My grade 9 students just finished a unit on major conflicts/their impacts on individuals within war-torn communities. As part of the unit, students were asked to interview someone who was directly exposed to a major political or military conflict. I had no idea how easy this was going to be.
Most of my kids interviewed close family members: mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts... my students' families were in rebel attacks in the Philippines, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, WW2, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian conflict, the Ethiopian Civil War, the civil war in Burundi, political conflicts in Mali, large scale unrest in Romania, various violent upheavals in Uganda (including tortures at the hands of Idi Amin and the forced immigration of individuals from Asian decent); a variety of ISU faculty members and teaching assistants also volunteered their stories.
Interviewees were soldiers that fought on fronts, civilians that fled across continents, friends with presidents, genocide targets, Indian generals, refugees, jailed political activists, parachuting air force members, military deserters, and IDP camp aid workers. Many watched family and friends die. Nearly all were shot at, bombed, or threatened with violence. Most were neutral civilians that were actively victimized. A few reaped the benefits of war. More suffered heavy losses.
I have been blown away with the horrific situations so many of my students and their family members faced; I've been shocked by the relative political power many held.
I realize that in my lifetime, there have been many armed conflicts, most of which I heard little about in their times. How has the escalating violence between Sudan and South Sudan been sheltered from the public eye? Where was the media as Hutu and Tutsis violently clashed in Rwanda and Burundi?
Where was I? Why didn't I know more/care?
Working in the community that I work in, I have realized how little I really know of the world. One thing I do know for certain: I've lived a blessed life of peace.
Most of my kids interviewed close family members: mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts... my students' families were in rebel attacks in the Philippines, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, WW2, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian conflict, the Ethiopian Civil War, the civil war in Burundi, political conflicts in Mali, large scale unrest in Romania, various violent upheavals in Uganda (including tortures at the hands of Idi Amin and the forced immigration of individuals from Asian decent); a variety of ISU faculty members and teaching assistants also volunteered their stories.
Interviewees were soldiers that fought on fronts, civilians that fled across continents, friends with presidents, genocide targets, Indian generals, refugees, jailed political activists, parachuting air force members, military deserters, and IDP camp aid workers. Many watched family and friends die. Nearly all were shot at, bombed, or threatened with violence. Most were neutral civilians that were actively victimized. A few reaped the benefits of war. More suffered heavy losses.
I have been blown away with the horrific situations so many of my students and their family members faced; I've been shocked by the relative political power many held.
I realize that in my lifetime, there have been many armed conflicts, most of which I heard little about in their times. How has the escalating violence between Sudan and South Sudan been sheltered from the public eye? Where was the media as Hutu and Tutsis violently clashed in Rwanda and Burundi?
Where was I? Why didn't I know more/care?
Working in the community that I work in, I have realized how little I really know of the world. One thing I do know for certain: I've lived a blessed life of peace.
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