Historical Events we have lived through

Source: Wikimedia_Rembrandt Historical Painting

Read about recent incidents which will go down in history because of their cultural significance.

When someone looks back to the last five to six years of their life, they mostly won’t be able to make out anything out of the ordinary. But anyone who has lived through the beginning of the 2020s will know that several incidents have happened since the beginning of this decade which are definitely out of the boundaries of anything normal.

We have witnessed some of the most transformative and tumultuous events in history take place during these years which reshaped the way society works and perceives conflicts, pandemics, and wars.

The COVID

Source: Flickr_The Pandemic Sub-National Reference Laboratory at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga on 9 May 2020.

The very first mention of this list has to be the COVID pandemic. Who can deny the impact this deadly war, between humankind and a virus, had on the psyche of people?

No one could have imagined the magnitude of impact this disease had- it was the kind of stuff we see in sci-fi movies. But it happened. And oh, the damage it did!

The Coronavirus disease, also known as COVID-19, is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and is a deadly disease which spreads very easily because of how infectious it is. People who get infected mainly suffer from respiratory problems and their symptoms worsened with time. Those who already had underlying health conditions like diabetes, cancer, etc., are more likely to contract this illness. The best way to slow down the transmission of this disease is to notice the symptoms early and get treatment.

As of August 2024, a total of 776 million COVID cases have been reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The tally showed that the US comes on top of the list with 103 million reported cases and China occupies the second position with 99.4 million cases. Vaccines were developed and spread out which controlled the deadly virus by 2021-22. But the influence it had isn’t something that can be downplayed.

Assassinations

Source: wikimedia_Assassination_of_Kleber_f4925505_By Workshop of Antoine-Jean Gros – Own work, Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0

Over six known major assassination attempts have been made on world leaders since the 2020s began. Two out of these were, unfortunately, successful but four weren’t.

In 2021, the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated by a group of mercenaries who broke into his house. Moise was 53 when he was shot 12 times in his forehead and torso and found lying dead on the floor. Police also found that Moise had been tortured brutally- he had broken bones in his arm and ankle and his left eye had also been gauged out. His wife was also shot but she survived.

Three out of six attempts were made in 2022. The Vice-president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, was attacked with the intention to kill in September 2022. The prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan was attacked during one of his political rallies in November 2022. Both of these two survived the attacks made. But unfortunately for Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan back then, the assassination attempt made on him was a success. Abe was shot while he was giving one of his speeches and succumbed to the wounds.

A coup was planned and attempted against the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, in July 2023. The commander of the country’s presidential guard had ousted the President and televised himself as the new leader. This was soon denounced by the Economic Community of West African States.

US presidential candidate, Donald Trump, was also subjected to an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024 during one of his rallies near Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was shot and wounded by a 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks who was shot dead by officers. Trump survived, Crooks didn’t.

Taliban’s takeover

Source: wikimedia_Former_Taliban_fighters_return_arms_By isafmedia – Flickr 120528-N-TR360-003, CC BY 2.0

2021 proved to be a very fateful year for Afghanistan. The US-led forces in Afghanistan were withdrawn on the orders of Joe Biden who defended his stance by saying that he couldn’t justify an “endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict”.

With the withdrawal of military personnel from Afghanistan, the Taliban forces soon reached the capital Kabul and took control of the country. It was extremely difficult to evacuate the citizens and many couldn’t escape at all.

Us personnels admitted that they had severely underestimated the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan but it had been too late for such statements. The takeover was quick and now, very strict rules have been enforced in Afghanistan which make it extremely difficult for the people there to live.

War

Source: Flickr_Bucha. Faces of War. – Ukraine War Photo Exhibition 2023

A full-scale invasion was launched by Russia upon Ukraine in February 2022 which has since turned into a proper war with both countries their best to beat the other.

The US had reported that Russia had amassed 150,000 troops near Ukraine and any diplomatic talks between the countries had failed to reap any results. Putin had no intention of pulling back partially or completely- this was just the beginning of Russia’s plans of establishing dominance over Europe.

Amongst all of this, a set of demands has been presented. Putin wants the NATO to stop offering membership to east European countries and deny membership to Ukraine. Other than this, NATO should also pull back troops from countries which joined them after 1997. These sound like simple demands but doing so would regress all the progress the organization has made over the decades. And as expected, both the US and NATO refused to do any of this.

The war continues till date and the situation probably will take some more time to cool down. t

Conflicts and Genocides

Source: Flickr_Simon KAPWEPWE (standing), Foreign Minister of Zambia, addressing the Seminar.

Other than this war which has ravaged the civil landscape in Ukraine, there are many more countries which have fallen victim to conflicts and genocides. The most prominent case is that of Palestine and the bombing happening there. The Palestinian militant group, Hamas had launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, as retaliation for half a decade long enmity between the two countries. As a response, Israel has been bombing Gaza and other regions in Palestine.

As of August 2024, 40,139 people, including 16,500 children, have been killed by the Israeli military. More than 94,743 people have been injured and more than 10,000 have been reported missing. This is the tally from just Gaza. In the West bank, at least 635 people, including 147 children, were killed. More than 5,400 people have been injured. Additionally, data also tells us that more than half of the homes, 80% of the commercial facilities, 85% of school buildings, 20 out of 36 hospitals, and 65% of road networks in Gaza have been completely destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

Conflicts, deadly ones, are also happening in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, and Libya. All of these put human rights at risk, and jeopardize the stability and livelihoods of the people living there.

It all sounds very negative but it is history and we will be marked as one of the generations that have lived through these all.

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