Rape Victims in Kosovo during War
Running Head: RAPE VICTIMS IN KOSOVO DURING WAR
Rape Victims in Kosovo during War
Manjola Cuka
ENGL 135 Advanced Composition
Catherine Davis
April 20, 2009 DeVry University,
We all are aware of the suffering that war brings in people’s lives. War means losing everything you hold dear. War means losing your childhood home, war means losing your husband, wife, child, brother, and sister. During the war in Kosovo there were a number of brutal actions performed towards the Kosovo population physically and emotionally. The Serbs knew exactly what these people valued the most in their lives. That is honor. Among other inhuman and degrading acts executed towards the Kosovo people during the war, the Serbs used rape as a tool to destroy not only the women as individuals but also their families to the core. According to McKinsey (1993), there were an estimated twenty thousand females raped during the war in Kosovo. That is a large number considering that population of Kosovo is a little over two million people.
The Kosovo population had been trying to gain their independence for almost a decade. They were only asking for their rights: the freedom of speech, the right to send the children to schools where they can learn their own language, the freedom of media, and the freedom of living in their own country without fear. This is their country and they were only asking for what was theirs. According to the U.S State Department report (1999), the Serbs started an “ethnic cleansing” campaign that was meant to remove all the non Serb population out of the country. The most gruesome acts towards these people started to get worse after NATO troops bombed the Serb military points on March 24, 1999. Serbs decided to punish the people by forcing them out of their homes, burning their houses, torturing them, raping them, and killing them. Rape was the main weapon used against the Kosovo women to terrorize and weaken the entire population. Shenon (1999),
Rape Victims in Kosovo during War
Manjola Cuka
ENGL 135 Advanced Composition
Catherine Davis
April 20, 2009 DeVry University,
We all are aware of the suffering that war brings in people’s lives. War means losing everything you hold dear. War means losing your childhood home, war means losing your husband, wife, child, brother, and sister. During the war in Kosovo there were a number of brutal actions performed towards the Kosovo population physically and emotionally. The Serbs knew exactly what these people valued the most in their lives. That is honor. Among other inhuman and degrading acts executed towards the Kosovo people during the war, the Serbs used rape as a tool to destroy not only the women as individuals but also their families to the core. According to McKinsey (1993), there were an estimated twenty thousand females raped during the war in Kosovo. That is a large number considering that population of Kosovo is a little over two million people.
The Kosovo population had been trying to gain their independence for almost a decade. They were only asking for their rights: the freedom of speech, the right to send the children to schools where they can learn their own language, the freedom of media, and the freedom of living in their own country without fear. This is their country and they were only asking for what was theirs. According to the U.S State Department report (1999), the Serbs started an “ethnic cleansing” campaign that was meant to remove all the non Serb population out of the country. The most gruesome acts towards these people started to get worse after NATO troops bombed the Serb military points on March 24, 1999. Serbs decided to punish the people by forcing them out of their homes, burning their houses, torturing them, raping them, and killing them. Rape was the main weapon used against the Kosovo women to terrorize and weaken the entire population. Shenon (1999),
References: Alakija, P (2000). The ravages of war. Retrieved April 21, 2009 from http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/163/9/1148 BBC News. (2000). Women scarred by Kosovo atrocities. Retrieved April 17, 2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/716701.stmBooth, K (2001). The Kosovo tragedy: the human rights dimensions. (1st Ed.) Oxford: Routledge, member of the Taylor & Francis Group. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=777jPodhCYYC&dq=The+Kosovo+tragedy:+the+human+rights+dimensions.&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=8HLuSaSYMYuqtgeEgMHMDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4Bumiller, E. (1999). Crisis in the Balkans: Crimes; Deny Rape or Be Hated: Kosovo Victims ' Choice. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/22/world/crisis-in-the-balkans-crimes-deny-rape-or-be-hated-kosovo-victims-choice.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/S/Sex%20CrimesFinn, P. (1999). Signs of Rape Scar Kosovo. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/rape062799.htmMcKinsey, K. (1993). Mass Rape in Bosnia: 20,000 Women Mostly Muslim Have Been Abused By Serb Soldiers. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from | http://www.peacewomen.org/news/BosniaHerzegovina/newsarchive/massrape.html Shenon, P. (1999). Crisis in the Balkans: The Atrocities. A State Department Report Documents Kosovo Abuses. Retrieved April 20, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/11/world/crisis-balkans-atrocities-state-department-report-documents-kosovo-abuses.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FW%2FWomen Sullivan, J. (2000). Bosnian Woman, Describing War Ordeal, Faints in U.S. Court. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/02/world/bosnian-woman-describing-war-ordeal-faints-in-us-court.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FK%2FKaradzic%2C%20Radovan U.S. State Department. (1999). Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo: An Accounting. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/kosovoii/homepage.html Williams, C (1999). In Kosovo, Rape Seen as Awful as Death. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from http://articles.latimes.com/1999/may/27/news/mn-41524