Ireland: A Struggle for Independence - Essay Example

Ireland: A Struggle for Independence One may go further than the realm of reality and imagine or picture that freedom is a condition whereby an individual is free from the rule of destiny or of need. "Michael Collins" [1], a film by Neil Jordan, showed the struggle of an Irish patriot and revolutionary who died in the Irish war. In the late 19th and early 20th century, resentment in Ireland over British rule mounted, known today as the Anglo-Irish War or the Tan War whereas the Irish Republican Army under the First Dail fought the British government in Ireland. The guerrilla campaign was a movement for "home rule" or the self government on domestic matters, who gathered force, thus consider the primary reason in the formation for this group. Home rule, as defined, refers to the state being given greater self government as part of a demand to pursue a greater administrative purview of the central government. Unfortunately, such effort to chase independence led to the war, which today, known as the Bloody Sunday. It only ended by a truce made on July 11, 1921 where it also left Ireland to its bloody birth. Despite the terror and agony, the war and death of over 1400, Independence was granted. However, until today, when there is less war, we can only look back and ask, is it worth it With every blood that spattered, and every vein that was cut, still we ask, what is the meaning of freedom Almost 90 years have passed, those people who died are still remembered, yet most of them died without knowing the reason why they cannot see their families anymore. Today, Ireland is still struggling because in spite of the war, the search for lasting peace and political stability in Ireland is still unresolved. In addition, only in December 1, 1999, that the British Parliament formally transferred a wide range of powers to Ireland's provincial government; thus the issue of the IRA, still gives troubles in continue of the unresolved issue on Northern Ireland's home rule. Now I ask, was the war and fight for independence worth it Freedom is not a material object it's not to be openly sensed. It's an idea: it's a psychological construct; it's a state of affairs, -- that's what freedom is. I would like to make it as easy as I know how to that at the same time as independence is not an assessable material thing; it does exist for all of us up to the very point of our death. We might be constrained a little and get on with life fairly well; certainly, a little universal restraint, ironically, is needed so that for the most part of freedom can be had by all. Then again, why do people suffer in sought of it Why do some of us need to die just like the Irish in fight for this freedom Will we ever achieve it; enough to embrace it in our death. India: To fight for our lives It is the first war of Indian Independence. It is the first war of freedom, what could it have felt like: fighting for your country, fighting for your life. When the British East India Company controlled India in the early 1857 to 1858, a period of an armed uprising expanded, it was the period of Indian Rebellion. The term rebellion means an attempt to overthrow a government, however, I found myself asking, why we refer to the Indians as rebel where in the first place, they should have been the one's ruling their country. The British East India Company, after winning the wars won the powers in Bengal; thus pertaining as well to the vigorous expansion of its area in India. The rebellion has many diverse causes, ranging from economic, political, military, religious, and social causes. Much to this extent, British Indian Company has ignored traditions as some of the Indians found themselves unemployed and humiliated. In addition, must of their culture was set aside for the overtaking of the government including tax collection, religion overthrow to serve Christianity, and series of wealth expansions that subsequently led to the resentment of the Indian people. The tension altogether proceeded to the actual rebellion that started January 24, 1857. Unlike in Ireland, much to the dismay and sorrow of those who fought in struggle to gain Independence, they have lost as in the end of the 1857, British has begun to gain grounds again. Although a treaty was signed the last rebels were defeated by methods of execution, in choice of being blown from a cannon, fired by a firing squad, and hanging mutineers. This crude and brutal war resorted to what we known today as war crimes. And with such tragic ending, I cannot seem to add anything to what this people may have felt like when they fought for their lives. Rwanda: Forging a Just future Genocide, the brutal slaughter of almost 800000 people in the East African nation of Rwanda in 1994, is one the 20th century's worst atrocities. After that President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda was shot in April 1994 by unknown assailants, triggered a chain of events that turned friend upon friend, and neighbor upon neighbor; murdered even occurred within families as one of the ethnic groups Hutu, killed their Tutsi relatives. Most of this violence looked spontaneous, like when Hutu priest refused asylum to Tutsi fugitives and when Hutu schoolteachers actually killed their Tutsi students, but everything was in fact planned. Although media has described it as a tribal conflict, the true causes lies elsewhere. Hutu and Tutsi are not tribes. [2] However, the difference between the two is socio-political. When Rwanda was colonized by the Germans, Belgians, they chose to exercise their power through Rwanda's existing social system, which is that Tutsi where consider the aristocrats and Hutu the clients. This reason created enough tension between the groups that eventually help for the foundation of their conflicts. In sought of social and historical justice, the Hutu dominated government enacted in anti- Tutsi policies in an effort to avenge years of Tutsi domination, and the plot to kill therefore became evident. Going back to Ireland and India, the Hutu people were fighting for their own independence, not from colonizers but fro their own country men. However, whatever the reason is, freedom is something people care about having, enough to kill and be killed in order to attain such feeling. However, isn't there other way to gain freedom Does it have to cause enormous amount of human bodies before one can reach independence And again, is it worth it seeing that until now, many of us is still in search of this liberty, in spite that our ancestors have already fought for it before In the lasting war of terror for these people, even though they knew that those who were inflicting terror on them was their own community, their own country men, it didn't matter for the Tutsis, so long as 'justice' for them are met. This has been going for almost a long time ago- the Tutsis feeling degraded, the Hutus getting all the riches and education that the Tutsis should also get- rightfully so. The lasting conflict between them is still present in their hearts. No matter what the government do, or the UN should do, the terror has been inflicted, and nothing will be the same again. It will be present in their hearts and mind. And it will go down the history. And someday, somehow, the conflict that boiled down will reach the boiling point again-there; the war that was forgotten will begin. Australia: The Origin. Aboriginalpeoplecustomarily lived as hunter-gatherers in little family groups, hunting, fishing, and gathering an assortment of plant foods. Aborigines are citizens of Australia and their ancestry. Europeansbeganmigrating in Australia in 1788. Their contact on the native inhabitants was devastating. Many Aboriginal citizens died from epidemics of European diseases or from combating to hold control of their land. Only those inhabiting the most distant areas of the continent were able to carry on their usual way of life. Many also grew dependent on European civilization, which had small compassion for them. Government integrated policies, which required absorbing Aboriginal people into white society, further worn their culture; astheboundaryofwhite settlement prolonged, Aboriginal people more and more offered aggressive confrontation to the winning of their land, and many died in combating with British settlers. It finished that for the most part, the important issue in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in protection was "the underprivileged and uneven circumstance that Aboriginal people find themselves inwithin society, economically, and culturally," and it suggested greater empowerment of Aboriginal citizens and further adherences to policies of free-will. "We must recognize the distinctiveness of Indigenous identity and culture and the right of Indigenous people to preserve that heritage." [4] The crisis of Indigenous social and cultural disintegration requires a stronger affirmation of Indigenous identity and culture as a source of dignity, self-esteem, and pride. On the contrary, now a days, the government have been taking over with the education of the Aborigines, unexplained to the reason why, they have not cited the fact for which such children in this state suffers mainly because they are being taken from their families. What's mind-boggling is why an institution would think that it has the right to rid people who inhabited land before any other previous institution did. Was it to improve the children's futures I don't think that the physical, emotional, or sexual abuses that were reported in these camps are any way to improve the well-being of a child. Rather, is it only propaganda by the government to be on the top of its game in the International standards, which in the first place, was made by the same people whose intentions are only to manipulate. References [1] Coogan, Tim Pat. Michael Collins [2] Linden, Ian. Church and Revolution in Rwanda. Manchester University Press, 1977. [3] Maquet, Jacques Jerome Pierre. The Premises of Inequality. Oxford University Press, 1961. [4] Nothing mutual about denying Aborigines a voice, Larissa Behrendt, The Age newspaper, December 8, 2004 Note: I am sorry if I exceeded the pages, I was confused if I am supposed to follow your directions or the guidelines given by your professor. Anyway, I also had a problem regarding the title of the movies I'm supposed to take note because you didn't put it, what you can do is just put its title at the beginning of the sentences, whatever it may be. (e.g. In the movie (title) it showed that in the 19th century to 20th century the Irish held a rebellion against Britain.) Anyway, please do email me if you have problems: my email is moving_graphics@yahoo.com. Thanks and God Bless. Read More