Child Soldiers are victims of lifeless human beings They patrol the streets in their war-torn clothing armed with explosive and lethal firearms. The scent of gunpowder, and the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh from dead bodies lingers in their nostrils. The explosions of mortars and grenades leave a permanent ringing in their ears that can never be forgotten. This is the everyday life for a child soldier, but it is not their choice. These kids are stripped from their childhood by being kidnapped or even sold into armies or militias becoming victims of lifeless human beings. These children can be as young as 9 years old. There are many people who believe that Child Soldiers should be considered perpetrators but really they should be considered victims. Child Soldiers should be considered victims due to the fact that they are forced into fighting, they are persuaded through a series of destructive substances that brainwash them, and they live in contaminated settings. In run-down countries like Somalia, South Sudan, and Myanmar, children are forced into fighting as young as the age of 9 years old. A compelling example of this is, occasionally, hunger and poverty influences their parents to sell them into fighting in order for the family to obtain more money for food and other things. (“Armed and Underage.”) These children are then transferred to bases occupied by militias or the even the government’s armies, and trained on how to operate and launch firearms. These children are then transformed into killing machines, committing outlandish crimes. As an illustration, their commander could make them kill their families, kill innocent people, or other un-involved children that they come across. This is not their choice though they will either be killed or thrown out onto the streets if they don’t comply with their leaders. It is estimated that since 2001, Child soldiers have been used in 21 armed conflicts around the globe and in these conflicts, around 2 million child soldiers have been killed. This is just in war. Many more kids have been murdered for not fighting or not complying with actual soldiers. (“Info about child soldiers; What you need to know.”) What this evidence illustrates to me, is that these poor children are victims of mutilation and horrid human beings. These young children are being killed fighting for things they don’t understand. They have no say in what they do and what is done to them and that is why this evidence shows that child soldiers are victims These poor children who do whatever they can to survive, should be treated as victims due to the fact that they are lured into doing cold-blooded crimes and to fight through toxic substances like drugs and alcohol. Terrible substances given to them by their commander or general makes them more compliant. This makes the children commit hideous crimes they would never even think of as a normal child.(“Child Soldiers: Victims or perpetrators.”) This becomes normal for these kids due to the fact that they become brainwashed and they develop the habit of relying on their bitter commander for drugs and alcohol and sadly, even look up to them as father figures since they are so young. These children, find it extremely challenging to leave these lives and live along side normal children. It takes them years to be able to live “normally” but the memories of what they experienced will forever torture them. Another significant reason that child soldiers should be considered victims not perpetrators is because they have no proper living quarters and disease filled settings. One of the ex-child soldiers lived in a house with multiple other people, with cigarette butts all over and smelly clothes. The ex-child soldier named Mawil, who is 12 years old, stated that he slept on a mattress infested with flies along with 2 or 3 other boy’s. Also these kids are malnourished lacking, food and water to help them be healthy. (“Armed and Dangerous.”)Reflecting on this evidence, children have a huge chance of obtaining a disease that leads to death. These clueless kids don’t realize this because it is normal for them but they could soon become victims of their contaminated surroundings. Now some may argue that child soldiers are perpetrators but really they are victims. These poor children will always be haunted by the intense fumes of rotting flesh. The permanent ringing in their ears left from bombs, and the sound of gunfire. These children are stripped from their homes and forced into fighting, committing unthinkable crimes. They see things that no one should ever witness. They are brainwashed by destructive substances that ruin their lives at a young age. Also they live in disease filled settings. No one on our planet would want to experience what these children have, and they would definitely not want to do what they have to do to survive. However there is still hope for these victims of lifeless human beings in the future to live normal lives and instead of having guns and grenades in their hands, they have books and pencils.
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Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both African-American leaders who fought for racial justice and equality between the races in the 1900’s. They both were powerful leaders of the civil rights movement and they had their shares of similarities and differences. They both believed that blacks were oppressed and they wanted black’s to be treated equal but they approached the subject in different ways and due to this they both had very unique leading skills. The differences included that sometimes Malcolm X approached the topic by supporting violence and fighting back. Martin Luther King Jr never approached the subject through violence he thought the answer to the problem was peace and he preached this.
The similarities between the two african american leaders is their Point of view on racial injustice and segregation. MLK and Malcolm X both had the point of view that blacks were being oppressed by whites and they just wanted the same freedoms the whites had. They thought that blacks shouldn’t be judged by the color of the pigment in their skin. MLK stated “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Malcolm X stated “... The dark masses of Africa and Asia and Latin America are already seething with bitterness, animosity hostility, unrest and impatience with the racial injustice that they themselves have experienced at the hands of the White west.” Both of these statements show their point of view that Blacks were being oppressed by the color of their skin and racial injustice flowed like a river branching out to all parts of the nation. The difference between the two leaders, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are the way they try to approach their freedom. MLK attempts to receive his freedom through peace which he preached in many ways including in his famous “I have a dream” speech. In this he states “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred… We must fight physical force with force from the soul.” This shows that he believed in peace and not hatred and non-violent means of protesting. Malcolm X had a very different way of approaching the subject which included promoting violence and attacking the whites. Malcolm X preached fiery sermons that fired up the african americans and made them portray the whites as devils. The page of his speech included the statement “He argued that blacks should use any means necessary to gain justice.” This included violence which is completely opposite of Martin’s approach on gaining justice and getting rid of segregation. This shows that their point of view on gaining justice is completely opposite. Martin Luther King jr. and Malcolm X were both very powerful leaders of the civil rights movement and they fought for the rights of american- americans all around the United states. They both had their similarities and differences but that’s what made each of the men unique. MLK and Malcolm X believed that african american’s were being oppressed and they felt that Blacks were being bullied out of simple freedoms like voting and freedom of speech. This shows that both men had the point of view that african americans were being attacked by segregation and racial injustice and it needs to be put to an end. All of a sudden the whistle blew, there was a player down on the edge of the end line, laying down clutching his knee groaning in agony. It had all happened in a flash. He had been sprinting down the court chasing down an opponent and blocked his shot and when he landed there was a sudden loud pop that echoed throughout the gym.
The player was Riley Hannon, a 14 year old boy who had been playing basketball his entire life and he was now in jeopardy of a career threatening injury. “I never thought in a million years this would happen to me at such a young age.” Mark, Riley’s father, along with the coach rushed out on to the court to see what was going on. “AHH my knee feels like it's on fire coach!” Riley stated. “I know kid, your injury doesn’t seem like anything minor, were going to help you up to see if you can put pressure on your knee, alright?” coach said “Alright.” Riley replied. As soon as they helped him up and as he tried putting weight on his knee he grunted loudly in pain. “We’re going to have to take you to a hospital to get this checked out” Mark stated. They rushed him to the hospital. While on the way Riley laid there with an imaginary knife in his knee, Trying to process the thought… how did this happen to me at such a young age? At the hospital the nurses gave him all sorts of medicine to help ease the pain so that he wouldn’t feel the burning sensation rushing through his knee. “They gave me all sorts of medicine to help ease the pain, I couldn’t even keep track.” Riley stated. Shortly after this Mark called his mom and told her to come and bring Riley’s brother Shea because they were going to be at the hospital for a little while that day. After hours of sitting there and tests on the 14 year old boy’s knee, the doctor came in and broke the news “Riley you have a torn ACL.” *** Riley’s family has had a history bad knees, his father who is 48 has experienced 2 torn ACL’s and 5 knee surgeries from playing basketball all the way from kindergarten to college. Additionally, 4 of his of cousins have torn their ACL either once or more than once and experienced surgery on their knees too. Riley very rarely got hurt throughout his whole life of basketball because he is in phenomenal shape, working out every day and keeping himself healthy. So how did this happen? Well when he was jumping up to block a shot he came down and landed wrong. “I could sense it the moment it happened, right as I came down I heard a loud pop almost like a firecracker being thrown out onto the court, and then there was a searing bolt of pain that shot through my knee.” he says. *** At the hospital the doctor recommended a great knee specialist to evaluate and perform the surgery on his knee. His name was Dr. Robert Shelborne. He was one of the best known doctors for knee and shoulder and he performed the cleanest and easiest surgeries than any other doctor in Indiana. When finding out this information Mark, Riley’s father, called the doctor on the phone to schedule an appointment for sometime in the days to come. *** When Riley arrived at Shelborne’s office the day of surgery which was about a month and a half after tearing his ACL, before the surgery there was an assortment of resistance bands and this weird looking, black and white machine that had one giant square pad that slid back amd forth on its base with resistance bands inside the side of it to make it harder to push the pad, laid out for Riley. Dr. Shelborne said “The day after surgery, I know you're gonna be lying in bed with little movement for a week but you're going to have to start strengthening your knee with the things I’ve laid out for you.” “Ok....” Riley said grimmly. Dr. Shelborne explained what to do with each of the things laid out, first he explained the resistance bands and how to use them, he explained that the different colored bands were different difficulties. Then he explained that in order to use the machine he had to put his foot on the pad and push as hard as he could while the resistance bands would make it harder to push. After the explanation, there was lots of paperwork to be filled out and shortly after it Riley was in the operating room ready for a new knee. The operation took about 45 minutes then Riley was taken home and was to be nursed from there by his family. When he got home he was still exhausted from the anesthesia that knocked him out so they could perform surgery so he basically slept the whole rest of the day. “HaHa I was so tired I could barely find the strength to keep my eyelids open!” Besides this one rest day the rest of the week he was doing rehab work from home that seemed light to his family but seemed impossible to him. “I dreaded doing the rehab because everyday it got harder and it hurt my knee so bad. I knew I had to do it in order to get my knee stronger and fully recover.” As soon as the week was over his knee was feeling so good that it got to the point where he could actually walk to the bathroom without having to use crutches. Since he was fully recovered he started physical therapy at Shelbornes office with a lady named Stephanie to help guide and help him if he needed it. *** After a few months of intensive physical therapy, Riley fully recovered and was able to return to basketball and keep playing for the same AAU team, often playing on the very court where the incident happened. Playing basketball again hurt his knees and he ended up developing tendonitis, which is inflammation of your patella tendon. This has influenced Riley to stop playing basketball. Today he is doing great even though he has hurt his knee a few more times. Due to the fact that Riley has stopped playing basketball he has chosen to follow the path of baseball. “Basketball was just too much work on my knees after several basketball games every weekend they would always hurt so bad and I would end up icing my knees every day.” he states. “Baseball is a different story, my knees never hurt after playing and I find it more fun.” says Riley “I’m sort of glad I tore my ACL because it showed me that even when you think nothing bad can ever happen to you and you feel invincible, it’s always a possibility.” Human Interest Story
All of a sudden the whistle blew, there was a player down on the edge of the end line, laying down clutching his knee groaning in agony. It had all happened in a flash. He had been sprinting down the court chasing down an opponent and blocked his shot and when he landed there was a sudden loud pop that echoed throughout the gym. The player was Riley Hannon, a 14 year old boy who had been playing basketball his entire life and he was now in jeopardy of a career threatening injury. “I never thought in a million years this would happen to me at such a young age.” Mark, Riley’s father, along with the coach rushed out on to the court to see what was going on. “AHH my knee feels like it's on fire coach!” Riley stated. “I know kid, your injury doesn’t seem like anything minor, were going to help you up to see if you can put pressure on your knee, alright?” coach said “Alright.” Riley replied. As soon as they helped him up and as he tried putting weight on his knee he grunted loudly in pain. “We’re going to have to take you to a hospital to get this checked out” Mark stated. They rushed him to the hospital. While on the way, Riley laid there with an imaginary knife in his knee, Trying to process the thought… "how did this happen to me?" At the hospital the nurses gave him all sorts of medicine to help ease the pain so that he wouldn’t feel the burning sensation rushing through his knee. “They gave me all sorts of medicine to help ease the pain, I couldn’t even keep track.” Riley stated. Shortly after this Mark called his mom and told her to come and bring Riley’s brother Shea because they were going to be at the hospital for a little while that day. After hours of sitting there and tests on the 14 year old boy’s knee, the doctor came in and broke the news “Riley you have a torn ACL.” *** Riley’s family has had a history bad knees, his father who is 48 has experienced 2 torn ACL’s and 5 knee surgeries from playing basketball all the way from kindergarten to college. Additionally, 4 of his of cousins have torn their ACL either once or more than once and experienced surgery on their knees too. Riley very rarely got hurt throughout his whole life of basketball because he is in phenomenal shape, working out every day and keeping himself healthy. So how did this happen? Well when he was jumping up to block a shot he came down and landed wrong. “I could sense it the moment it happened, right as I came down I heard a loud pop almost like a firecracker being thrown out onto the court, and then there was a searing bolt of pain that shot through my knee.” he says. *** At the hospital the doctor recommended a great knee specialist to evaluate and perform the surgery on his knee. His name was Dr. Robert Shelborne. He was one of the best known doctors for knee and shoulder and he performed the cleanest and easiest surgeries than any other doctor in Indiana. When finding out this information Mark, Riley’s father, called the doctor on the phone to schedule an appointment for sometime in the days to come. *** When Riley arrived at Shelborne’s office the day of surgery which was about a month and a half after tearing his ACL, before the surgery there was an assortment of resistance bands and this weird looking, black and white machine that had one giant square pad that slid back amd forth on its base, laid out for Riley. Dr. Shelborne said “The day after surgery, I know you're gonna be lying in bed with little movement for a week but you're going to have to start strengthening your knee with the things I’ve laid out for you.” “Ok got it” Riley said. Dr. Shelborne explained what to do with each of the things laid out, first he explained the resistance bands and how to use them, he explained that the different colored bands were different difficulties. Then he explained that in order to use the machine he had to put his foot on a After that there was lots of paperwork to be filled out and shortly after it Riley was in the operating room ready for a new knee. The operation took about 45 minutes then Riley was taken home and was to be nursed from there by his family. When he got home he was still exhausted from the anesthesia that knocked him out so they could perform surgery so he basically slept the whole rest of the day. “ I was so tired I could barely find the strength to keep my eyelids open!” Besides this one rest day the rest of the week he was doing rehab work from home that seemed light to his family but seemed impossible to him. “I dreaded doing the rehab because everyday it got harder and it hurt my knee so bad. I knew I had to do it in order to get my knee stronger and fully recover.” As soon as the week was over his knee was feeling so good that it got to the point where he could actually walk to the bathroom without having to use crutches. Since he was fully recovered he started physical therapy at Shelbornes office with a lady named Stephanie to help guide and help him if he needed it. *** After a few months of intensive physical therapy Riley fully recovered and was able to return to basketball and keep playing for the same AAU team, often playing on the very court where the incident happened. Playing again hurt his knees and he ended up developing tendonitis, which is inflammation of your patella tendon. Today he is doing great even though he has hurt his knee a few more times. Riley ended up deciding not to continue playing basketball and stick to the path of baseball. “Basketball was just too much work on my knees after several basketball games every weekend they would always hurt so bad and I would end up icing my knees.” he states. “Baseball is a different story, my knees never hurt after playing and I find it more fun.” Riley stated “I’m sort of glad I tore my ACL because it showed me that even when you think nothing bad can ever happen to you and you feel invincible, it’s always a possibility.” |
AuthorThe author of this blog post is Shea Hannon Archives
March 2017
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