When I began writing my book Genocide: Personal Stories, Big Questions in 2020, people’s eyes glazed over when I discussed the atrocities committed in the 20th and 21st centuries. One person said they weren’t interested because they weren’t Jewish, and another noted that it only occurred in the past. December 9th is Genocide Prevention Day, and while we haven’t been much good at preventing genocide, we need to keep trying, and central to that is the role of journalism.
Until I began my research, I didn’t realise, like most people, that the word ‘genocide’ first came into circulation in 1943 after Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the term. He wanted to create a word to explain the mass murder of one ethnic group in response to the Holocaust, in which he lost 49 members of his family and the 1915 Armenian genocide, the discovery of which had changed the course of his life, all of which I describe and explain in detail in my book.
Genocide may not officially be the word of the year, but since October 7th, 2023, it has been on everyone’s lips and in everyone’s mind, and for good reason. We want to put a name to the conflict between Israel and Gaza, and genocide is much more of an emotive term than war crimes or crimes against humanity. It hits at the epicentre of the existential crisis that both the Israelis and the Palestinians feel. The Holocaust and the Naqba are histories that define both peoples.
At the heart of the matter is whether genocide is occurring and if journalists should call it. There are two key facts about genocide: one is that it is a legal term that can only be decided by the courts. That may change in time, but that is the case for now. Two, and fundamental in understanding the nature of the ‘crime of crimes’, is intent. Genocide is about intent – the intent to destroy in whole or in part.
Journalists play a key role in writing the first draft of history, reporting on what they see and hear. They see and count dead bodies, discover who the targets are, tell people’s stories, and deal with the facts and establish them on the ground. It is from those reports that judges and lawyers make laws and implement legislation.
In December 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide. The ICJ concluded that the Palestinians in Gaza had a plausible right “to be protected from all acts of genocide,” and that “Israel must . . . In relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II” of the Genocide Convention. Journalists are not giving conclusions because the courts haven’t given any. Foreign journalists are not on the ground in Gaza, and many are being scrupulous in not calling it genocide. Regardless, journalists and NGOs provide invaluable material.
Genocide should be covered by mass-market papers
There are plenty of books about genocide – and most of them go unread by most people because it’s seen an intellectual subject. But I set out to write a book which could be read by anyone. I wrote it for Mail, Mirror and Sun readers because this is an important story which should be covered by the mass market papers.
I recently spoke to Mukesh Kabila, who was head of the U.N. mission in Sudan at the start of the 21st century’s first genocide. Until he went to the BBC to tell the world what was happening in Darfur, the U.N. HQ didn’t act, as they hadn’t in Rwanda years before.
We are only focused on the war in the Middle East, but there are many other genocides and threats of genocides occurring. The situation in Darfur, again, is ignored. The Uyghurs are too complicated to campaign for; the Rohingya are far away, and the DRC has been a mess for decades.
As Genocide Prevention Day rolls on, genocide should be everyone’s problem. Victims, survivors, relatives and children of survivors most want their stories told. Most want people to know what they have suffered, most often so it never happens again. One of Rwanda’s survivors is Philibert Muzima, a writer, journalist and human rights activist who relocated to Canada. He said: “One of the primary reasons for my survival is memory, the duty to perpetuate and safeguard it.”
While I didn’t plan to write a book about genocide, as often happens with a story, it became a juggernaut with its own momentum, linking the last 120 years of genocide together.
I was fortunate to have world-class scholars and survivors talk to me, so that I could craft an accessible book, not something only worthy broadsheets and political magazines discuss in lofty circles. Genocide: Personal Stories, Big Questions is anything but, as the title might suggest. My book explores an unbearably painful topic with the training of a Daily Mail reporter who can make anything readable. Mine is the kind of book that Sun and Mirror readers can devour.
As journalist and author Paul Moorcraft says: “It is not a simple chronology of evils, but it looks at the roots – and draws interesting comparisons between the similar methods of monsters such as Hitler, Stalin and Saddam Hussein.”
Sometimes, survivors are quoted poignantly. One Jewish woman who survived Bergen-Belsen said there was no joy in liberation because all the families, homes and businesses were gone: “We had been liberated from death and the fear of death, but we were not free from the fear of life.”
Once I started writing Genocide: Personal Stories, Big Questions, I saw the parallels between how the perpetrators dehumanised and ‘othered’ their victims. That message has even more relevance today with the rise of dictators and the world teetering on a dangerous precipice.
Genocide: Personal Stories, Big Questions by Heidi Kingstone, published by Yellow Press, is out now and available on Amazon. It’s part of Yellow Press’ Big Story series in which reporters write about the big subjects which they’re interested in.
Note: This article was amended on 10/12/24 to more accurately reflect the finding of the International Criminal Court in December 2023.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
