A history of man's inhumanity

© St. Petersburg Times
published April 4, 2002

Genocide.

It's an ugly word that sums up the worst atrocities men can commit against each other -- the systematic decimation of people because of their ethnicity, faith, country of origin or political orientation.

Once University of South Florida mathematics professor Manoug Manougian helped a friend publish a book about her survival of dictator Pol Pot's brutal repression of Cambodia, he knew such stories had to reach a wider audience.

So Manougian called a close friend, TV producer Robert J. Emery, owner of Tampa-based Media Entertainment Inc. and creator of Starz/Encore cable networks' The Directors series. Manougian handed him a copy of Sophal Leng Stagg's Hear Me Now: Tragedy in Cambodia.

Before long, the two agreed to undertake the three-year process of crafting The Genocide Factor: The Human Tragedy, a four-hour documentary detailing genocide's history, from the Bible to the present.

"Man is the only mammal on Earth who kills each other in large numbers," said Manougian, quoting one of the many experts who help define genocide during the series.

"We seem to have a lust for violence that's inherent in us. How can you look another person in the face and torture them? How can you look at a child and rip his limbs to pieces? Even now, I'm not sure I know the answer."

As might be expected, The Genocide Factor makes for difficult viewing. Manougian, who co-wrote the script with USF psychology professor Jack Sandler, packs the show with graphic footage and pictures, including Rwandan refugees holding up amputated limbs.

Also included are personal accounts from survivors of mass rapes in Kosovo, the massacre of Armenians in Turkey and lynchings in Tulsa, Okla.

Academics including Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel offer more perspective, noting that 169-million civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed between 1900 and 1987 in such atrocities, compared with 34-million soldiers killed in all wars.

Dehumanization, a lack of democracy, rampant nationalism and a history of violence are cited as key factors in genocide, a term the program says was coined by author Raphael Lemkin in the 1940s. A lengthy preshow disclaimer explains that some atrocities shown may not be classified as genocide by the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, created in 1948.

"Here we are, two grown men, Robert and I, going through some of the scenes (in editing), and the two of us have tears running down our face," said Manougian, 66, an Armenian born in Jerusalem who has lived in the United States since the 1950s. "There hasn't been any period of time in history when some genocide isn't taking place."

Emery served as director/producer. Also among the series' Tampa Bay area connections: Stagg lives in Palm Harbor and has given speeches to area schools and community groups about her experiences. PBS station WEDU helped produce the series, which will air nationally.

Manougian remains convinced that educating the world on genocide's impact is the key to preventing its reoccurence.

"This is intended as a wakeup call to the general public," he said. "In order to prevent man's inhumanity to man, we must first know its history."

AT A GLANCE

The Genocide Factor: The Human Tragedy airs at 9 tonight and each of the next three Thursdays on WEDU-Ch. 3. Grade: A.

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