Reflection

It seems like it is easy to ignore the fact that these people fighting in Uganda are still children because they are performing such adult tasks. No one should be introduced to the idea or experience of killing another person. It is hard to think of a child as a victimizer, but as a fighter of war, as someone who is performing killings and murders, that it just what they are doing, and it should be stopped. I wish I had the opportunity to meet and speak with anyone who had first hand experience with the war in Uganda and the use of child soldiers. I am very appreciative of all the comments I have received, especially from my commenter from Uganda. This experience was the closest I have had to an actual cultural encounter and this encounter, while only communicating online, was what helped me most in writing my blog. I had my first flash of recognition after receiving the comment from Tumwijuke in Uganda. I realized the power that words have, especially when you are writing or talking about something that you are unfamiliar with. I now understand how important it is to dismiss my own beliefs and thoughts before engaging in something I am unfamiliar with and become open to learning about something new. People are not all so different when it comes to war and trauma. Writing this blog has been one of the most eye opening experiences because it allowed me to learn about another culture through my own mistakes, which I believe are inevitable, and expanded by encounters with others outside of my life circle.

How do we deal with this?

I recently watched a movie called 11’09’’01- September 11. Eleven directors from all around the world were asked to make a movie about September 11th in eleven minutes. I watched a scene filmed by the director from the United States and a scene filmed by the director from Iran. Both clips showed ways to deal with the catastrophic events of September 11 and the current Iraq war. Immediately I was struck by the similarities of both films. I quickly realized how the pain and suffering endured, after the events of the attack, became universal. We do not all have to be from the same place, believe in the same things, or even fight for the same rights, to experience terror and have similar reactions. I’ve begun analyzing my original title for this blog by calling it a culture of war. I am not sure if I believe that war has its’ own culture. While individuals construct war, the consequences of war happen to everyone in that culture. However, in cases where there are child soldiers, for example, like in Uganda, children are brought into war and end up being factors of war. There have been so many documentaries and films made and books written about September 11 and the Iraq war. Yet, I wonder how much information about the war in Uganda or even the horrible thought that children are being used to fight in the war is being put out in the public’s view. I hope my blog has an effect on people’s perceptions and, perhaps, create a new dialogue about the use of child soldiers. I hope it helps to stop the sad reality.