THE FORTY-THIRD WAR By: Louise Moeri
Blog Created By: Kaveen S.
March 16, 2009

Day 1

Dear Journal,

This morning, I woke up a kid, a dumb kid. I‘m still a kid, but not so dumb anymore, as I am now learning how to be a good soldier as well. I feel important and proud to be representing my country in the 43rd war. But that doesn’t mean I won’t keep my eyes open for a chance to escape. I would love to unite with my family soon.

Though, I was dreading joining the Army because of the hard work and dedication required, I have found that there are some real positive aspects to this place; more than I had ever imagined. For example, this afternoon I made a friend, Esteban, who is nice and friendly, and genuinely helpful, whereas Juan (the jerk), is a mean, arrogant, show-off that kisses up to the sergeant. At least, I have my buddies, Lolo and Ignacio who are always there for me. We have a connection; a strong, unbreakable bond of friendship.

We were given a meal in the middle of our night-time training. I’d like to say they were generous with their portions, and had a wide selection of foods from around the world, but let’s get real. No, actually, it was a tiny serving of beans and tortillas, with a mug of coffee. No doubt tasty but unfortunately, after all the loading and reloading of our guns, my appetite was a big as a hungry army of soldiers and their limited menu with small portions didn’t do much for me. Oh well, nothing’s perfect. The food wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t enough.

One of the hardest things about being here are the snakes and scorpions that share our sleeping grounds. It becomes very hard to fall asleep, knowing these creatures could crawl on me at any moment. Hopefully, out of absolute exhaustion I will get some sleep during the next few nights so that I can be fresh in order to impress Caption Mendoza.

Uno Ramírez

Picture from: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200708/r171214_643322.jpg

Day 2

Dear Journal,

For the captains, sergeants, and officers here, war is everything. It’s life, death, and everything they care about. It’s about ego, being better than the rest, being able to defeat your opponent. War is such a paradox; on one hand, you’re fighting for what’s right, but on the other, how can killing be right?

But what if I don’t think like everybody else? Will I get punished? I’ve never felt like this before… all I know is that this feeling of hatred, doesn’t feel right to me.

Well, maybe it’s just me, but do people have that little respect for their peers? I mean, doesn’t anybody care? I don’t understand; if you spend a long time with some one in the army, you fought for your country with them, gave up your life for being in the army, shouldn’t that be enough to earn a decent funeral where people actually give you the respect of a war soldier? I think so. I don’t understand the lack of compassion for others that I see around me. It’s like their robots; they’re not real people. They’ve been trained not to love. I feel bad for Sergeant Mendoza. I’m sure he misses his son and can’t express any emotion, because he wants to be strong. I wish he know that it’s okay to cry and feel sad, he’s human.

I really wonder if Juan and Esteban are telling me the truth when we were discussing the issue of whether or not the army notifies the child’s parents after the child dies. I hope that the parents do get notified. I mean, I would hate to be that parent, praying everyday for years that my child is okay, that he would return home soon, when in real life, he actually died 8 months ago. I would hate to be that person…

God save me!

Uno Ramírez

Picture from: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200708/r171214_643322.jpg

Day 5

Dear Journal,

Today was the first day we stepped out of the fortress, and never in my life have I felt and seen such terrible things. We came across a village; a village that had been attacked by the Loyalists. It was dreadful. I couldn’t get myself to look at the corpses and the damage that had been done. I found two children; alone, in the jungle, whose family, the Loyalists have destroyed. I saved them. I took care of the one-day-old baby brother, that we named “Manolete.” His sister, Magdalena Sánchez, was the one found in the jungle, with Manolete in rags tucked into her arm. Manolete was entirely my responsibility from the time we found him (or so it seemed like). Olivares was very helpful with dealing with the baby. It was hard for me to watch; him and his sister get weaker and weaker by the minute. Luckily, though, Olivares, Captain Mendoza, and I were able to save them in time by taking them to the mission, and left them in the care of a nice blonde-haired blue-eyed lady, Mrs. Carter.

Observing the damage done to the village and the state of the orphans, made me feel like … a monster. I could have been the one to destroy that village and demolish the parents of those children; isn’t that what soldiers do? Spending time with them made me realize even though you are not in the war, you are greatly affected by what anyone does. It’s like dominos; it affects everything in it’s path.

I can’t believe I lacked the courage to shoot those atrocious Loyalists. They could be the cause of my village’s, more importantly, my family’s death in the near future. I need to develop the strength to fight against evil.

Uno Ramírez

Picture from: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?q=carrying+dead+body&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcarrying%2Bdead%2Bbody%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1&imgurl=d750e9307e0afb60

Day 7

Dear Journal,

Our day started late and began with Lolo and Ignacio fighting over who was a better shooter and aimer. Of course, I couldn’t be compared because I still haven’t shot anyone. I hope I will be able to and not be afraid.

After morning practice and drills, we got terrible news from Mendoza. San Ildefonso has fallen! We need to claim it back immediately; tomorrow, in fact. We filled up the truck with the scant supplies we had, and split up into different groups. The time had come to finally get on the battlefield. I had no idea how I would be able to do it. I was a new recruit, and everyone was better than me. They were all brave soldiers, and I was an amateur.

Being outside the Fortress felt like I was free. I felt trapped inside there; it was like a prison. We marched to the Santa María and ate the same beans, tortillas and drank coffee. We were given 2 clips each and were told to clean and load our guns. I don’t know how on earth they expected us to fight using such little ammo. Lolo and I were sent by Sergeant Díaz to hide around the river. I couldn’t believe the time had come, we were about to face those stinking Loyalists. Eventually, boats came with the Loyalists packed on them, and we fired. I was randomly shooting, not knowing where the bullets were landing; I didn’t even know if I was shooting anybody. The men screamed painful screams, which made my stomach sick, and sunk to the bottom of the lake and drifted away. I accomplished the greatest success of my life. I was now one of them. I was a soldier in the 43rd war.

Uno Ramírez

Picture from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/africa_sierra_leone0s_civil_war/img/1.jpg

Day 8

Dear Journal,

Today was the busiest day, and also the saddest. The Loyalists attacked us. I ran through the lake filled of blood and moss. I shot the Loyalists; shot them good. I lost sight of Nacio and Lolo, but I tried not to worry too much. Hours later I woke up to the faces of Nacio and Olivares, giving me the news that we lost the war. The sad part of today- I lost my best friend, forever, and will never see him again; the friend that I grew up with, and knew since I was a baby.

Today was also the most important day, because I learnt how to be a solider. Yes, I got badly hurt, and shot, but that is the commitment you have to keep when being a solider. You need to deal with deaths, not cry over them, and just move on. I learnt that I needed to be completely ready for anything. I need to be aware, alert at all times. Anything can happen, and you need to be ready. I learnt how to hate. I never thought I would need to how to hate, but being in an army, you can’t let your emotions control you. I never thought I would be ready, but I overcome my fear of shooting people, and made myself a strong representative of my country. I endured lots of pain and suffering, which also made me a real soldier. We may have lost, but next time, we can only do better. I’ve learnt all these things about how to be a soldier, and now I am ready for the 44th war.

Uno Ramírez

Picture from:http://ocw.mit.edu/NR/rdonlyres/054C2026-0717-43B5-BA8D-7332309CBD98/0/chp_salute.jpg

Uno Ramírez

Uno

Friendly, Hard Working, Young and Kind
Soldier of Revolutionary Army
Lover of his family, Lolo and not being in war
Who needs peace, to escape the army and food
Who feels lonely, talent less and hungry
Who gives guns, drills and hopes to the defeater of the war
Who fears death, loneliness, and Loyalists
Who would like to see no more war, his family and Lolo again
Citizen of the World
Ramírez

Picture from: http://cms.images.morris.com/savannah/mdControlled/cms/2007/01/19/18494221.jpg