The Forty-Third War

The Forty-Third War
By: Louise Moeri
Journal by: Yoon Ah Shin

Child Soldiers

While other children play,
Child soldiers get training to become a soldier.
While other children play,
Child soldiers shoot people and kill people.
While other children play,
Child soldiers get injured and bleed.
While other children play,
Child soldiers cry and scream.
While other children play,
Child soldiers die...

Image from: http://www.wehaitians.com/a_master_pho_1.jpg

Day 8

Painful - we were attacked and I had to run, bleeding. I couldn't feel the pains where I got injured because I was only thinking of surviving. Nacio was a good soldier and told us that soldiers should not cry. At first when I killed a person - loyalists, I was frightened. However, when I have killed many loyalists, I felt little proud of myself because I defended myself. Now I could shoot any person. I'm not sure if it is a good thing; however, it is a good thing during a real battle. I noticed that even if you practice hours per day, you definitely will feel different in a real battle. When you have killed one person, your life changed. I, also don't want to go back home, because I know what I have to do now. I'm a soldier now. I have to fight and get much stronger than now. Ready for the next war. Nacio also knew that when he had to - when the forty fourth war came - he would able to kill the man. Nacio, Lolo, and I are ready for the next war - forty fourth war to come.

Image from: http://pelogifam.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/child-soldier.jpg

Day 6

I think I'm getting used to these kind of trainings. Now, I can understand how it works and how it goes like how revolutions are financed. Once, Captian Mendoza stole money from a bank. I believed that he used it for the revolutionary cause - the captain would do that. He bought a plane with that money and went to the U.S. He went to US to find more people who could fight in a battle - like us. We didn't have a choice. We just came here and at the first time, I had no idea what was going on. The armies of the revolutions are not financed well enough. Juan explained that all revolutionaries didn't follow the rules, just fighting hard to win. Today, Lolo, Nacio, and I talked about what they want to do. Lolo said that he wants to go to the U.S. and get a good job and be able to buy cigarettes whenever he wants to. There had been a man in the village who went to the United States, Mexico, and spent three or four years in and out of place - his name was Joaquin. It seems he was enjoying his life; however, he has caught tuberculosis and had not made any of people want to go to the U.S. Also, I had a conversation withJuan and I just hate him. He is right about whatever he did, but I'm going to beat him by showing. I realized that if I don't fight hard, then I'm just an useless boy.

Image from: http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/Sidebox-Child-Soldier-R.jpg

Day 5

I fed the baby again - a young girl and her 2 day old brother. The loyalists attacked the village and they were the only survivours from the loyalists. Whenever I see them, I feel pain. Even though Mendoza said that he, Olivares, and Ramirez will going to take the girl and the baby to a village nearby where they will be cared for, I was worried. During the fight, I couldn't shoot or load the gun. In a positive way, a gun might be a tool which can defend you or can save the country. However, in a negative way, it is just a weapon which kills or hurt people - a gun can never save people nor the country. It was the first time I was in battle, and it made me terrified. Every single place was full of blood and full of dead bodies. Whenever I saw this scene, I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes really hard. The fact which made me more sad is that people who have died, they weren't even a soldier. They were just normal people - living in a village happily. It makes me angry and sad. Also, I thought of my family. Are they fine? What if some problems happen to them while I'm gone? I was curious and wanted to go back home and greet them smiling.

Image from: http://www.armytimes.com/xml/news/2008/07/military_suicidedwyer_070308w/070308tns_dwyer_800.JPG

Day 2

People who volunteer to become a soldier and participate in a war, they might feel confident about themselves. Their thoughts and my thoughts would definitely different. People who were forced away from their home and get threatened by other soldiers, they will think all the trainings are torturing them. We don't know when we will die and it feels like we have became a slavery. Soldiers die and that's what they're for - dying. After the war, soliders can visit their home; however, they have to come back early. This kind of situation could be the hell to some people like me. Lolo's father was a soldier for a while with the revolutionaries. His father said we had to win and the country has a great need. Plus, Lolo said the rich men get richer and fatter but we get skinnier and we die. I agree with Lolo and some loyalists, who really mean to make things better need to get elected as the president. However, the problem is none of them ever gets elected president. If I have a chance to vote for a president, I would vote for Mendoza because he is a good man, I believe.

Image from: http://dusteye.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/childsoldiers.jpg

Day 1

When I heard the heavy trucks roll into the village square, I had a bad feeling. I looked outside and my feeling was correct. Around the heavy trucks, there were many people-soldiers. They were holding weapons, wearing a military uniform. And then, I realized why the soldiers had come. I was taken away from my house to train to be a soldier. Suddenly, I felt terrified, wanted to go back and hide under the blanket. But it was too late. The trainings are very strict that I haven't been able to keep up with the others. I hope I'll get better on these kind of trainings. They taught us how to hold our gun, clean, reload the gun, etc... The training took place in the middle of the jungle, and it was terrible. Honestly, if I was alone, I would have been frustrated. Luckly, my best friend Lolo and my cousin Ignacio were next to me. Lolo and I had grown up and had been together so long that we almost could read each other's mind, which is a good thing. Lolo learned how to tell the soldiers of the revolution from the loyalist soldiers of the presidente. Lolo figured out that the soldiers of the revolution had better guns - from China or the USSR - but shabbier uniforms than the loyalists. My cousin Ignacio is educated and always ask questions or search something to read. Captain Mendoza is the person who brought us here. He explained about the situation that our nation suffers from poverty, disease, illiteracy, and oppression. I want to go back to my lovely home, though, I'm stuck in this prison and training to be a soldier.

Image from: http://www.ikonrtv.nl/uploadedImgs/Burma_Child_soldier2.jpeg