Content
About this brief
Queiq: The River That Streamed Bodies in Aleppo
Brief about:
Journal Article (2021)
Written by:
A call to observe episodes of violence with a focus on the perpetrators, rather than the victims. This research highlights how both a focus on the victims and rigid definitions of genocide might help perpetuators evade justice.
The research uncovers an episode of violence in the context of the conflict in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. It profiles perpetrators, their networks and their main operators. It is very important to address the massacre as an act of violence away from the set criteria of genocide and quantitive measurements. Such an approach will make it very difficult for perpetrators to evade accountability.
Key findings
- This research calls for a greater focus on the perpetrators, rather than the victims.What it means
Because while the victims are extremely important, they are no longer living whereas the perpetrators remain and repeat the same violence.
Proposed action
- A review of previous writing and conventions on genocide and former episodes of violence through these new lenses that consider every violent crime as bad, avoiding labelling crimes as a genocide or not depending on the body count
- We don’t need new labels or terminology to change perspectives, instead we just need to be careful how it is used so that it changes perspective, and so it does not feed into the current and rigid categorisation of crimes
Perhaps rather than distinguishing between a massacre or a genocide, as one is interpreted as worse than the other, we should consider them both a crime.
- The delivery of justice must not be dependent on the categorisation of a crime
These categorisations help perpetrators argue against a crime and thus evade justice, as they argue that their crime is not as severe as another crime as another crime category. These categories create technicalities that make it harder to prosecute perpetuators.
- A collective change is needed where we all play a role
It is everyone's responsibility to change the language surrounding perpetrators. It is not just the media who must focus more on the perpetrators to help hold them accountable, but it is also NGOs and initial reporting that should use less passive language and be more public when discussing a perpetrators responsibility.
- This research is relevant to all discourse related to framing justice, and to other contexts such as Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Cambodia, Western Sahara, and China (genocide against the Uyghur people)
Comments
You must log in to ask a question
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Ben Levett for preparation assistance
We would like to extend a special thank you to Ben Levett, for their invaluable contribution in assisting the preparation of this research summary.
Are you a researcher looking to make a real-world impact? Join Acume and transform your research into a practical summary.
Already have an account? Log in
Discover more
Queiq: The River That Streamed Bodies in Aleppo
Cite this brief: Aljasem, Ali. 'Queiq: The River That Streamed Bodies in Aleppo'. Acume. https://www.acume.org/r/queiq-the-river-that-streamed-bodies-in-aleppo/
Brief created by: Ali Aljasem | Year brief made: 2022
Original research:
- Aljasem, A., ‘Queiq: The River That Streamed Bodies in Aleppo’ https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2021.1979911. – https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623528.2021.1979911
Research brief:
A call to observe episodes of violence with a focus on the perpetrators, rather than the victims. This research highlights how both a focus on the victims and rigid definitions of genocide might help perpetuators evade justice.
The research uncovers an episode of violence in the context of the conflict in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. It profiles perpetrators, their networks and their main operators. It is very important to address the massacre as an act of violence away from the set criteria of genocide and quantitive measurements. Such an approach will make it very difficult for perpetrators to evade accountability.
Findings:
This research calls for a greater focus on the perpetrators, rather than the victims.
Because while the victims are extremely important, they are no longer living whereas the perpetrators remain and repeat the same violence.
Advice:
A review of previous writing and conventions on genocide and former episodes of violence through these new lenses that consider every violent crime as bad, avoiding labelling crimes as a genocide or not depending on the body count
We don’t need new labels or terminology to change perspectives, instead we just need to be careful how it is used so that it changes perspective, and so it does not feed into the current and rigid categorisation of crimes
- Perhaps rather than distinguishing between a massacre or a genocide, as one is interpreted as worse than the other, we should consider them both a crime.
The delivery of justice must not be dependent on the categorisation of a crime
- These categorisations help perpetrators argue against a crime and thus evade justice, as they argue that their crime is not as severe as another crime as another crime category. These categories create technicalities that make it harder to prosecute perpetuators.
A collective change is needed where we all play a role
- It is everyone’s responsibility to change the language surrounding perpetrators. It is not just the media who must focus more on the perpetrators to help hold them accountable, but it is also NGOs and initial reporting that should use less passive language and be more public when discussing a perpetrators responsibility.
This research is relevant to all discourse related to framing justice, and to other contexts such as Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Cambodia, Western Sahara, and China (genocide against the Uyghur people)