response to A Long Way Gone

While I enjoyed this story, I couldn't help but notice that I was unable to really immerse myself in it. As I said in my previous post, it is hard to imagine what life as a child soldier is like. Regardless of how real and horrifying this story is, I just had no way of knowing what that kind of dread feels like or how Ishmael Beah was able to survive this without going completely insane. Even on the first page he mentions how unreal this war felt until it was right at his front door. When the refugees appeared and began talking about dead relatives and destroyed homes. This is when the war begins to resonate for Ishmael. I felt like this part was speaking directly to me. How can I possibly understand what war is like when a tank has never rolled down my street or soldiers have never marched through my local park? There is just no way to imagine this terror without the experience which Ishmael received in plenty. Even then he seems unbelieving of his situation. Even though this story is an excellent account of the horrors faced by child soldiers, it just cannot resonate for me. It just serves to make me angry that I live in a world where children are on the front line. But then again, every man and woman is somebody's child. My parents often say that no matter how old I get, I will always be their baby. well Ishmael was a baby, and he had to march off to war.

research on Sierra Leone

While researching the Sierra Leone Civil War I came across, what I assume, is the topic of child soldiers. These children soldiers are forced to commit unspeakable acts by individuals who have no regard for their well-being, only furthering their own ambitions. In the United State, we often joke about having “first world problems” and how we have so much more than others that we can afford to poke fun at our situation.  We have access to things that only the richest individuals in other countries can afford to have. We complain about our childhoods and how our parents would send us to our rooms or make us go to bed early. Very few of us can state that at the age of twelve or younger that we killed our first man in cold blood. Or that we slept in one room with our entire family wondering where our next meal was going to come from. But this blog isn’t an attack on America; it’s about how these children were treated. I merely state that as we have nothing in this country with which to appreciate the problems facing people in far-off places and that no matter what I write, we will most likely never experience such hardships in our lives. I have friends who are just now getting out of the military after five or more years of combat. These are men and women who, being adults went to war and fought and killed. They are coming back to the states as changed individuals who know that they have seen and been the cause of death. I can’t even imagine how traumatizing that must be. Now, take that fully grown, matured individual and decrease their age by ten years or more. In that same situation, how would they fare? Let’s add onto that. Suppose you were eight years old and had to begin military training? When I was eight, my major concern was whether or not I had enough money to buy all the candy I wanted at the gas station. I never even thought about having to kill anyone or anything for that matter. These child soldiers need years of therapy. Many of them can never fully recover.  

response to "Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party"

Almost immediately after reading "Revolution is Not a Dinner Party" my mother asked me to go get a loaf of bread since we were out. While I was in the grocery store, I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if I had to fight hundreds of other people for food. would I be able to sneak to the back and steal the food that was saved for my oppressors? I am not sure if I could. I doubt I would have the courage to steal or the fortitude to fight others for food. But hunger makes people do things they normally wouldn't. It's tough to know for sure. But That is not the point of this post. The main thing I wanted to talk about was how China has changed and how it has remained the same since the rule of Chairman Mao. When I was in high school, some of my extended family were planning a trip to China. I was asked if I would like to go and I lumped at the chance! this was in the spring of 2007, just one year before the Olympics were to take place in Beijing. When our plane landed in Beijing, the first thing I remember was that I could look out the window of the tour bus and being able to stare at the sun. I literally mean "stare" as the smog in the air was so thick that, even at midday, the sun had the same color and hue as a sunset in the U.S. Our tour guide was adamant that we see the absolute best that China had to offer. From its historical districts to its most bustling cultural centers. In truth, we did see many things that were beautiful. But right beyond the beauty was a world of decay and refuse. For instance, when we drove down the street in our tour bus, we would see beautiful and well-maintained shrubs and flowers. However, on the other side of the shrubs were cracked sidewalks full of people and garbage. While some buildings in the historical districts were beautiful, others (that were actually lived in) often had tin or aluminum roofing and on top of the roof would be black garbage bags, which, I can only assume were filled with garbage. Whether this was meant to serve as insulation or just storage space (for, indeed, the houses were built practically one on top of the other) I don't know, but it just amazed me how much garbage was present everywhere we went. Eventually, we made our way to the Forbidden City which still had a large portrait of Chairman Mao over the entrance. Indeed, while foreign policies and ideals are changing, China is still very much a Communist country. The most interesting thing to me was the dilapidation present in the most historic portions of China and how, even though the cultural revolution was over, the revolution of advancement was still present. Many of the historic districts we visited (which were supposedly had the same protection as our historic landmarks and state parks) were constantly being bulldozed and the population being relocated for the purpose of building skyscrapers and apartment buildings (which the general population could not ever hope to afford). So, in a way, the cultural revolution is still going on. with individuals being forced out of their homes to make room for newer, bigger buildings. Taking away everything historic about beijing and other major cities we visited in China. In fact, I have been to Wuhan. we were only there for a few hours before we boarded a train to Shanghai. But I know that I have walked the same streets as Ling Chang, the hero from our book. I saw where the Han river met the Yangtze river and probably went into the hospital #4. I cannot express how much this book has changed my views and understandings of the China I visited. But I can tell you I will never look at my trip the same way again.