Do we create evil, or does evil create us
Today, we will delve into a topic that may seem puzzling to many, and that stirs deep, unending questions within the soul. Our topic is: evil
That year, the Serbian artist Marina Abramović carried out an experiment with bold and dangerous psychological and behavioral dimensions, as part of her study of social behavior. She placed herself in an open exhibition before an audience for six full hours, without speaking or moving. Next to her was a table containing seventy-two objects—some gentle, like roses, honey, and feathers, and some extremely dangerous, like scissors, a knife, a gun, nails, wires, and even thorny roses
The only rule of the experiment was shocking and simple: "Participants may use any of the objects as they wish, and she will not interfere or hold them accountable for what they do." She signed a document stating she would not respond to any action, no matter how cruel
At the start of the experiment, the scene carried a hint of kindness—some offered her flowers, others fed her honey. But with time, people began to touch her body, get closer, and harass her. And once they were certain she would show no reaction, the atmosphere turned into a nightmare
Some tore her clothes; others cut her with the knife. They wrapped her body with thorny roses until she bled. One person even pointed the gun at her head, ready to shoot, only for another to intervene at the last moment and stop him
Despite everything that happened, Marina did not utter a single word, nor did she move. Only tears streamed from her eyes, bearing witness to what humans are capable of when granted absolute power without fear or punishment
The experiment ended with a faint moment of humanity; a woman came and wiped her tears, and others covered her with pieces of cloth after her clothes had been completely torn
If we reflect a little on such dark situations, we find that evil cannot be confined to a particular continent, ethnicity, or era. Evil is not the child of a place, nor is it confined to one race over another. And if we were to delve into the details of each continent and ethnicity, and explore their relationship with evil throughout history and today, we would need a long journey
But before we begin, let’s agree on a clear timeline classification
The period between 1800 and 2025 is what we call the modern era
The period before 1800 is what we refer to as the ancient era
Asia – The continent of great civilizations, and the spread of destruction
In the depths of those forests, a female orangutan was born and later named Pony. It is believed she was born between 2013 and 2015. In the beginning of her life, she stayed close to her mother, learning from her how to live, move, eat, and build bonds in this world
But the scene was never completed. In a harsh moment, hunters filled with cruelty and greed appeared. They shot her mother before her young eyes, killing her instantly, ripping Pony from the arms of safety into a world she knew nothing of except that it was full of fear
Pony was taken to be sold in the black market, and there began a new chapter of suffering—one not written in novels because it is too horrific to imagine. She was bought by the owner of a brothel—not to raise or care for her, but for a reason far more depraved than the mind can grasp
Her hair was completely shaved, and she was forcibly subjected to cosmetic surgeries to make her look "more feminine." Then she was used for sexual pleasure—raped repeatedly, all for money. She had no means of escape, and no voice to be heard
This hell continued for six full years—years of pain, humiliation, and unspeakable violation. Six years where Pony was a prisoner, unable to speak or even express the pain she endured
Then came the year 2020, when PETA Asia received reports about this horrific case and acted. The place was raided, Pony was rescued, and the brothel owner was arrested. She was moved to a rehabilitation center, but... her psychological state was completely destroyed. Her eyes carried a pain greater than any explanation
Despite the care and treatment, Pony could not bear her wounds. The trauma was too great for her to forget. In 2021, she passed away, suffering from physical and psychological complications, leaving behind a story of pain that should never be forgotten
This is not a story about a monkey, but a story of what humans can do when their hearts are corrupted and their conscience sold in the marketplace of desires
The Crimes of “Gentle” Japan
Book your seat beside me, for we are about to travel to the planet of Japan—but not in our current time... Rather, to the 1930s, specifically the year 1930, when Japan wore the cloak of power and influence, hiding behind it claws of brutality
At that time, Japan decided to tighten its grip on China, starting with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931—a region nearly 1.5 million square kilometers in size. China was at its weakest due to a civil war between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang (now Taiwan’s authority)
But Japan wasn’t satisfied with occupation alone. It aimed for military supremacy beyond what Europe had achieved with tanks, aircraft, modern weapons, and deadly gases
While Europe had issued laws banning the development of biological weapons to prevent widespread epidemics and mass death, Japan believed those laws existed only to protect European military supremacy—not out of love for humanity
And so, the hellish plan began
Thus, a new facility was established—more like a demonic fortress—in the heart of Manchuria. It was named Unit 731
But the question remained: who would serve as the fuel for these experiments? The answer was harsh and simple: the Chinese people
Japan created a special police force in Manchuria with one goal: to abduct people from the streets, their homes, from anywhere—without reason or charge. They started with political prisoners and criminals, but over time, the scope expanded to include anyone they could capture
The Chinese lived in indescribable terror. They knew their lives could end at any moment—on a cold dissection table, without anesthesia, without mercy
The victims were then observed to record the disease’s effects—and the more pain they suffered, the more the scientists rejoiced, as if their cries of agony were music to their sick victories
But the cruelty did not stop there
When the victim neared death, they were subjected to live dissection without anesthesia. The goal was not to save them, but to study what the disease did to the organs before death. The pain was unbearable, and the screams shattered the lab walls
One horrific testimony mentioned a prisoner who was completely submissive and quiet, as if he had accepted his fate. But when placed under the surgeon’s scalpel and his chest was opened, the silence turned into demonic howls of pain that shook the entire place
Unimaginably, they also transplanted human organs from one person to another just to test, “Will he survive?” or removed organs to ask, “Can one live without it?” Meanwhile, shelves were lined with jars containing freshly removed human organs, as if they were lab tools
There were also experiments in extreme cold—prisoners were left naked to freeze until their bodies shattered. Conversely, in extreme heat zones, they were imprisoned under direct sun until their bodily fluids drained, dying from solidification and dehydration—as if they were mummified alive
All of this was meticulously recorded, for Japan wanted to learn how its soldiers might survive in similar conditions
Fearing war crime charges, Japan committed mass killings to eliminate everyone who participated in or underwent the experiments. Bodies were burned, labs destroyed, and documents were destroyed in an attempt to erase everything
Yet, some documents were smuggled—especially by “Dr. Shiro,” the primary mastermind behind these atrocities—who agreed, in exchange for full American immunity, to hand over all data to the U.S. military
Thus, the criminals escaped punishment. Only those proven to have experimented on American POWs were prosecuted, while thousands of innocent Chinese victims died in silence—forgotten... if not for these lines
Now let’s go back a bit, to the ancient eras, where a name struck terror across Asia and the Islamic world: The Mongols
The Mongols Spread Like Locusts, Corrupting Everything in Their Path
The Mongols, unified under the leadership of Genghis Khan, were tribes living in Northeast Asia, specifically in what is known today as Mongolia. After their unification, they swept across the world with unmatched power and speed, spreading terror and massacres wherever they went. They managed to occupy vast areas of land, stretching from northern China, southeastern Russia, and Korea, to Kazakhstan, and all the territories between China and Iran—then known as the Khwarazmian Islamic state—followed by Iraq and Syria, until they reached the gates of Lebanon and Poland
But fortunately for humanity, this brutal tide finally came to a halt when they were defeated by the Mamluk army under the command of Saif al-Din Qutuz in Egypt, in the Battle of Ain Jalut, which marked a turning point that ended their continuous expansion
Whenever they entered a city, they annihilated it completely—men, women, and children. Even animals were not spared their cruelty, regardless of whether the city resisted or surrendered. They burned buildings and destroyed any cultural or historical legacy, to the extent that the population of northern China dropped from fifty million to only eight and a half million after their invasion. Great civilizations, such as the Khwarazmian state, were wiped out so thoroughly that information about them became extremely scarce in history books
It is said that they exterminated a quarter of the population of the Khwarazmian state on the Iranian plateau and left corpses lying in the streets. They even built hills of severed heads to instill terror in the hearts of the surviving populations
Their most horrific massacre of all was the annihilation of the city of Baghdad in 1258 AD. At the time, Baghdad was the greatest city on Earth, the capital of Islamic civilization and knowledge, and a center for scholars and rare manuscripts—especially "Bayt al-Hikma" (the House of Wisdom), which was a destination for scholars from all over the world
Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, entered Baghdad and ordered the complete extermination of its inhabitants, sparing only the Nestorian Christians, whom he had warned in advance, saying to them: "Lock yourselves in your churches and do not come out," because his wife was a Nestorian Christian, and so her sect received special treatment
The men and the elderly were slaughtered, the women were raped, and the schools and libraries were burned. Books and corpses were thrown into the Tigris River until its color changed—turning black from the ink and red from the blood. The number of victims was estimated to be between 800,000 and 1.5 million people
"And thus we close the chapter of Asia, which, despite its magnificent civilizations, did not escape the darkness of war and tragedy. We now move on to the Old Continent—Europe—where the bloodshed is no less painful, and the crimes no less horrific..." in part 2