Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies And Aid

War has been a inseparable part of the human experience. Well for most of our specie’s existence at least. It was always a way to secure your interests when diplomacy hits a brick wall. However throughout the 20th century all that began to change. In this essay I will aim to explain how the perspective of war changed for the individual, the state and globally in the 20th century through reasons such as the democratization, globalization and the rise of more advanced weapons. This research question links with the topic “changing communities” as war affects the smallest community which in my option is the family to the largest which is the global community. The main body paragraphs

Leaving the comforts of the first world, Jessica Alexander abandons her job, fiancé, family, and home to venture into the misleading volunteer work of Humanitarian aid. Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander is a conglomeration of stories that are written from Jessica’s memory. “It is a true account based on [Jessica’s] best recollections of the events and [her] experiences.”.

Political strife has been always present on an international scale with surges of civil war due to government overthrow, sending nations into unrest. Although not common recently, the ideology of recruiting child soldiers still remains, and the lasting effects on the children are traumatizing. From witnessing the carnage of constant bombshells erupting in the distance to whole families being executed, the images are etched deep into their minds, haunting them even after they are discharged from the armies. Although putting an immediate end to child soldiers is unrealistic, the United States should aid in creating and training members of war-affected countries to run long-lasting Rehabilitation centers due to the unqualified and ineffective

Imagine having to fight in a war you don’t want to fight in, seeing friends and family die all around you, but no matter how far you run you can never escape. Child soldiers in Sierra Leone do not have to imagine this - for them, it is reality. Ishmael Beah, who became a soldier at just age 12, as well as researchers such as Christophe Bayer, Fionna Klasen, Hubertus Adam know too well that the events in the war can never be forgotten. The story Beah told in his memoir A Long Way Gone captures the inhumane events that take place in Sierra Leone and tells of a story that many children have to endure. Sources like Harvard claim “among the 87 war-torn countries...300,000 - 500,000 children are involved with fighting forces as child soldiers.” Many of those children are being forced into the war without any choice at all and having to kill others as well. With this information we’re forced to ask the question: how are these children being affected by the war?

Humanitarian action is what the world turns to in case there is a crisis in any part of the world. But as David Rieff suggests in his book, “A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis,” there is a crisis in the humanitarian world and space. He draws from first personal experience in places like Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo to tell how some of the challenges humanitarian organizations face; including their struggle to be neutral and apolitical.

These are the words of a 15-year-old girl in Uganda. Like her, there are an estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen who are serving as child soldiers in about thirty-six conflict zones (Shaikh). Life on the front lines often brings children face to face with the horrors of war. Too many children have personally experienced or witnessed physical violence, including executions, death squad killings, disappearances, torture, arrest, sexual abuse, bombings, forced displacement, destruction of home, and massacres. Over the past ten years,

The issue of child soldiery is a social issue that plagues society on a global scale. For instance, The Global Report 2008 which was edited by UNICEF and Child Soldiers Global Institution reported that 19 countries and territories employed children in government forces as well as non-state armed groups. Some countries include Iraq, Sudan, Uganda, and Somalia (Deak, 2013, p. 1). It is impossible to state the exact number of child soldiers around the world; however, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations estimate that that there are about 250,000 to 300,000 child soldiers (Szijj, 2010, p.4) It is evident that that child soldiery is an epidemic thus, I will investigate what social and political factors are responsible

Every day, thousands of children around the world wake up in the morning, grab their shoes and backpacks and head to school. Thousands of other children pick up their AK-47s and head to battle. The issue of child soldiers is as complex as it is atrocious, and its heinous nature has prompted the international community to pour vast amounts of time and resources into finding a solution. Despite humanitarian and government organizations’ best efforts, the numbers have remained relatively static over the decades, with over 300,000 underage combatants worldwide (Vautravers 96). Many scholars have declared the U.N.’s current policy as a failure and offered up proposals of their own, ranging from placement of sanctions to international

In developing countries such as Sierra Leone and Sudan, there are many types of violence, propaganda, and corruption used to create this vulnerability, which leads to vicious cycles of displacement and war. The corruption that is present in these governments is rather significant and the fear that is instilled into civilians by the military or militia causes a power imbalance. Furthermore, the abuse of drugs and alcohol is caused by the lack of education in many of these developing countries. Civilians are persuaded to join these organizations with the use of drugs such and cocaine and crack. The lack of availability of education and awareness of the effects of such drugs puts civilians in a vulnerable position. Being born in certain developing countries comes with everlasting conflict, which commonly leads to vulnerable environments and further displacement. Most of the time these conflicts arise over natural resources, religion or contrasting political views. The current action being taken by foreign aid has had a very minor impact. New Statesman writer Dinaw Mengestu discusses African literature comparing past to present, “Growing up in the United States, I was acutely aware of how everything I saw and heard about my native Ethiopia was being translated...We died by the millions, and with the exception of a handful of thoughtful accounts by western journalists, little was said and done from the outside, and even less was uttered out loud from within” (Mengestu, 2007). This further reflects the issue of not being recognized on a global scale and being misinterpreted by the rest of society. In order to protect these civilians from the corruption, violence and propaganda, there is a need for further action. Firstly, this issue needs to be recognized and humanized by foreign governments. The amount of awareness needs to drastically increase in order for civilians and foreign

In the world today, there are over 250,000 child soldiers fighting for their lives (Goodwin).During the Sierra Leonean civil war in 1991-2002, the United Nations estimated that there were over 7,000 child soldiers being used on both sides (Maclay). The conditions during the war were terrible and in 2002 over 50,000 people were dead, however nobody came to help and put troops on the ground. There were over 2.5 million citizens in Sierra Leone forced to leave their homes which is almost half of the entire population. No one came to help because they did not care about the African citizens living in the 3rd the world country. Other countries did not want to become involved in a war if they were not required too. This idea is related to Aaronson’s

Her report on the impact of war on children is considered highly dignified and influential when tackling child soldiers. Her work was constantly cited post publication in 2001. Of which is the most important of her research is the recommendations she listed, such as monitoring and reporting violations of child rights, health, psychosocial well-being and educational programs as well as developing a global campaign to be launched to stop the recruitment of children under age 18 into armed forces and to ensure that governments and opposition forces demobilize all such children immediately and incorporate their needs into peace agreements and demobilization programmes (Machel 22, 53, 58). Of this, Sierra Leone’s truth commission was able to accomplish reporting the violations of children’s rights as well as the start up of educational programs for

Moreover, it explains their affect and why child soldiers first became involved in war. It also helps explain why displaced children, especially during times of conflict, results in more child soldiers (Tiefenbrun 421). Sociology teaches individuals that the occurrence of child soldiers is not a new concept. Instead it shows its impact throughout the twentieth century as seen in Germany, Mexico and throughout Africa (422-423). As well, this discipline shows the impact of Genocide on the population. Specifically, it shows how the creation of child soldiers prolongs conflict. The conflict's continuation displaces and filters more children into armies, continuing the cycle. (230).  Such an insight would include, but would not be limited to, the Rwandan history of ethnic violence that led to genocide and child militants (Straus

An Imperfect Offering is a powerful personal memoir from a James Orbinski, a Canadian who has spent most of his adult life in front-line humanitarian work in the world's worst conflict zones. Despite its dark chapters, it is also a hopeful story about the emergence of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as a new and independent agent of civil society, and the possibilities of making the world a better place. In “An Imperfect Offering”, James Orbinski tells the story of people who have been harmed by war, and humanitarian workers who have come to heal them when possible. He engages in deep reflection on the nature of humanitarian response and the many threats to this most human activity. He has sharp criticism for governments who act to cause

Importantly, my project raises questions about how to better understand the relationship of donors and recipients to reduce the disconnection between projects that donors support and actual needs of recipients. The disconnection of donors and recipients caused damage to Congo, and the disconnection is a issues that effects how effective international aid is to a country. Importantly, further research needs to be conducted to gauge the impact of community-based projects, over the issue-based project to understand if one is a more effective use of aid. The aid process needs to involve native intellectuals, community leads, and other the communities to better accesses issues that affect the recipients of aid. Ultimately, there needs to be further research on the consequences, intended and unintended, for over reporting on a single issue of a conflict, because the simplification of a conflict into a single issue can cause damage by those with the intention to

billions of the world’s poorest, where safety is secured only for those with money, and where much of our well-intended aid is lost in the daily chaos of violence. (Boutros V. and Haugen G., 2014).