably because unconsciously I found them too depressing and it was easier just to continue my childish belief that the world is a good place and made up of good people (even if they are only good really deep down). But I was surprised by how much this memorial touched me. It is hard to explain but instead of feeling sad and depressed as I walked around it I felt a strange feeling of calm. I realised that these things in history are not intended to depress us. Instead they are reminders of how we should live and learn from our past mistakes to insure that events like this never again happen. However unfortunately it appears that mankind is a slow learner and mass murders and genocide still continue. It is amazing that mankind prides itself as being civilised and superior but there is nothing civil or superior about genocide. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that before this class I had not even heard of the Genocide in Rwanda, but I believe that to change anything first there must be a true understanding of why it occurs. So that is why I have chosen the Genocide topic, I want to understand how such horrible things can still be happening in today’s day and age.