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raz·zi·a (r z  - )
[Arabic dialectal  azya, from Arabic azwa, raid, military attack, from az , to raid; see zw in Semitic roots.] |
razzia [ˈræzɪə]n pl -zias (Historical Terms) History a raid for plunder or slaves, esp one carried out by Moors in North Africa [from French, from Arabic ghaziah war]
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| In his article "L'Afrique de Nicolas Sarkozy," Achille Mbembe demands from Sarkozy that France assume responsibility for "a cruel enterprise, abject and reprehensible" ("une entreprise passablement cruelle, abject et infame"), for "wars of conquest, massacres, deportations, raids, forced labor, institutionalized racial discrimination" ("les guerres de conquete, les massacres, les deportations, les razzias, les travaux forces, la discriminacion raciale institutionnelle"). The razzias they employed, cutting down orchards, burning crops and destroying villages might be seen as the very opposite of a 'hearts and minds' operation but, unlike the enemy, who adopted the same methods but fled, taking women and children with them as slaves, the French remained to begin the work of reconstruction and winning confidence. From the beginning, the Mexican movement focused on the defense of gay and lesbian rights, especially in response to the razzias, police raids of meetings, arbitrary detentions, extortion and blackmail. |
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