A Problem from Hell

There are books that haunt you.
Whatever you are reading after that, or no matter what you are doing after that, there are books that remain in your heart long after you finished it, keeping whispering something to you quietly but persistently. Like a tiny thorn in your finger, it keeps stimulating your mind consciously or subconsciously.

“A Problem from Hell” is that kind of book to me.
I read this book almost two years ago, when I started studying English seriously. I was so ardent to read English so I picked up lots of English magazines and newspapers. One day, I spotted the name of Samantha Power in “TIME” magazine featuring 100 most influential people in the world. She was chosen among them because of her award-winning book. Looking at the author’s picture, a young, beautiful Irish lady was smiling casually. Thinking of the title of her book, I couldn’t really associate her delicate looking face with the main topic of the book, ie, Genocide.

Once I started reading the book, I remember that I couldn’t help reading it. Even though I was a starter of reading English book, I kept turning pages after pages till I came to the final letter.

In this book, Samantha Power, who was a former Balkan war correspondent, explores a series of 20th century’s mass slaughters and massacres, seeks the origin of a word “Genocide”, and examines actions and reactions of powerful countries, especially the U.S.A. From the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, to Srebrenica, she researches intensely why and how these atrocities happened, how the U.S.A reacted (or didn’t react), and what caused the U.S.A to flinch and just to stand by in front of abhorrent tragedies.

When I was reading this book two years ago, I was always wondering what is the convincing reason that other countries have to intervene into conflicts at the risk of their own soldiers lives on behalf of other country’s matters. True, we must stop genocide. We must never allow crazy dictators to systematically kill innocent people and annihilate entire land. But when atrocities take place, what kind of ideas or beliefs can cause other states to move forward at the expense of their own lives?

To put it bluntly, we are not completely altruistic. We usually pursue our own happiness. We don’t want to lose our lives. Needless to say, we don’t want to risk ourselves for other people’s matters. Similarly states work according to their own interests. If you read this book, you can find quite a few brave people who run the risk of their carriers, their interests, or even their own life because they believe it is absolutely wrong to look away when Genocide is happening. One American lawmaker kept delivering speeches to encourage U.S Senate to ratify Genocide Convention for nineteen years, or more than 3,000 times. The other Diplomat flew into Iraq during Saddam Fussein’s gassing Kurds, leaving behind a memo to his thirteen-year-old son, saying, “By going there I thought I could help convince the Congress to provide the help. …. I am most sorry I won’t see you grow up.”
But also you will see their voices ignored, their hopes shattered, and their desperate attempts foiled. National Interests are always standing as kind of golden excuse.

I couldn’t find the idea or conviction or effective way for international society to stand up for our own morality when I read this book two years ago. Two years later, I again start this book to think about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK_mukvvYr8