No country is without sin. And nobody has a clean slate. There are a lot of unpalatable secrets lurking in any country’s history and present. Even though it might be uncomfortable dragging them into the spotlight, acknowledging these less-than-savory facts is the first step to solving the issues in the first place.
The redditors living in Europe opened up about the dark facts about their home countries in a brutally honest thread over on r/AskEurope. These facts might not be for everyone, so fair warning, some of the things you might read are darker than dark.
If you’d like to share some lesser-known dark secrets about your home country, Pandas, you can do so in the comment section once you’re done reading this list.
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Spain.
During the Francoist regime, many single mothers were told their newborn children were dead. They weren’t allowed to see the corpse, and the baby, which wasn’t dead, was given to a married couple. Many years later, the graves of many of these supposedly dead babies were found to be empty. This was done with the absolute cooperation of the Catholic church.
Not just given. SOLD BY CATHOLIC CURCH. They took about 50.000 babies in less then 3 decades and made BILLIONS !!
England. I don’t know how unknown this is but Alan Turing who helped to break Nazis’ enigma code was arrested for being gay and was chemically castrated by the government he helped years ago. He was banned from GCHQ and the US which greatly effected his career. He killed himself in 1954.
This is a well known fact. They even made a movie about it starring Benedict Counterstrike
In Italy a r*pist could marry his victim to avoid any legal persecution (this practice was called "matrimonio riparatore"). The women were pressed to accept the marriage to avoid social shame. Franca Viola, in 1948, was the first woman to refuse to marry her r*pist, but this practice was abolished by law only in 1981.
User u/AkruX explained that they were inspired to create the thread on r/AskEurope after learning that their home country, the Czech Republic (aka Czechia), was at one point ranked the third-worst slavery haven in the entirety of Europe. They were completely shocked by this.
Very recently, Bored Panda spoke to Brooke Burris, who chairs the Tri-County Human Trafficking Task Force in the Charleston area in South Carolina. She went into detail with us about human trafficking. It’s a deep-seated problem that is global, not located in just any one or two countries.
According to Brooke, people care about fighting against human trafficking more when they realize that it’s a local problem.
Sweden used to treat Sami natives in northen Sweden as second class citizens for the longest time and we barely learn about it in school. As late as the 70s Sami children were still forcefully taken from their Sami parents and adopted by Swedish parents to ”make them Swedish”
Norway. How terrible we have suppressed the Sami people and how we forcefully assimilated them in order to “fit in” with the “Norwegian culture”. And how the racism against them still exist very much to this day. They are still treated horrible by Norwegians and we are barely learned anything about their history in our schools.
Poland is ranked as the most homophobic country in the EU
"The U.S. Dept. of State has recognized that trafficking is a global problem, solved on the local level through a multidisciplinary response. The more local one's focus on the nature and prevalence of the issue, the better and truer understanding one will have as to both (1) the scale of trafficking and (2) how they specifically can take ownership of the problem and become a part of the solution,” she explained.
The expert noted that human trafficking is a far broader and more complex problem than it’s presented in movies.
"Kidnapping and using physical force/coercion is only one means by which a trafficker can control a victim," she said.
NOBODY answered from the USA!? SO MANY...but I've always thought that how the land was taken from the original inhabitants one of the worst things this 'land of the free' has done.
The massacres, the forced relocations, the infecting with smallpox, the loss of their identity as independent peoples...the list just goes on.
Continued up until taking Hawaii away from the ruling monarchy in the 1800's.
No one haven't because it is such a recent and new nation there aren't much in the end. (Not saying there isn't at all, but their history is still quite short, and nothing they did hasn't been done before by others.)
Australia. Basically everything to do with the First Nations/Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Mostly the stolen generations but there was a whole lot more f*cked up sh*t.
The stories about stolen generations is so terribly sad and heartbreaking. Children ripped away from their mothers arms to be brought up by others (whites). This has caused so much damage it's indescribable. https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/the-stolen-generations#:~:text=The%20Stolen%20Generations%20refers%20to,through%20a%20policy%20of%20assimilation.
Turkey. There is overwhelming violence against women in Turkey. And the first thing [anyone] asks: well, what was she wearing?, what is she doing there this late?
"In fact, according to a report of prosecuted sex trafficking cases in the U.S., 59% of coercive tactics used by traffickers were non-physical, compared to 41% of tactics involving physical coercion. Further, transportation is merely one type of action used by a trafficker,” Brooke told us.
Though it’s unlikely that human trafficking will be fully rooted out globally or in any particular country, it is vital to limit its scope.
“Until the Lord comes, I think evil will always exist in our world. Therefore, if I'm honest, I don't think we will be able to eradicate human trafficking entirely," Brooke said that it’s important to keep fighting injustice, but it’s equally vital to be realistic about the scope of the problem.
Spain is only second to Cambodia for missing persons cases that were never resolved.
There is a government run online search tool for finding mass graves.
France. Forced sterilization of intellectually disabled people was a very common thing until the early 2000s. There's now a law requiring consent since 2001, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn forced sterilization still happens.
Actually I heard of this happening in Lithuania to this day. The reason why? Because when a mentally disabled person lives in a mixed-sexes institution, it's impossible to keep them away and romance does happen more often than you think. (I don't know what happens to same sex institution). Unfortunately people there often don't realise they should use birth control ( because of their permeant mental conditions). The person is unable to care for their child so the baby would end up in an orphanage which would hurt both: parents and the child. I know it's a controversial topic and it's hard to decide what is right or wrong here.
Portugal has massive problem with domestic violence (including femicide and child abuse). Strict catholic patriarchy was THE rule until 1974, so it's still hanging around in older generations and trickling down on their descendants. And most offenders get off with a slap on the wrist because we still have courts full of old ass judges.
I think many people, that don't live in german-speaking countries, don't know that Austria was a fascist dictatorship for 4 years before the Anschluss
they surrendered without firing one shot in 1938 and embraced the Nazis...after the war they considered themself as the first victims of Nazi Germany....
Huge collaboration of Dutch people during WW2 , snitching where people were hiding. Supporting the Nazis, joining the forces.
The Dutch railway company (NS) transported Jews, Sinti and Roma to Germany.
Royal Dutch Shell reported their jewish employees to the Nazis to be deported.
All occupied countries had an element of collaboration, collaborators were mostly looking out for themselves although there was a lot of score settling too, people are people the world over.
Netherlands. In 1620, the Dutch East India Company committed genocide on the people on the Indonesian Banda Islands, under the flag of the Dutch fleet. Murdered 95% of the population as punishment. Their crime? Selling nutmeg to the Portuguese and the English.
I don't even like nutmeg that much. Their population still isn't at the level it was before the genocide.
In Ireland we were under such control of the Catholic church until 2000s. Our constitution was drawn up with their approval and still says that women have a role in the home. Anyway the control of the church meant that the church got away with shielding and transferring paedophile priests ( well known). The not so well known was the following three things outside Ireland are:
Mother and baby homes - This was where unwed mothers were brought. They were a shamed, has their children taken away. The children either died or were adopted illegally to Irish and American families. They also burned their records and one in Tuam Co Galway dumped the bodies of many children who died in a septic tank (tank where sewage is stored from houses not connected to the main sewage system).
Magdalene Laundries - this was where runways and some troubles were brought. They were slaves in a laundry and received nothing and were treated terribly and the religious orders made money off the backs of this slavery. The last one wasn't closed till the 90s which is messed up.
Also corporal punishment in schools until the late 60s early 70s especially in industrial schools (some of which were for troubled boys and the abuse there was messed up.
So yes we have a dark past. Now it makes sense why there are few young Catholics in Ireland. We don't mention it much but we know and it makes me ashamed and I'm 25.
In my school we had a "priest" who had been moved for "accusations". And was moved from our school for a similar thing. But he was badly beaten, as he was coming out of the church one night. The story was that he was mugged and the contributions were stolen but we all thought if was for other reasons. This was late 80s as things were starting to change. The catholic church was losing support fast by then as the stories were coming out. Father Ted had a big effect on breaking the spell the church held over the country.
Germany. Female genital mutilation in Germany. It makes me incredibly angry as it is an more or less unpunished crime for decades now and nothing is done really.
Every few years, when sombody decides to report about it measures are announced, but nothing will be really done.
This is because the immigrants from certain countries mutilate their young girls mostly when on holiday... Unfortunately it's hard to prove and control. I think it would help if the women were better educated and taught about the consequences (bodily harm and legal). Some mothers don't want this for their daughters but are pressured by relatives... It's terribly sad.
Russia. Most Russians actually support their government and especially Putin
Brainwashed into thinking that the outside world is against you, don't underestimate the fear when living in a regime / dictatorship. Russians aren't stupid, just scared.
If you think this can't happen in your country, think again. The US has an entire political party that is dedicated to keeping their voters afraid and ignorant. "Shock and Awe" indeed.
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This makes me so angry - it's NOT true. I'm Russian born with many friends/family members living in Russia. Literally EVERYONE I know is against the war. Thousands of Russians have been arrested for protesting. I've got friends who are out there protesting and are risking arrest; my friends with high-profile careers (lawyers, etc.) are signing public documents which put them at risk. This kind of post is unfounded in reality and only fuels Russophobia. The people who DO support Putin are often afraid of what could happen if a revolution occurred and a power vacuum opened up. They remember the 90s, when there was no food on shelves. Not having another option is NOT the same thing as supporting the current regime. The support polls for Putin are not reliable, but when the West engages in Russophobia it feeds right into Putin's narrative, which is - the West sees you, the Russian people, as the enemy.
My dislike is towards Putin and his army that's follows him without question. The Russian people are blameless in this. This is Putin's war plain and simple. I am so sorry what your family and friends are enduring right now. I pray things will get better
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I've been listening to first hand reports from Ukrainians with Russian relatives (very, very common) and how the Russian family members are assuring them they will be safe and the Russian army won't hurt them, then, when sent photographs of destroyed buildings and bodies on the street are stating that this is all being done by the Ukrainian army, and finally, when the Ukrainians are still trying to tell them what is going on in actuality, the Russian family are getting angry with them for continuing to lie and then blocking them. Listen to Ukrainecast to hear the accounts of many people there on the ground.
It's difficult to form a good opinion when you are exposed to propaganda on a daily basis and critical news is being censured. That's the whole point why a censorship and a well functioning democracy are incompatible with each other. This statement may be true, but it's ignorant.
I doubt many actually support Putin -- but admitting you don't carries long prison sentences. Also, propaganda brainwashes many (as seen in the US with Fox/OAN, etc.)
I don't believe that it's a majority. Maybe author is from that kind of people circle but my experience is different. Majority of older people maybe believers as they are unfortunately very susceptible to propaganda from USSR times. Middle age people are divided as part of them are poor and uneducated, unable to see connections and logic reasoning. They are living in horrid conditions and vote for Putin saying that he is amazing but local authorities don't do their job properly. Not too surprising here that they believe anything they hear from TV. Another part are simple men and women working in government organisations and caring mostly for their families safety. Those don't say anything out of fear. And the rest of progressive thinking elders, brave middle aged people and the educated ones, majority of youth both schools and universities are against current politics. For me it doesn't sound like a nation's minority.
We forget the way the authorities used to oppress the Russian people to keep them in order. Many alive today lived through those times so are still fearful of speaking out. Putin himself used to denounce the people around him when he was younger, and he will have filled the government with people who think like him, not allowing for any opposition. We saw that in the way he spoke to the military advisors when he attacked Ukraine recently.
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I might be wrong, but I doubt what Russians "support Putin". Memories of sh..t show they had after collapse of USSR and how it changed to a bit better with him coming to power are still running deep and I think they mainly don't want the risk going back to 90's. At least that's the POV of whom I know.
i wouldn't necessarily blame them since most people in russia have no idea what is going on. many people have developed a them vs. us mentality. also, imagine what would happen to them and their families if they didn't support the government. i would consider some of them as victims. not putin tho, screw him
Just because they changed their flag doesn't mean the years of indoctrination under the Soviet Union went away. The failures of an overly centralized economic and political system were blamed ENTIRELY on the West. This allowed them to ignore the flaws inherent in their system and brand anyone who did a traitor. Poo-Tin grew up being taught that the USSR would have been a paradise except for Western interference and was a KGB officer. He is dedicated to dividing and destroying the West by any means possible. His blundering invasion has managed to do the exact opposite.
Pretty much exactly correct, very well put I must say.
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You do know thats false right? Got it from polls? They are rigged government polls. Majority of the russians hate putin and the war they try to protest but get arrested. They live in FEAR. If caught planning to leave they get questioned/interrogated. Its terrifying over there
You would too I suppose considering the alternatives for opposing him..... Someone should shoot that guy!
"Russia. Putin." You don't have to say more to describe how terrible is that country.
Apparently the Western world refuse to admit it, because they themselves don't like the Russian regime. I thought democracy means people can decide what they like and don't like. I guess democracy means different under different context.
Democracy like what, Steve? Killing opponents? one way media? Invading a sovereign country?
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And look at what's happening in the Ukraine. A Russian woman with the first name Tatiana living in South Devon has been arguing with me it's justified! She also told ne English schools are rubbish and we are all far less educated than Russians. To illustrate her point she told me the maths teacher takes a microwave into school to tell the time. Ffs, watches, mobiles phones plus clicks on every classroom wall since at least 1967
Also remember that some Americans support Trump and other ones Biden. Both groups are brainwashed. In Japan they are brainwashed with "tenno heika banzai" (supporting their emperor) So any nation isn't imune to politicians that brainwash them. Only thing that you can choose is under whose influence you want to be.
Thats the problem with the whole world don't follow any one think for yourself and be your own leader and if putin and zelensky want to fight put them in a ring together and let them fighf it out winner takes all.
Um… Zelensky really, REALLY, really doesn’t want to “fight out” anything at all. He just wants his countrymen to not be murdered in Putins blind, in reality unprovoked attack. He has zero wish to do anything with or to Putin than to he left alone by his invading, war crime committing, deluded, power tripping aśs.
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Also most of the USA people supports their government and the same in China... So?
It is false to state "most USA people" support their government.
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Russians love their President. That's why he's been democratically elected to two terms each of President and Prime Minister. He's not a dictator or even a bad person. He just wants the best for the Russian people.
No, he’s a dictator. And he sure as hell isn’t doing any of this for “the Russian people”. He doesn’t give a shìt about the Russians, Putin is doing this for Putin. Trying to claim differently can never become anything than a sad lie, at best.
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Since when does America's misdeeds justify Russia's invasion of *the not-at-all Nazi* nation of Ukraine?! FYI, Russia has bioweapons. Probably more than anyone other than their pal, China, maybe Iran, and defo the US.
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The regional languages in France were progressively replaced by French from 1789. Only a few are still remaining (mostly those who aren't understandable by a French speaker, like Breton, Basque, Corsican, Alsatian, Francoprovençal etc.) but apparently more than 90% of our regional languages are now dead. You only find them in regional accents.
Georgia. State of LGBT rights. They are non-existent, you can easily get killed by religious people and nobody will give a sh*t.
France. I'd say war against colonised Algeria. It is really a shameful thing involving war crimes, torture, ... A lot of veterans won't talk about it because of how ashamed they feel.
Look it up.
Lithuania often ranks among the top countries by suicide rates. It's like ~1/4000 lithunians is gonna kill themselves.
Population as of 2020 was 2.795 million according to google, so that's nearly 700 lives voluntarily lost.
United Kingdom.
King Edward VIII was a Nazi sympathiser; he and his wife visited Germany in the 30s to have dinner with Hitler and inspect SS troops.
In the 60s, he is believed to have said to a friend: "I never thought Hitler was such a bad chap."
Romania. A few years back there was a scandal of a pediatric doctor that did extremely painful medical experiments on children he was supposed to be treating, such as putting a metal rod near their backs and putting screws into their spines to "fix" scoliosis or something similar with bones he considered weren't growing properly. He mostly targeted poor families, or families with kids with weird conditions because he figured they wouldn't be able to or have the power to question his practices.
Also the fact that it's been revealed several orphanages drug the kids there and tie them to their beds to keep them compliant.
I've also read a religious article of an "exorcism" that was performed on a little kid they called posessed because "he would suddenly go very still and start shaking violently" (to anyone with a brain it's obvious he was just seizing). Instead of following the procedure for a seizure, which is making sure he isn't in danger of hurting himself by bashing his head or something, they rushed him to a church and placed him on the floor there (and it wasn't a soft floor by any means).
Or the fact that we've had gay people thrown in prison for being gay several years after communism fell (I think either late 90's or even early 00's).
Or, not that sinister but just plain stupid and more recent: the church brought "moase" (aka remains of "saints") during the current pandemic and hundreds of people just lined up to kiss them, all on the same spot too :) (it's a /s smile, don't get me wrong).
According to the Romanian Orthodox Church, epilepsy is considered a demonic possession and depression is a sign of lack of faith.
Switzerland.
"Verdingkinder" basically orphans used as slavelabor. They were often mistreated.
There is a movie about it if anyone is intrested
In Ireland homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1993, after a 16 year legal battle which ended up in the European Court of Human Rights in 1988 (it took 5 years to implement the courts ruling).
I guess colonization is a dark time for many countries, in Denmark is was no different, but often you talk about the islands is the Caribbean or Africa, but the treatment of Greenlandic people has been absolutely horrible in Denmark.
They have been treated 2. rank citizens, and everything was dictated from Denmark and they had little to no say in it. Still I have heard that higher education in Greenland is taught in Danish not Greenlandic, but they might have changed that?
Turkey. The years 1980-1983 were very dark years for Turkey - a paranoid nationalist military junta coupled with guerilla warfare in the countryside and massive political repression. Add torture in military prisons, kangaroo courts, and state-funded assassinations to that.
Pardon my French, but the bastard who caused all that died before his jail sentence was approved.
Greece. We are the only country in EU where the Sharia law is still legal.
I'm not saying this is not true, as I do not know the facts but this really sounds like b.s. Sharia law is not even 100% practiced in most majority Islamic countries. The far right in the UK makes the same claims over here and what it actually amounts to is Islamic courts of arbitration dealing with Muslims weddings, which are not recognised by UK law on account of a marriage being between 2 people over here, not 1 man and 4 women.
Italy, as many by now know, is a f****d up burocratical nightmare.
Until 1981 there was a law called "Delitto D'Onore" (= Crime in name of someones honor) that stated that people found guilty of kiling someone to maintain the familys reputation would be given a lesser conviction than someone found guilty for the same crime but for other reasons.
If a woman was found committing adultery, it was "legal" to kill her (and her lover in some instances). Of course no one batted an eye when the cheater was the husband. It was extended to families too, the brother or the father could kill a sister/daughter they found out she had an unwedded sexual relationship (EVEN IF SHE WAS SINGLE).
The most (yeah, even more) messed up part was that until 1930 (yeah they realised this was not a top notch idea earlier but still) the husband could kill the children if he knew they weren't his. (there was a weird legal part where they could be killed only if they were less than 5 days old or wasn't registred by the state Register... like AH WELL THAT MAKES IT REASONABLE)
I repeat, the law for Honors Killing was in place until 1981!!
And some people still act as if it was reasonable. No wonders we struggle to eradicate what we call "femminicidio" (=femalemurder, is a term used for the death of women that could be prevented if laws against abuse in marriages/relationship was taken seriously and action taken promptly) to this day.
I never knew this was a thing in Italy. Middle East and south east Asia, yes. Italy...no.
I don't know if it's not known but Italy passed racial laws during WWII.
More recent: the "trattativa stato mafia" aka "state-mafia negotiations" in 1993 and 1994.
Essentially it was a secret negotiation between very high government figures and Sicilian Mafia chiefs, at the end of the "massacre season" in which Mafia carried out literal terrorist attacks, since there was a very strong battle against them carried out by the Palermo group (pool di Palermo).
The prosecutors Falcone and Borsellino died at the end of the massacre season, after they hit hard the Sicilians with the Maxiprocesso (aka Mega-Trial)
The story of Falcone and Borsellino is super famous in Italy, and incredibly tragic. They were heroes who fought at risk of their own lives to take down systemic corruption in the government and to eradicate the Sicilian Mafia. The mafia blew up an entire f-king bridge to get Falcone and killed his wife and bodyguards too. Borsellino was assassinated two months later. He kept fighting even after his friend had died and he knew they were out to get him too. I can't imagine living like that and still trying to take down the mafia. They achieved a lot but it's never enough. Even now there is mafia roots in the Italian government. People say Berlusconi has ties to it and a lot of right-wing government. Surprise surprise. It's a big dirty secret even now.
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I don't know how well known the recent Windrush scandal is outside of the UK, but this was the first time I felt an actual burning shame for being British. After the second world war we *begged* people from the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, that were part of the Empire, to come over to the UK and fill all the many vacancies we needed, from bus drivers to nurses. They were told that they were legally British citizens and that as such they didn't need to have passports to live in Britain. The famous ship that brought in a large group was called the Windrush. Then a handful of years ago the government decided that the descendants of the Windrush generation needed to prove their right to remain or else they'd be deported. After all Jamaica is a separate country, right? Some people actually did get deported. They were dumped in a country that they had no more connection to than I do, with no job, no friends, and no family that they knew of. Absolutely disgraceful and shameful.
I saw at my dining table with a friend that was thanking God that her grandmother was a bit paranoid and had arranged documents for that side of the family, even though everyone told her she was wasting her time and not to bother.
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In Saudi Arabia, the treatment of foreign workers (especially those from south Asia) is inhuman and degrading. It is common for people to be cursed, shouted at and even physically beaten for almost no reason at all.
As shared by experienced victim of racism, the racism towards east Asians and Africans are worst . Tbh Arabs can be more racist than whites
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Europe is an incredibly diverse place. Unfortunately, most (if not all) countries are named after the ethnic majority of the given country and most (if not all) treat their indigenous minorities like garbage. This is rarely if ever discussed because most discussions about racism revolve around the black-white divide. People can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that white people can be victims of systemic oppression from other whites.
I was told in the UK to avoid speaking Polish in some areas, and my in-laws do not view me as "really white" b/c my mother is Polish. So, yeah. I can grasp that.
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NZ: until the 1990s it was illegal to speak Maori (one of our official languages) in prison. Note: due to inherent racism in the legal and justice system, Maori people are imprisoned at a much higher rate than their representation in the general population.
How about The Norwegian child protection service Barnevernet? Children of expats are MASSIVELY kidnapped from their families (on false pretenses of abuse) and placed in Norwegian families, scattered around foster care/houses. And it is reality today, not some ghost from the past. How much longer it will be going on? Among population of 5 mln, Barnevernet has 400 offices across all Norway, billions and billions of dollars are being put into this. Pure child trafficking. Disgusting!
I’m sorry, what? Where on earth did this information come from? It wouldn’t be a part of the massive hate attack on child protection services that has plagued parts of scandinavia for a while now, perhaps? Norway isn’t trafficking any damned children, stop it.
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Why is Canada not on this list?! The atrocities committed against Indigenous people that continues to this day. So far, only 10 residential schools have been searched and the number of unmarked Indigenous children's graves are up to 10,028! There was more than 130 "schools" in Canada. There is also the high rate of Indigenous women and girls who go missing or murdered, and rcmp don't do a GD thing. Then there is the lack of clean water to more than 70 Indigenous reservations. Access to clean drinking water is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT, not a privilege. But out PM is out in the world, committing 100's of millions to Ukraine in light of their crisis (don't get me wrong, I support the effort.) Our government needs to fix our own problems and start rectifying these issues.
Germany has not one but two genocides on their record. The shoa is the better know one, but during colonialism germans killed around 60.000 of the 80.000 Herero and Nama in "German South West Africa".
I am gay and it's even difficult where I live.to the extent that when,,,hum how to put this a block of flats got bought and repopulated with polish people i had to move. Never had a problem with muslim people or some very fundamental Christians, but these people. And from personal experience i know that some sell children into prostitution blue curtains if you want a boy pink for girls yellow for both. There was a job i poland once. It was one of the reasons i stayed in the closet for so long.and a government is not going to change their mind .
Human greed and desire for power and wealth has resulted in our species committing the most heinous acts imaginable. I sometimes think we'd be better off going back to a system of small communities running themselves, led by people trusted by the townsfolk and a limit to how many people can be part of a community.
Another one no one mentioned about the US is that we made Hawaii a state by manipulating them in the worst way possible. They slowly brought in Americans to buy land and the king, whose name I can't remember, was so oblivious while the Americans whispered ideas to him, telling him that only land owners should vote for rules and when somebody finally decided that they should vote on whether or not Hawaii should join the US, the majority of land owners were American so of course they voted that they should join. All because they wanted to make sugar from the sugar cane that growed there. Not only was this low of America, it was illegal.
because most people in West aren't that interested in Asian history.. and they generally love Japan. Someone literally told me, a Korean living in NZ, "Koreans should just get over what Japan did and move on. I love Japan, it's a cool country" Imagine telling a Jewish person to get over what Nazi Germany did to them.. sigh.
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The Highland Clearances in the highlands of Scotland seems not to have been spoken about, unless I've missed that post. Clan Chieftains took those living on their lands and turned them in slave labour, then brought in sheep for the Chieftains to use and exploit the local workforce, rendering the sheep more profitable than their own people. Many Scottish families living on or near the West Coast of Scotland were 'invited' to a meeting place where the Chieftain and his Sheriff Officers would explain matters in more detail. When they left the building, they saw their homes and crofts on fire and were told that ships were waiting for them to take them to the New World, America or Canada, the only possessions they had were what they were carrying that day. Further inland, crofts were confiscated, the local population starved to the point that they had no option to leave and be 'escorted' by Sheriff Officers to waiting ships in other countries. The UK government backed this 100%.
in Colombia members of the military had poor or mentally impaired civilians, mostly poor farmers and homeless people, lured to remote parts of the country with offers of work, killed them, and presented them to authorities as members of guerilla/terrorist groups FARC and ELN killed in battle, in an effort to inflate body counts and receive promotions or other benefits. This happened during the presidency of Alvaro Uribe and was brushed off by the government as part of the armed conflict between the government and guerilla groups FARC and ELN. They have found huge mass graves full of these people all over the country. Also many mayors and members of congress who spoke up about this were assassinated or died under "mysterious circumstances". You can google "false positives Colombia" if you'd like to learn more about this.
Germany: 1) Until 1997 it was legally okay if a man raped his wife because they were married and it was considered to be her marital duty. 2) Until 2000 it was legally okay for parents to physically "punish" children. Since then it is forbidden, though some people still do it (though then child protective services come into play and have various ways to help children and their families). I think 2) is really nasty because even before 2000 it was forbidden and likely punishable to do physically assault and harm another adult - but harming your child was considered okay.
The " Guerra cristera" in Mexico. The government banned all religions and they killed priests and people who defended their religion. It lasted 3 years in the 1920s.
We’re known for being a polite and simple country but Canada has a pretty dark history. Residential schools and the “Indian act” are prime examples of how my countrys government treated Indigenous peoples. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools. Over 4,118 Indigenous children were killed there, often buried alive :[ “The Indian Act attempted to generalize a vast and varied population of people and assimilate them into non-Indigenous society. It forbade First Nations peoples and communities from expressing their identities through governance and culture” - The Canadian Encyclopedia
Spain while it says on paper that it is one of the most accepting countries, it has alot of homophobia as well , something that has become worse, the hate speeches and crimes have been increasing lately, the romani are treated like second class citizens as well, racism, xenophobia etc
I talked about this with my students. Is there a country which does not have a dark past? We came up with Iceland. (Not sure if it is true though - I don't know enough about its history...)
So a lot of countries are (rightfully) criticized for "helping the nazis" but there's no mention of Germany itself in that context? I think if you ask me about a European country with a dark past, Germany would spring to mind first. 😉
The original post was "dark facts about your country that not many people know about".... Think Nazi Germany is fairly well-known.
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I don't know how well known the recent Windrush scandal is outside of the UK, but this was the first time I felt an actual burning shame for being British. After the second world war we *begged* people from the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, that were part of the Empire, to come over to the UK and fill all the many vacancies we needed, from bus drivers to nurses. They were told that they were legally British citizens and that as such they didn't need to have passports to live in Britain. The famous ship that brought in a large group was called the Windrush. Then a handful of years ago the government decided that the descendants of the Windrush generation needed to prove their right to remain or else they'd be deported. After all Jamaica is a separate country, right? Some people actually did get deported. They were dumped in a country that they had no more connection to than I do, with no job, no friends, and no family that they knew of. Absolutely disgraceful and shameful.
I saw at my dining table with a friend that was thanking God that her grandmother was a bit paranoid and had arranged documents for that side of the family, even though everyone told her she was wasting her time and not to bother.
Load More Replies... In Saudi Arabia, the treatment of foreign workers (especially those from south Asia) is inhuman and degrading. It is common for people to be cursed, shouted at and even physically beaten for almost no reason at all.
As shared by experienced victim of racism, the racism towards east Asians and Africans are worst . Tbh Arabs can be more racist than whites
Load More Replies... Europe is an incredibly diverse place. Unfortunately, most (if not all) countries are named after the ethnic majority of the given country and most (if not all) treat their indigenous minorities like garbage. This is rarely if ever discussed because most discussions about racism revolve around the black-white divide. People can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that white people can be victims of systemic oppression from other whites.
I was told in the UK to avoid speaking Polish in some areas, and my in-laws do not view me as "really white" b/c my mother is Polish. So, yeah. I can grasp that.
Load More Replies... NZ: until the 1990s it was illegal to speak Maori (one of our official languages) in prison. Note: due to inherent racism in the legal and justice system, Maori people are imprisoned at a much higher rate than their representation in the general population.
How about The Norwegian child protection service Barnevernet? Children of expats are MASSIVELY kidnapped from their families (on false pretenses of abuse) and placed in Norwegian families, scattered around foster care/houses. And it is reality today, not some ghost from the past. How much longer it will be going on? Among population of 5 mln, Barnevernet has 400 offices across all Norway, billions and billions of dollars are being put into this. Pure child trafficking. Disgusting!
I’m sorry, what? Where on earth did this information come from? It wouldn’t be a part of the massive hate attack on child protection services that has plagued parts of scandinavia for a while now, perhaps? Norway isn’t trafficking any damned children, stop it.
Load More Replies... Why is Canada not on this list?! The atrocities committed against Indigenous people that continues to this day. So far, only 10 residential schools have been searched and the number of unmarked Indigenous children's graves are up to 10,028! There was more than 130 "schools" in Canada. There is also the high rate of Indigenous women and girls who go missing or murdered, and rcmp don't do a GD thing. Then there is the lack of clean water to more than 70 Indigenous reservations. Access to clean drinking water is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT, not a privilege. But out PM is out in the world, committing 100's of millions to Ukraine in light of their crisis (don't get me wrong, I support the effort.) Our government needs to fix our own problems and start rectifying these issues.
Germany has not one but two genocides on their record. The shoa is the better know one, but during colonialism germans killed around 60.000 of the 80.000 Herero and Nama in "German South West Africa".
I am gay and it's even difficult where I live.to the extent that when,,,hum how to put this a block of flats got bought and repopulated with polish people i had to move. Never had a problem with muslim people or some very fundamental Christians, but these people. And from personal experience i know that some sell children into prostitution blue curtains if you want a boy pink for girls yellow for both. There was a job i poland once. It was one of the reasons i stayed in the closet for so long.and a government is not going to change their mind .
Human greed and desire for power and wealth has resulted in our species committing the most heinous acts imaginable. I sometimes think we'd be better off going back to a system of small communities running themselves, led by people trusted by the townsfolk and a limit to how many people can be part of a community.
Another one no one mentioned about the US is that we made Hawaii a state by manipulating them in the worst way possible. They slowly brought in Americans to buy land and the king, whose name I can't remember, was so oblivious while the Americans whispered ideas to him, telling him that only land owners should vote for rules and when somebody finally decided that they should vote on whether or not Hawaii should join the US, the majority of land owners were American so of course they voted that they should join. All because they wanted to make sugar from the sugar cane that growed there. Not only was this low of America, it was illegal.
because most people in West aren't that interested in Asian history.. and they generally love Japan. Someone literally told me, a Korean living in NZ, "Koreans should just get over what Japan did and move on. I love Japan, it's a cool country" Imagine telling a Jewish person to get over what Nazi Germany did to them.. sigh.
Load More Replies... The Highland Clearances in the highlands of Scotland seems not to have been spoken about, unless I've missed that post. Clan Chieftains took those living on their lands and turned them in slave labour, then brought in sheep for the Chieftains to use and exploit the local workforce, rendering the sheep more profitable than their own people. Many Scottish families living on or near the West Coast of Scotland were 'invited' to a meeting place where the Chieftain and his Sheriff Officers would explain matters in more detail. When they left the building, they saw their homes and crofts on fire and were told that ships were waiting for them to take them to the New World, America or Canada, the only possessions they had were what they were carrying that day. Further inland, crofts were confiscated, the local population starved to the point that they had no option to leave and be 'escorted' by Sheriff Officers to waiting ships in other countries. The UK government backed this 100%.
in Colombia members of the military had poor or mentally impaired civilians, mostly poor farmers and homeless people, lured to remote parts of the country with offers of work, killed them, and presented them to authorities as members of guerilla/terrorist groups FARC and ELN killed in battle, in an effort to inflate body counts and receive promotions or other benefits. This happened during the presidency of Alvaro Uribe and was brushed off by the government as part of the armed conflict between the government and guerilla groups FARC and ELN. They have found huge mass graves full of these people all over the country. Also many mayors and members of congress who spoke up about this were assassinated or died under "mysterious circumstances". You can google "false positives Colombia" if you'd like to learn more about this.
Germany: 1) Until 1997 it was legally okay if a man raped his wife because they were married and it was considered to be her marital duty. 2) Until 2000 it was legally okay for parents to physically "punish" children. Since then it is forbidden, though some people still do it (though then child protective services come into play and have various ways to help children and their families). I think 2) is really nasty because even before 2000 it was forbidden and likely punishable to do physically assault and harm another adult - but harming your child was considered okay.
The " Guerra cristera" in Mexico. The government banned all religions and they killed priests and people who defended their religion. It lasted 3 years in the 1920s.
We’re known for being a polite and simple country but Canada has a pretty dark history. Residential schools and the “Indian act” are prime examples of how my countrys government treated Indigenous peoples. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools. Over 4,118 Indigenous children were killed there, often buried alive :[ “The Indian Act attempted to generalize a vast and varied population of people and assimilate them into non-Indigenous society. It forbade First Nations peoples and communities from expressing their identities through governance and culture” - The Canadian Encyclopedia
Spain while it says on paper that it is one of the most accepting countries, it has alot of homophobia as well , something that has become worse, the hate speeches and crimes have been increasing lately, the romani are treated like second class citizens as well, racism, xenophobia etc
I talked about this with my students. Is there a country which does not have a dark past? We came up with Iceland. (Not sure if it is true though - I don't know enough about its history...)
So a lot of countries are (rightfully) criticized for "helping the nazis" but there's no mention of Germany itself in that context? I think if you ask me about a European country with a dark past, Germany would spring to mind first. 😉
The original post was "dark facts about your country that not many people know about".... Think Nazi Germany is fairly well-known.
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