Reading Reflection #7
Book: They Fight Like Children, They Die Like Soldiers
Author: Romeo Dollaire
Pages Read: 1-17
Dear Fellow Readers, I know I'm probably being really annoying by reading a new book every few weeks without actually finishing the one I was reading before, but I don't really want to waste my time with books I don't like...and sometimes they're really hard to keep track of....meaning, I lose them all. A couple of years ago I saw this book in Costco and read a bit about it because the title kind of took my attention. It sounded really interesting but I probably already had my cart loaded with a bunch of stuff I didn't need, like what happens with most Costco trips, (for example, a stack of mile long Christmas wrap which was probably more appealing) so I didn't want to ask for another item. So, straying a way from the book for a minute, for the past couple of weeks in Just Cause, we have been doing a campaign called "Children Not Soldiers" which would help raise money for an organization called "War Child" that helps with rehabilitation of child soldiers and communities. I've been participating in this and selling buttons in support...but I honestly don't know much about it at all. When I saw this book it sort of made sense to me to read it because...well...I think its important to know whats going on in our world and this is an issue that I feel very strongly about. I'm sorry if this reflection is a bit of a rant, but the book isn't really a book...it's almost a reflection of events too in a way. I've only read the introduction so its a lot of facts and other information...but it really gets you thinking and kind of makes your blood boil and stomach flutter, if that makes sense. At one point, they put you in the shoes of a child soldier and say "imagine yourself on a hill..." and at another point they try and get you to picture yourself as the adult soldier facing, shooting at, and killing a child soldier. Both seem like an awful position to be in...but its reality. Is one better than the other? I don't know...One thing I found really interesting about this example was when the author asked the reader if, being in the position of a grown soldier fighting against kids, do we treat them as soldiers of as children?
"Do you treat this person aiming his weapon at you as a soldier or a child? If you do nothing, dozens will be slaughtered and you put your own life at risk. If you fire to frighten or disarm, you begin a doomed and bloody shootout. Fire back to kill, as you would at an adult, and you will save a village, but at what cost?"
The reason I really liked why the author chose to add this statement was because it clearly lays out all the options. Right at the beginning of the book, we are able to gain perspective on the grown soldier killing a kid...or a soldier. Another comment I have about what I have read so far was about my reaction to the comparison of children to a "weapon of choice". It shows that in countries overseas, children are expendable. They aren't people, they're objects and machinery. This made me reflect on how our society generally looks at child soldiers...they exist, they're far away, but it almost seems as though we don't think of them as people either. They're soldiers and nothing else. Also, the author spoke about how girls and boys are taken from their family and forced into this war like behaviour and the girls are even abused. I can't imagine being taken away from the life I know to participate in such bloody acts, live an unfamiliar and abusive life, and literally have my childhood crushed. This reading reflection was not as formal as my others have been...but thats also because this isn't really a book, it's an eye opening account of real life events. It just gets my mind thinking while reading it and all I want to do is find a way to help...Honestly, I could probably go on and on about this subject, so I'll leave it for now. However, you'll most likely see a lot more personal additions on the subject matter of child soldiers and other injustices or humanitarian work in the world.
"Do you treat this person aiming his weapon at you as a soldier or a child? If you do nothing, dozens will be slaughtered and you put your own life at risk. If you fire to frighten or disarm, you begin a doomed and bloody shootout. Fire back to kill, as you would at an adult, and you will save a village, but at what cost?"
The reason I really liked why the author chose to add this statement was because it clearly lays out all the options. Right at the beginning of the book, we are able to gain perspective on the grown soldier killing a kid...or a soldier. Another comment I have about what I have read so far was about my reaction to the comparison of children to a "weapon of choice". It shows that in countries overseas, children are expendable. They aren't people, they're objects and machinery. This made me reflect on how our society generally looks at child soldiers...they exist, they're far away, but it almost seems as though we don't think of them as people either. They're soldiers and nothing else. Also, the author spoke about how girls and boys are taken from their family and forced into this war like behaviour and the girls are even abused. I can't imagine being taken away from the life I know to participate in such bloody acts, live an unfamiliar and abusive life, and literally have my childhood crushed. This reading reflection was not as formal as my others have been...but thats also because this isn't really a book, it's an eye opening account of real life events. It just gets my mind thinking while reading it and all I want to do is find a way to help...Honestly, I could probably go on and on about this subject, so I'll leave it for now. However, you'll most likely see a lot more personal additions on the subject matter of child soldiers and other injustices or humanitarian work in the world.
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