Genocide & Civil War In Africa

Genocide & Civil War in Africa.

Genocide and civil war are another kind of atrocities that a major threat to populations. They also pose a serious health risk to all involved. According to Paul Knox, et.al., “Deaths of over 40 million people in the past 100 years have been attributed to genocide and other acts of state violence” (Knox, et.al. p343). And the continent of Africa has seen its portion of it especially, Rwanda. In this article, I am going to focus on genocide and civil war in Africa, and some of the social problems that come with it. Also, I will touch on some of the major health ramifications that are associated with such atrocities.

According to behavioral scientist, territoriality is not an innate trait of humans, like crickets or Beta fish; however, it is a learnt behavior. Behavioral Geography looked at this behavior in the study of proxemics—the way humans use space as functions, symbolisms, and territoriality to create sovereignty. However, most of these issues Africa and other countries can trace back to the European invasions. They have introduced decolonization to Africa in the twentieth-century. Thus, after redrawing several boundaries, the territoriality began to manifest itself in the way people within these special boundary identified themselves. As simple as this sound, it was a recipe for disasters, to this day. You see, once the boundaries were drawn, some of the needed resources were isolated from another group, thus, the aggressive group will violate the boundaries to get at the resources, harming and destroying anything in its path. Also, religious dominance may play a role in compelling another group to relinquish their religion and confirm to the dominant sect, or face dire consequence.

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...d the social problems associated with it are no laughing matter. It can have a major impact on health issues those marginalized persons are confronted with. These conflicts can impede humanitarian aids, thus, increasing the health impact on the population. This is a saddening situation; however, as long as poverty is not controlled, these crimes against humanity will continue to plague society—it’s only a matter of time, as to, when the next event will flare up.

Works Cited

Knox, P. L., & Marston, S. A. (2007). Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context. (4th ed.)

New Jersey: Pearson

Moorsom, Toby. (2011, September 15). Is Africa Rising or Falling?

The World Health Organization. “Collective Violence.”