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Dog Eat Dog World Ishmael Beah Analysis

1391 Words6 Pages

Zebedee Smith
Chandler B
Adv. Language Arts
January 23rd 2017
The inability for recovery from being a child soldier
How do you think a child would react if you have them a gun, and thrust them into an active war zone? The answer, not well, simply because they are still children and children are not properly equipped to deal with the harsh realities of war. Simply put there are child soldiers in Sierra Leone that are being kidnapped and thrust out into a war zone, not equipped for the atrocities they are about to witness. But you you think these kids can continue their life after they get out of this hell? The answer is a harsh no. There are countless rehabilitation groups trying to help these poor souls trying to get back their lives that have …show more content…

This is technically true due to the intense situations that these children were forced to face/commit that they still have terrible flashbacks or “triggers” to these terrible moments in their lives. They fight their inner demons day and night, all whilst trying to survive in this dog eat dog world. A quote that really paints a vivid picture is written by Ishmael Beah, an ex child soldier still dealing with his demons. “A memory of a town we had attacked during a school dance had been triggered. I could hear the terrified cries of teachers and students, could see the blood cover the dance floor. Allie tapped me on the shoulder and brought me back to the present. I smiled at him, but I was deeply sad for the rest of our stay.” Moments before this flashback Ishmael was in a club having the time of his life, and in a matter of seconds his mood deteriorated into a living nightmare. The way his mind is still living the war but his body isn’t, is truly sad, simply because he is fighting himself over what’s real and what isn’t. It’s not only Ishmael experiencing these flashbacks, it’s a majority of these ex child soldiers experience these living nightmares. A report from Amnesty International Report words it well “,”This is a never-ending conflict, where children are experiencing unimaginable horrors on a daily basis.” Said Michelle Kagari.” This report is saying that these kids are …show more content…

They’ve had far too much emotional damage done to them for a start, they’ve become a broken person before they've even become an adult. Their aggressive tendencies, and high military enlistment is proof alone that these kids are not ready for the real world, they’ve clawed their way out of a war zone, only to willingly go into another one for no other reason to fight. Not even to mention their constant flashbacks to keep the atrocities they’ve seen constantly fresh in their minds, like some type of cruel reminder of what they've been though. All of this adds up to one conclusion, these abused kids, these ex soldiers are not able to be put back into today's modern society, they only know war and will only live to hurt other and themselves given the

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