The Handmad

’s Tale The Terror On The Balkans Essay, Research Paper

What had its roots in the ancient ethnic conflict in the Balkans led to the major tragic events in our modern world. The dictatorship government in Serbia began an operation of ethnic cleansing in the region of Kosovo. Strong Serbian-Christian military and paramilitary forces invaded Kosovo as if they were fighting against an equally strengthened force. Once in Kosovo, they started a brutal slaughter of the weakest part of the population, the part that had nowhere to run and had no money. One of the main tasks of Milosevic s led troops was to kill as many men as they could find. They were killing those fathers, sons and grandfathers because they were cowards, and also, because they were afraid of retaliation. Simply, Slobodan Milosevic wanted to wipe out a whole generation of people, that s his way of dealing with domestic problems. The results of this campaign are very sad ones; about one million ethnic Albanians were displaced, and about two thousand people were killed in the course of the past year. A long time will pass until we will know everything that happened in Kosovo. Over the past year of conflict, the methods of violence used by the Serbian police have escalated to the point of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law On 15 January 1999, Serbian security forces massacred 45 ethnic Albanian civilians, including one woman, two children, and dozens of old men, in the village of Racak . (Legacy of Abuse: The Record of the Serbian Police In Kosovo, p.9) It seems that our world did not learn from our horrifying mistakes of the past. Here we are, at the end of the twentieth century, and still there are many parts in the world where the dictatorship governments rule countries. In these counties, small groups of people can control and impose laws on people. It s easy to imagine a transformation in a country similar to Yugoslavia, or even in Yugoslavia itself, to something similar to the Republic of Gilead.

At this time there is a strong opposition to Milosovic, and if he would remain in power he will have to make radical moves to crush his opposition. If he doesn t make quick and smart decisions he will have to face even greater opposition. One of his first steps might be to straighter his government by appointing military figures to key government positions. After building a strong loyal government he might have to get the approval of the church. Implementations of strict religious rules would be very easy in a country scared of Albanian terrorists. Having a good experience from the Cold War things like censorship and mass spying could be implemented efficiently and quickly. Now, with the introduction of martial law, the regime has finished the job it initiated before the war began. Independent media have been either closed down or subjected to complete control. High schools and universities have been shut down. Independent organizations have locked their doors. Just like in the novel, all types of media are strictly controlled by the government. Isolating Serbia from the rest of the world would make a Serbia look even more like the Republic of Giliead.

In all probability a Yugoslavia contained and no longer a threat to its neighbors, the international community would be reluctant to expend further energy in order to remove M. Milosovic from power. However, enough support could probably be found for economic sanctions which would lead to back shortages and suffering in the general population. A good tool for Milosovic’s government would be the use of the church and its values to keep the population in order. If the church receives enough power it can succeed in controlling the public just like it did for centuries in the Dark Ages. Due to scarcity the church could be coerced into giving legitimacy to S. Milosivic by providing it with the resources to survive. The same tactics could be used with the police and paramilitary organizations so that these who did not accept the religion doctrines could be delt with more severely.

Merely in the beginning, the events in our present are not resembling the future described by Margaret Atwood. Nevertheless if we look closer to events that are taking place in our time, we can find many similarities which may, or may not lead us to the world that looks much like the one described by the author. I have used Yugoslavia as an example of how an isolated country could come to resemble the Republic of Gilead. With the ending of the Cold War and desire the of ethnic population of states of their own, such circumstances could recreate themselves many times over in our modern world.