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psychological impact war has on soldiers
emotional effects of war
perception of war
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Children exposed to violence within their communities are left with emotions of hopelessness, insecurity, and doubt. Historical events such as the war on terrorism, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the tragic events of September 11th have had a detrimental effect on the entire nation, including the children. Although every child is not directly affected by the aspects of war, it somehow has an emotional effect on all. The involvement of a nation with war affects every individual differently, whether it is out of fear, anger, doubt, hope, or love. In the short novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, he narrates the story by telling his own involvement in the Civil War in Sierra Leone as young boy and the many issues he faces while living in horror. Also, author Garbarino points out in his book Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment in the chapter involving the security of children that:
More and more children in the United States are experiencing a growing sense of insecurity about the world inside and outside the boundaries of their families. It does not take much violence and terror to set a tone of threat. Even in the worst war zones—places like Sarajevo—shooting and killing is intermittent. Memory of the emotions of trauma does not decay; it remains fresh (Garbarino 64-65).
As Garbarino recognizes, the effects of war and such violence is something that sticks with a child and remains constant in their everyday lives. The experiences that children face involving war in their communities and countries are traumatic and long lasting. It not only alters their childhood perspectives, but it also changes their reactions to violence over time. Sadly, children are beginning to play more of a major role in wars in both the...
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...volving death and separation. Children within the United States whose parents serve in the military are left to deal with issues of separation and fear. The fear of not knowing when their parents are coming home, and if they’ll come back the same person they were when they left. Since we are incapable of hiding violence and the act of war from children, it is better to help them understand the meaning behind it and teach them that violence is not always the answer. Children react based on what they see and hear, and if the community and world around them portrays positive things, then the child will portray a positive attitude as well.
Works Cited
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone. New York: Sarah Crichton Books, 2007. Print.
Garbarino, James. Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, 1995. Print.
In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, a former boy soldier with the Sierra Leone army during its civil war(1991- 2002) with the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), provides an extraordinary and heartbreaking account of the war, his experience as a child soldier and his days at a rehabilitation center. At the age of twelve, when the RUF rebels attack his village named Mogbwemo in Sierro Leone, while he is away with his brother and some friends, his life takes a major twist. While seeking news of his family, Beah and his friends find themselves constantly running and hiding as they desperately strive to survive in a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. During this time, he loses his dear ones and left alone in the wilderness, is forced to face many physical and psychological dangers. By thirteen, he has been picked up by the government army, and is conditioned to fight in the war by being provided with as many drugs as he could consume (cocaine and marijuana), rudimentary training, and an AK-47. In the next two years, Beah goes on a mind-bending killing spree to avenge the death of his dear ones. At sixteen, he was picked up by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at the rehabilitation center, he learns to forgive himself and to regain his humanity.
In A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Beah tells of his past in Sierra Leone as a boy soldier. As a child in the war, Beah and his fellow soldiers committed many acts of violence, including murder. This raises the question as to whether or not child soldiers should be held accountable for their actions. The answer to this question is no, they should not be, because as children, they are easier to manipulate, and their minds have become addled by much exposure to drug use and sleep deprivation.
There are kids hesitant to watch the fireworks because of fear. They fear the darkness at night, loud noises, and large crowds with people they don’t know. For some kids, fear has a negative impression and long term effect psychologically. They try hard to avoid and escape from the situation. Not every kid is lucky enough to escape from their fears. Much worse than the holiday trauma, there are many children in the African Ivory Coast, who suffer from diseases, hunger, poverty, and rape. In that environment, many kids had to go through fear and violence. When children cannot escape from their fear, they can be easily brainwashed by other people. The book, A Long Way Gone (2007) the story is about how Ishmael goes through the civil war and finally heals his psychological trauma at a UNICEF relief station.
The great General William Tecumseh Sherman once stated, war is hell. His statement doesn’t only reach the minds of soldiers going into war, but it also reaches the citizens all throughout the world when their country is in war, regardless of whether they are up in the action or are safe at home or attending school. In the historical fiction literary piece, A Separate Peace written by John Knowles, we travel to the time of World War Two and experience the journey of many young men attending the Devon Boarding School as they go through the rough time of war. In the story we go through the ups and downs of war with Gene, Finny, and many of the other school boys. A Separate Peace reveals that war affects what people believe, think about and the
Ishmael Beah first spoke of the horrors he had witnessed at the “1996 United Nations presentation of the Machel Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children” (“Advocate for Children,” Par. 3). This presentation focused on the devastating effects that war imparts on the children involved. Today, Beah continues to advocate and represent change for the countless number of children still involved in wars around the
The Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah remarked itself as a best selling child soldier book ever written.The book gets more interesting and induce reader’s curiosity ,when they question about incidence that occur during the war.In A Long Way Gone memoir, the author reveal how vital was his actions to his survival. When he was 12 years old Beah’s village was attacked by rebel forces. Ishmael is separated from his family and eventually forced to serve as a child soldier for the Sierra Leone Military.When UNICEF intervenes, Beah is rehabilitated . However Beah has already experiences the bloodshed and violence of war at that time.Then eventually, becomes a spokesperson against using children as soldiers. Through the painful experience , he did many cruel thing that he was never capable of doing before the war for the sake of survival.
The effect of war on the innocence of childhood could be one that affects a child for the rest of their life, particularly when that child is forced to be involved in the brutal, traumatizing events that can occur. “Traumatic events can be placed on a continuum based on the degree to which a child is exposed directly to extremely frightening and prolonged stressors that carry long-term impact on personal wellbeing or access to social supports” (Costello, Masten, & Pine). In A Separate Peace, the main character, Gene Forrester, and his classmates are all preparing for entering
Imagine being a twelve year old boy deciding whether to kill or be killed. A young child named Ishmael Beah faced this challenge during the Sierra Leone Civil War. He later wrote about his journey in his memoir A Long Way Gone. Caught in the middle of a deadly war, Ishmael was forced to become a child soldier. While acting as a soldier, he was obligated to eliminate everyone in sight, as required by the government. Two years of Ishmael’s life consisted of war. He, unfortunately, experienced both parts of it: being a victim and the individual who is torturing the victim.
War affects every aspect of a child 's development. Children affected by armed conflict can be injured or killed, uprooted from their homes and communities, internally displaced or refugees, orphaned or separated from their parents and families, subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation, victims of trauma as a result of being exposed to violence, deprived of education and recreation, at risk of becoming child soldiers (unknown
Singer, P.W. “Children at War.” Military History 24.6 (2007): 1-5. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 14 Feb. 2011.
Today, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers fighting in at least twenty different countries. Child soldiers are children under eighteen who are used for military purposes. They are used in various countries across the world, most commonly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Child soldiers are often used because they are easier to manipulate than adults. Children are also more obedient and do not demand a salary. They are abducted from their home or school and forced into becoming a soldier. Some children voluntarily join the army because they feel they have no other option. To prevent the children from escaping, commanders often threaten the children. They also promise them money at the end of the war. War deeply affects every part of a child’s development. They can become victims of trauma from being exposed to violence. They are also deprived of an education because they are recruited into the army before they finish school. Many former child soldiers suffer nightmares, intense sadness, and reappearing violent images. These children are often labelled as untrustworthy. Although many countries use child soldiers, military recruitment of children under fifteen is recognized as a war crime. There are also laws prohibiting the military use of children under eighteen. The use of child
According to UNICEF, 8.4 million children (more than 80 percent of Syria’s child population) have been affected by the conflict, either in Syria or as refugees in neighboring countries. While children around the world are getting ready for school and eating breakfast, children in Syria are holding tight to their families out of fear it will be the last time they see them. They fear for their lives that at any moment a bomb could drop and they could lose everything they hold dear to them. This is the reality for Syrian children today, they are forced to mature quickly because of what they are surrounded by. Many have grown up through wars, bloodshed, and saw their loved ones die right in front of their eyes. Their lives have become a living
My topic for this report is “War should not be a place for children.” I decided to do this topic because i was inspired by the film War Horse directed by Steven Spielberg. In the film there were two young German boys who were sent to war underage and they were killed. This inspired me to do this topic because i was interested about how the events of World War 1 has impacted on the use of child soldiers today. It also made me curious about the consequences for the children and the society of children fighting in wars. In War Horse the boys were killed by their own army for desertion which showed me that once children begin to fight they are no longer considered children, and their punishments are reflected by this. My three questions i will
Machel, Graca & Sebastian Salgado. The Impact of War on Children. London: C. Hurst, 2001.
War is never a good thing, not even for adults so to put children in those situations is devastating. “Civil conflicts have afflicted one third of all nations and two thirds of Africa since 1991. In most cases, up to a third of male youth are drawn into armed groups, making soldiering of on the world's most common occupation for youth” (Blattman, Christopher; The Consequences of Child Soldiering, pg 1). I believe that child soldiering Affects the children's mindsets negatively even after they get out of being a soldier. Child soldiering causes children to have very serious mental health issues that could be with them for the rest of their lives.