Final Post: Genocide in CAR

     Throughout this semester my group and I have collected information regarding the causes, effects and implications of the current Genocide occurring in the Central African Republic. Our findings have yielded that the Christian population is attempting to “cleanse” the land from Muslims. As a result, the government, the economy and the future of the Central African Republic are becoming casualties in this brutal civil war for power. We found that the government holds little to no influence on alleviating the brutality taking place. The capitol was overthrown by extremists and the interim President Samba-Panza has not yielded any progress toward a more civil state. Since CAR is one of the least developed countries in the world, they depend on international donors. With the recent violence more citizens are fleeing the country and those left are suffering from the lack of aid and resources. The economy’s downward spiral feeds the ultimate digression of the nation. This conflict seems to be extending throughout the rest of this year, and even into next year. With that being said, we have found that the children are paying the most from this conflict. Children are the target for much of the brutality and are also being forcibly recruited to join the rebel armies. Children are the future of the country and because they are being targeted a cycle of violence is being set. As a group, we have come to the consensus that the Central African Republic is facing more than just a war between religious groups. It is facing self-inflicted attacks on every part of the country. Humanitarian aid is necessary and we cannot stand by and allow for more lives to be taken.

     As a group, we decided to split up research into specific sub fields per person. I was designated to research the “why it matters” component as well as the correlation to topics discussed in class. I liked this approach because it allowed for every member to be accountable for a specific area of the issue in addition to allowing for us to organize our findings better. For my research I used news sites such as BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera. The way I went about my research was to find the most recent articles. I wanted to make sure that the information was up to date and I checked the sources within the articles. Since I was assigned to research a certain sub field, I found myself bypassing information that other group members were assigned. This helped me hold focus on my part and make sure I can accurately address my component when we met as a group.

     I learned a lot from this project. First of all I was unaware of a Genocide in the Central African Republic. While doing my research and listening to what my group members had found opened my eyes to the entire situation. I didn’t realize how little I knew of this country. In addition, I saw how this conflict exemplifies the lessons we learned in class. Is shows identity politics, the cycle of violence in colonized countries, how humanitarian work comes into play in civil affairs, and the role that the UN has. Research in a group taught me about the different reactions evoked from the same information. When my group met, we would discuss what we had found and all had very different opinions. I see how this could both hurt and help research. Overall my group helped me develop my own opinion and strengthen my knowledge of the Genocide in the Central African Republic.