America: A History of Racism and Humanitarian Tragedies

The murder of George Floyd has highlight, yet again, the racial injustices that take place in the United States and the hypocrisy they preach to other nations writes Al-Baath.

(Comment from The Syrian Observer): The official and semi-official media in Syria has been highly critical of the United States for its “racial and discriminating policies” after the death of George Floyd. Below is one of many articles that have been published recently.  

 

In crises, the leaves always fall from the berries and things are shown as they truly are, with no falsehoods. A new history appears, forming a mirror that reflects the truth of a society. For decades, the world has seen the United States as a democratic state espousing human rights and freedoms. But now its true face has begun to appear, reminding the world of the history of the US, which was founded on the corpses of the land’s original inhabitants, its economy built at the expense of vulnerable people. 

The entire world used to receive advice and guidance from the US on democracy and human rights, as it was the leading country regarding those two values. Indeed, many Americans like to describe their country as a “cradle of freedoms and human rights.” It is a description of America that bears no truth. It is not possible to withdraw from this in general, and the evidence that speaks to the realities of recent American history, which Americans know better than anyone else. The history of this nation was built on human tragedies that saw it conquer Native American lands by force and then defeat them instead of thanking them or even peacefully coexisting. The Americans then turned to Africa in search of people to enslave, to work the land—a period of history that hardly anyone in the world hasn’t heard about, and they know that what happened was an injustice. 

Those who follow US history would certainly not be surprised by the current American orgy, and by the methods of piracy being used against the people in the name of fighting terrorism. According to Elizabeth Martinier, the US as a state was built on three main truths, all of which confirm that white supremacy as a racist idea is the foundation of the US. 

The first truth: that the US is a state that exists due to military occupations that occurred over numerous stages. 

The second truth: that the US would not have developed economically without the enslavement of African labor. When agriculture and industry began to flourish in the colonial era, the need arose for a large number of workers. The solution was to bring in large numbers of African workers as slaves to support the workforce necessary to bring about economic growth. 

The third truth: that the US seized half of Mexico by force, which allowed the former to expand to the Pacific Ocean and open up trade with Asia, as well as open the markets for exporting and importing goods to sell domestically. 

According to official statistics, there are more than 27 million slaves in the world right now, and 50,000 women and children moving to the US for forced labor. Thousands of men also suffer slavery. Yet it is rare for us to hear or read about this issue in American media. 

 

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

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