The Vanishing Point: The Intersectionality of Extinction and Apartheid
The world has seldom witnessed a time when the urgency to act was so palpable. If history is anything more than a compendium of human endeavor, it must also be the stage for lessons learned and wisdom gleaned. The duality of extinction—the death of species and the genocide of cultures—is seen through the harrowing lens of modern-day apartheid.
A Panorama of Modern Apartheids
From the Uighur crisis in China[^1^], the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar[^2^], the Israel-Palestine conflict[^3^], to racial and social divides in the United States[^4^], these 'apartheids'—systems that fundamentally discriminate against a segment of the population—are living scars on the face of humanity.
Each regime stands as a testament to the failure of diplomacy and a lapse in collective ethics. They are ruinous emblems of extremism, fascism, and the insidious designs of imperialism. Each of these crises echoes a core conversation in the realm of environmentalism: the end of humanity through extinction, apartheid, or a combination of both.
What Exactly is Extinction?
The permanent disappearance of a species from the Earth. When a species vanishes, it's not just a loss of biodiversity; it is the erasure of an intricate set of interactions that have evolved over millennia within an ecosystem. Though extinction is a natural process, the rate at which species are currently disappearing is rapidly increasing. The Earth has seen five mass extinctions in its geological history, and scientists warn that we're on the brink of the sixth (The Antrhopocene, caused by extractive and human activity). From habitat destruction and climate change to pollution and overfishing, our actions have accelerated the extinction rate to levels up to a thousand times higher than the natural background rate.
What exactly is apartheid?
In the annals of human history, few terms encapsulate the essence of systemic, institutionalized discrimination more than 'apartheid.' The word itself originates from Afrikaans, meaning 'apartness,' and it was coined to describe the oppressive regime in South Africa from 1948 until its abolition in the 1990s. Apartheid, however, is not a relic of the past. Its fundamental principles persist in various forms around the globe, giving rise to contemporary instances that need our unwavering scrutiny.
Uighur Crisis in China
The plight of the Uighurs began insidiously, unfolding under the banner of "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremification" by the Chinese government. The Uighurs, a Muslim minority in the Xinjiang province, found themselves under increasingly draconian surveillance and control. Since 2017, an estimated one million Uighurs have been detained in so-called "reeducation camps," where they face forced labor, cultural assimilation, and mass sterilization.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
The Israel-Palestine conflict has its roots in the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent British mandate in Palestine. However, the convoluted relationship between Israelis and Palestinians reached new heights of division with the construction of barriers and settlements, isolating and attacking Gaza, a population of around 2 million inhabitants (of which almost half are children) who live in what has been called the “largest open-air prison” by several media outlets and human rights organizations. Palestinians find themselves under a complex system of control, which includes restricted movement, limited access to resources, and disparate legal systems that go back to the early 20th century.
Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar
The case of the Rohingyas in Myanmar is an explicit example of apartheid built on ethnic and religious grounds. The Rohingya, a Muslim minority, have been denied citizenship under Myanmar law since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless. In August 2017, a deadly crackdown by the Myanmar military led to the death of thousands and the displacement of approximately 740,000 Rohingyas to neighboring Bangladesh.
A Mirror to Ourselves
Each of these apartheids is a reflection of a greater human failing. They exist as manifestations of our collective insensitivities—indicators of a divide that also manifests itself in our fast-paced parasitic relationship with nature, fueled by a military-based model of consumption capitalism that believes in the lie of infinite expansion (in a world of limited resources). While we marginalize fellow humans based on arbitrary and biased classifications, we simultaneously drive hundreds of species to the brink of extinction, with disregard for both.
Our onslaught on Mother Nature—deforestation, overfishing, and greenhouse gas emissions—mimics our atrocities on human cultures. Species are going extinct at a staggering rate, with estimates suggesting that nearly one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction[^5^]. Just as apartheid is an ordeal that decimates the human spirit, the extinction of species shatters the ecological balance we all rely upon.
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, John Muir noted, he finds it attached to the rest of the world[^6^]. The same holds true for human societies: we are a web of cultures, religions, and ethnicities. When one strand is cut or weakened, the whole structure quivers. Therefore, as we vehemently condemn political regimes that sow divisions, we must also stand against eco-tyranny.
Justice, Peace, and Action
The duty lies not merely with policymakers and world leaders, but with every individual. The injustices we allow to be perpetrated upon each other are mirrored in the injustices we perpetrate upon the Earth. We must expand our hearts, raise our voices in unison with the oppressed, and amplify people's rights to be independent and free.
It is not enough to praise the magical power of diversity and collaboration. It must be the guiding light of our global vision—one that heralds infinite growth, abundance, and most importantly, justice and peace.
Our future hangs in the balance and it's crucial to act before it's too late. We're at a critical crossroads and the choices we make today will dictate the kind of world we leave for generations to come—or not. Let's use this tipping point to steer history in the right direction, shifting from a series of challenges to a future where everyone has an equal shot at being happy and free.
We’re risking to cross a point of no return.
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[^1^]: "China’s Oppression of the Uighurs, Explained." *The New York Times.* [Link](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html)
[^2^]: "Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis." *BBC News.* [Link](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561)
[^3^]: "Israel-Palestine: The Basics." *Al Jazeera.* [Link](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/14/israel-palestine-the-basics)
[^4^]: "Divided We Stand: Racism in America from Jamestown to Trump." *Book by David R. Morse.* [Link](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34738649-divided-we-stand)
[^5^]: "One Million Species Face Extinction, U.N. report says. And Humans will Suffer as a Result." *Washington Post.* [Link](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/05/06/one-million-species-face-extinction-un-panel-says-humans-will-suffer-result/)
[^6^]: "John Muir Quotes." *Sierra Club.* [Link](https://www.sierraclub.org/john-muir-exhibit/writings/favorite_quotations)