Chapter 4

Latest chapter

• CHILD SOLDIER   Chapter 12

  Africa is one place that seriously discourages the idea of gender equality. They always expect women to obey men at all times; not just their husbands but also the friends of their husbands and other men around them. A man is at the head in every circumstance and at all times. He has to be in control at all times and aslo has to be at the head of everything. It was only in the late 90's that the idea of gender equality started gaining grounds in Africa . A woman's role was reduced to the kitchen and serving her husband and kids only. It was the only type of employment a woman could get. She could not seek a job nor demand allowances from her husband. Women had to be submissive at all times. She could neither express a political opinion not take part in an election. She was forbidden to join social organizations or form women groups like we have today. A woman had to be a servant at home for her husband and kids. There were nothing like divorce or courts judging disputes between husb

• CHILD SOLDIER   Chapter 11

  Most people sometimes say that there are two sides to everything. no matter what the case might be,there is always a positive and a negative side to everything and every situation. They claim that it is not always all bad during conflicts. But quite contrastingly, it did not seem the case during the conflict in liberia in 2003. Back,when there was so much senseless killings,lootings and unimaginable crimes of all forms, it was hard to find really anything a person could point at as positive. The world was tearing itself apart as we stood by with tears in our eyes, looking helplessly. We went for Mama Liberia as she herself mourned the senseless killings of her children and the meaningless damages that were being caused. Nothing was normal anymore. Food was scarced and communications were cut off and hard to come by. There were divisions amongst families as kids went missing and parents got killed. People could barely keep themselves alive as there was severe famine all a

• CHILD SOLDIER   Chapter 10

  The front had become a mass grave with lifeless bodies mixed with amputated arms and legs of civilians and soldiers scattered around. There were flies everywhere. The type of flies a person would call corpse flies. There were bodies with arms and a few body parts missing. They were cut off indiscriminately by the particles in the mortars and greenades. There were bodies of innocent babies and helpless old men and women as There were no sympathies for the old and the young.It was a complete massacre as the bodies made a big mess. The buildings stood,shattered and looted with bullet holes. The streets were almost except for the dead bodies and soldiers fighting. Mortars and greenades were flying and landing wherever they chose. They fell into people's homes and public shelters that kept civilians. There were fightings between the streets, on sidewalks and buildings. The fighting was drawing ever closer and closer to us by the day. The fighting comtued as reinforcements trooped continu

• CHILD SOLDIER   Chapter 9

  War has a lot of consequences and brings also a lot of changes. Apart from the killing and division it brings amongst families and friends. It scatters people all over away from their homes and businesses. The killings and continuous running are merely at the front of the many sufferings people go through. War changes so many things even if it is fought at a particular place within an entire region; it affects so many people and so many things. It causes Rape, starvation,stealing, torture, inequality and so much more. Rich people become poor and the poor become rich almost over night during the course of a war. War is a singular cause for so many things . In all, it is the poor who mostly suffer and are the most vulnerable during these terrifying and hard times. I remember going to buy a candy with money I found while walking in our yard early morning and was told that the price had gone up from 10 Liberian dollars to 25 Liberian dollars. It was for a single candy. The war had

• CHILD SOLDIER   Chapter 8

  The fighting had gone on for a while and we are now accustomed to it's presence. It seemed more like one of those visitors who never went back to their home after getting too used to the hospitality and enjoyments of their relative's home. They could not bear to leave behind such comfort, enjoyments and hospitality and so, sealed their place in the guest room permanently. They became permanent guests.The war had over stayed its unannounced visit. The fighting had already lasted for so many months and showed no signs of slowing down. Out of frustration we began ignoring its presence. The sound of mortars and greenades lasted of course. We were continuously alerted by the sour Melody in the distance. It sounded days and nights and almost seemed like it was never going to stop. We were concerned. But actually, we were not too concerned about it as long as the sounds did not harm us,we did not have much of a problem. But a person never gets a moment's rest while

• CHILD SOLDIER   Chapter 7

  The fighting had gone on for two months non stop and we now seemed like veterans. We were veterans of the many sleepless nights and long, boring scary days.we were veterans of the disturbing and awful sounds that came from the front as a result of the heavy mortars and greenades. We were veterans of viewing dead bodies being transported in the opened vehicles; the sights that sent chills down a person's vains.we were veterans of staying up almost the entire night and looking over our shoulders during the day. We were veterans of the madness that had suddenly taken over our nation. Everything was now at an indefinite stand still with no one aware of when it would get back to normal. Daddies no longer went to their jobs on weekdays leaving moms at home to take care of the kids and prepare food alone. Mom and Dad now did the chores by turn through out that time. My play mates and I lost our appetites to play and run around like usual. We no longer went to school but were much too