The Bosnia List, An Analysis

To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who

These children are forced to leave parents and loved ones to join the army for a long period of time. Nick Taussig, author of the article “Innocence lost: The Child Soldiers Forced to Murder,” interviewed a former child soldier named Ojok, and his tragedy childhood. Ojok expressed his feelings and memories of how he was dragged, and beaten, when forced to become a child soldier. Ojok was taken in the middle of the night, without knowing, and with only his shirt and underpants. He suffered walking 12 hours straight, without food, just water, and this horror continued for 3 days.

For children who eventually leave these militias and rebel groups, rehabilitation and reintegration into their homes or a new life may be extremely difficult. The kids may be rejected as being former child soldier, be resented and abandoned by community and family for that they had been forced to do, and even be subject to trial by their community or other groups. The children were taken at a young age and most do not have any valuable job skills, and may turn to the streets for money and to continue their drug addiction. Consistent aid and support is a necessity for these kids to return to normalcy. This includes group, community, and family support and letting the child know that they are loved and forgiven. (Drexler 3). Ishmael states in

He does this because he wants his son to look back on his childhood without shivering from the memories of the responsibility he had to take on. Kenan also tries to make the childhoods of his children as enjoyable as possible. He rushes to wake the children when there is a short-lived burst of electricity as he knows “the children’s excitement will be catching” [23]. This proves Kenan has optimism for the future because he does not want his children to become used to an environment of unhappiness. Through their daily tasks, the citizens of Sarajevo silently fight against the war, refusing to abandon hope in place of violence and

Some examples of the terrible trauma that child soldiers went through, can be found in the memoir A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah. War is a terrible thing, and is portrayed so in the memoir. Beah’s village had been burned down by the rebels in his country, so he was forced to run and find food, water, and shelter at just twelve years old. He was ripped apart from his family and forced into hiding until the army recruited him along with other children. Beah made a statement on this, saying that: “We had no choice. Leaving the village was as good as being dead” (Beah, 107). This quote explains perfectly what most children go through when they are confronted on whether or not to join the war. They either join the war and hope to live to see another day, or they don’t and die. Plain and simple. Yet, when he got into the war he might have been better off dead. Beah, and countless other children, were exposed to terrible things. For example, he witnessed his friend Josiah get shot and die stating that: “As I [Beah] watched him [Josiah], the water in his eyes was replaced with blood that quickly turned his brown eyes into red” (118). Beah also witnessed numerous dead bodies, that he usually had ended up killing, watched his commander shoot people point blank or watched him slit their throats. The children would cheer, all drugged up and

These children have been forced to see things no child should have to. In a magazine, the author informs us, “Girls are often pressed into duty as cooks or messengers. Many are subjected to sexual abuse, including rape (Gettleman 6).” Child soldiers should not be punished, because most of them were forced against their own will. In a summative essay on child soldiers, the author states, “... and over ten million children have been diagnosed with a psychological trauma (“Child Soldiers -- Summative Essay”).” This is over the last ten years, which means that one million are diagnosed every year. In an article, the author met doctors who worked with the traumatized patients. “One doctor described treating a boy between ten and twelve years old whose job it was to whip prisoners held in an ISIS detention facility, according to the adult fighter who brought him (Ashawi).” No child should have to witness anything like that, much less be a part of it. Mr. Beah again explains, “...people think as healing from this kind of thing as forgetting, I will never be able to forget anything that happened to me…(Stroumboulopoulos). ” Most people do not realize from this kind of trauma, the patients do not usually fully

This describes young children’s lives during the war as they tried to remain true to their beliefs but also being controlled by

When you think of who is affected by war, who comes to mind? Your immediate gut instinct will take you to thoughts about the individual involved in that war. It will make you think about all the awful things they must have encountered during their time at war. You’re not wrong for thinking this. I just want you to take a step back and look at the whole picture. Although most people believe the trauma from war is confined strictly to military personnel, there are war-affected children that are left with many physical, psychosocial, educational, and safety needs.

During the Bosnian war that lasted three and a half years, people had to live without water, electricity, heat, power and food, Giovanni recalled that her Bosnian friend saw a tank in the middle of the street while leaving for work. The following events changed her life forever; she was forced to give her child away to a stranger for his safety and didn’t see him for a long time.

be able to help the most on the farm. The host family also took in

As the population is increasingly targeted in wars, children establish an increasing number among the victims of each conflict. In some countries, a whole generation of children seems to have grown up without knowing peace (Herath 2004). A lot has been written about the effects of war on people, and the psychological consequences they bear as a result of traumatic experiences—yet, there is a lack of studies focusing on the psychological burden of female child soldiers. While it might be evident, war and extensive violence leave deep psychological scars—it is essential to understand what shape these scars on female children. The relevance of the topic is striking—on a humanitarian and developmental level psychological trauma may be long lasting. With so many young children affected, if not efficiently tackled the damage could hinder victims life’s (Kiyala 2015). I will analyze the impact of war traumas on female children soldier and their reintegration to society.

The evacuation during the World War Two had a tremendous impact on these children. With them being at a young age, their future wasn’t as efficient as kids who did experience the affection of their parents during a hard

Currently, the children that live in the Syrian country are being abused, suffer proceedings and consequently are dying. The average CNN was in the Syrian country and collection images where the reality they are living children are. The reason is this medium was the state of Syria was to document with images and them spread on social networks to be able to encourage the help of people and country to help this terrible situation. This report expresses the feelings and emotions that produce so carefully observed this problem and pain that this situation. This uninformed world about this cruel reality living kids in Syria. Countries should intervene to solve the problem that has Syria and to save these children from their

There have been little-known facts about children being sent to war under 15 until now (during World War II). Most theories suggest that children are sent to war in order to save their country or when there are fewer adults to fight. The conclusion is that when it comes to losing most people, the situation of that person’s life is more important than previously thought.

Some common causes of war related trauma are physical violence, sexual abuse, as well as unmet basic needs for survival such as shelter. Some negative indirect effects of war like malnutrition, having to seek refuge in foreign countries, and fear also compound the trauma from going through a war. The known effects of war trauma include missing out on education, poor health, disrupted personal and communal wellbeing, and curtailed elements of childhood such as playtime. Art therapy and playtime are recommended for refugee children, to help them come to terms and start healing