Ocasio-Cortez Calls Migrant Detention Centers “Concentration Camps”
Ocasio-Cortez made a primary objective to fight for the rights of immigrants as a democrat in New York. As a result, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refers to border detention facilities as “concentration camps.” The phrase (concentration camps) provokes counterblast from republicans who believe that Alexandria was trivializing the holocaust. However, few of the republicans do not criticize Alexandria’s phrase but would seem to support the ideology. I agree with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that detention facilities should be seen as concentration camps. Besides, I would reflect on different perspectives outlined in the New York Times as well as the Los Angeles Times to make support my view. Articles from both sources bring the idea what concentration camps are and why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be opposed and at the same time supported. Also, the articles provide clarity on events of the Nazi holocaust; thus, making a significant difference with current detention facilities associated with the immigration crisis. I would say Alexandria calling detention facilities “concentration camps,” does not trivialize the Nazi holocaust.
Trump administration’s detention facilities put immigrants in dehumanizing conditions. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Instagram that, such border detention facilities in the Southern of the United States contributed to deaths of immigrants. Ocasio-Cortez says that the deaths were due to brutal experiences that involve inhuman conditions. In the historian article, Waitman Wade says that “things can be concentration camps without being Dachau or Auschwitz” (Stolberg, 2019) I would agree with Ocasio-Cortez since Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps dehumanized victims in the Nazi holocaust. Perhaps, Alexandria would compare earlier mistreatments such as slavery with current brutalizing in detention centres. Hence, in both times (Current immigrant crisis and during the Nazi holocaust) German concentration camps and the US detention facilities prove disrespect of humanity. Hence it would be right to consider detention facilities as “concentration camps.” According to Stolberg (2019), Ms. Cheney does not support Ocasio-Cortez, as Cheney feels that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demean memories of six million murdered Jews in the Holocaust. However, according to Nadler Jerrod a democrat in New York, concentration camps in the Nazi Holocaust were not only about mass murder but also violating human rights. I feel Nadler is right since both concentration camps and detention facilities violate human rights. Although during Nazi holocaust concentration camps resulted in mass murder which is unique in current detention facilities, victims are still assaulted on their common morality.
Despite victim dehumanization, these conditions were diversified to different people in concentration camps. According to Watanabe (2019), concentration camps during the Nazi holocaust targeted more than just Jews. For instance, camps initiated as early as 1933 comprised of socialists, political opponents, Romani people as well as communists among the Jews. Similarly, the detention facilities in the borders of American target more than just the immigrants. However, I would presume, that diversity of victims held in both detention facilities and concentration camps creates a similarity in the two. Besides, Ocasio-Cortez feels that Trump administration has concentrated more of the detention facilities at the southern border of the US (Stolberg, 2019). Therefore, J Street, a Jew-American, supports Ocasio-Cortez by saying that the detention policies by Trump administration are to mistreat not just migrants but unique refugees in the United States (Stolberg, 2019). As a result, Ocasio-Cortez considers Trump to be a fascist (Stanley, 2019). Similarly, Germans involved in the Nazi holocaust, victims put in concentration camps were sent there under the ideology of dictatorship. Hence, it would be accurate to conclude from the perspective of fascism that detention facilities are not less than concentration camps.
Although the comparison of current detention facilities to concentration camps of Nazi holocaust shows some similarity, Alexandria’s phrase does not trivialize the holocaust. The Nazi holocaust was more concentrated on mass murder. According to Watanabe (2019) with Soviet Union invasion in 1941, the systematic murder of Jews began. Different from the structuring of detention facilities, gas chambers were outfitted in six Nazi concentration camps (Watanabe, 2019). In fact, the gas chambers were only a single way of carrying out the killing (Watanabe, 2019). Although detention facilities impact dehumanizing conditions, the mass-murdering in Nazi concentration camps makes the holocaust more critical. Hence, even with Alexandria’s phrase (concentration camps) meant for detention facilities, the phrase would not minimize the holocaust. Although both actions of violating human rights are experienced in both the holocaust and detention facilities, those acts in Nazi holocaust are not just immoral but also evil. Right to life is more significant and no humankind has an authority to determine on who to live or die. Perhaps, German execution of victims in the Nazi holocaust place the holocaust at a disgraceful and memorable position. Nothing would be said to change memories of the holocaust let alone the phrase “concentration camps” to detention facilities by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Of course, the Nazi concentration camps defers from normal concentration camps due to deliberates acts. The latter ensures that the Nazi holocaust is never trivialized even with current detention facilities. The dictionary of Merriam Webster refers to a place where detainment and armed guarding of a larger number of individuals are done (Stolberg, 2019). In addition to detainment, the people (prisoners of war, religious or ethnic minorities, as well as refugees) are only kept as prisoners. Contrary, the case of the Nazi holocaust extends from persecution detained prisoners to murdering them. The latter is different from detention facilities where victims are persecuted but not murdered. I believe, Alexandria called detention facilities concentration camps only after she compared the two on the bases of dehumanization (excluding mass murdering). Hence, I feel Alexandria’s social media message of referring calling detention facilities “concentration camps,” does not minimize the holocaust. Besides, the current immigrant crisis does not result in intentional mass-murdering like that experienced in Nazi holocaust.
Basically, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez provokes various republicans in her deliberate message. Although Ocasio-Cortez is criticized, she receives adequate supports from some of the republicans; thus, among the supporters, I agree that detention facilities are alike to concentration camps. Both detention facilities, as well as concentration camps, impact dehumanizing conditions to victims. Not all concentration camps in Nazi holocaust were death camps; hence, only six of them among thousands were had gas chambers. Therefore, other concentration camps violated human rights; thus, sharing a similar aspect with detention facilities. However, memories of mass murdering in the six concentration camps cannot lead to trivializing of the holocaust. It would be adorable if the current immigrant crisis and Nazi holocaust were to be compared through analyses of actions carried out in both cases.
References
Stolberg, S. (2019, June 18). Ocasio-Cortez Calls Migrant Detention Centers ‘Concentration Camps,’ Eliciting Backlash. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/us/politics/ocasio-cortez-cheney-detention-centers.html
Stanley, J. (2019, July 4) “Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Fascism’ Claim Too Extreme?” Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2019/07/04/opinion/fascism-trump-ice.html
Watanabe, T. (2019, July 26). What is a concentration camp? It’s an old debate that mostly started in California. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-concentration-camp-debate-20190713-story.html