Ethnic Cleansing
“Ethnic cleansing” implies that the victim of genocide is inherently “dirty.” This type of language sides with the perpetrator and legitimizes genocides. It is important not to use such euphemisms to describe the oppression, harassment, isolation, systematic weakening, annihilation and symbolic enactment that occur in a genocide.
Euphemisms are dangerous because they make it harder for us to see and understand the abuses of the powerful. And if we can’t see and understand something, we have no hope of resisting it. Euphemisms also make it easier for us to go along with something that we would know was wrong if it were named honestly.
Using the term “ethnic cleansing” also supports and legitimizes genocide because much of the propaganda used in modern day genocides, including Rwanda, and the Holocaust, called for the creation of a new, pure society by cleaning it up.
By renaming a genocide as “ethnic cleansing” we are veiling the true meaning and making it easier to ignore the abuse. It is important to recognize things for what they are in order to combat them, and because of this we should avoid euphemisms such as “ethnic cleansing” and use the correct terminology, genocide.