Effects of War on Health

Growing up as a kid I had a profitable life in my hometown in Liberia. I had every thing a boy could ever want. Things were going fine. My mom and father were together.

The day I will never forget in my life was when the war started in Liberia. At that time I was about five or six years old. One day my friends and I were playing in front of our house. My mom went to work and my dad wasn’t in the house; it was just my friends and I. That was the first time I heard gun sounds. When we heard the gun sounds, we didn’t know what to do. When we heard the gun sounds, my friends and I ran into the house.

We waited thinking that maybe it would stop, but it didn’t. When my mom and dad heard, they came running home. I asked my dad, “What is going on father?” He told me, “There is no time to talk now son.” The gun sounds were coming close to our house. My mom took my hand. With my little brother and little sisters, we left the house, leaving all our things in the house. My dad wanted to get all his things out of the house, so we left him there. Since that day, I haven’t seen my dad. I don’t know if he’s still alive or if he’s dead. I just hope to see him one day wherever he’s at. Losing my father and fleeing my home because of war have affected my life in profound ways.

War affects people in many different ways. Because of war I haven’t seen my father since I was five. War can make you lose the one you love the most. During the war in my country, I saw people get injured; people’s hands were cut off and more. The things the government did to people brings tears to my eyes. The things I saw bring pain to my heart every time I think of it. Killing of people who don’t know about the government. Women and children.  War made children lose their hands and legs. Some children cannot do what their friends do because of the war and what happened to them during the war.

All the things I saw make me look at the world differently. Every time I see a gun or hear about war in another country, I ask myself will war ever end.  I know people that are mentally ill because of the war in my country. War affects people’s health. It can affect the way you think about things. It can make you see things differently. It can make you lose the people you love. I don’t think there is anything that we can do to stop the war. All we can do is pray and hope that one day it will stop.

In my uncle’s case, he cannot walk the way he used to before. During the war he got shot and that affects his health. Sometimes he has nightmares about it. What happened to him and what he saw during the war makes him think and do things differently. He doesn’t do things like he used to. He doesn’t play with his kids like he used to. He doesn’t work like he used to. The war makes him homeless; he has no home.

In my case, all of the things I saw make me keep my mouth shut. I don’t talk as much as I used to. The things I saw make my thoughts confusing. Sometimes I wish that I did not see the stuff I saw during the war. I try talking to people to forget about it,a but the more I talk about it the more it makes me sick and I cry inside. Nobody knows how much it hurt me because I smile everyday. But inside, when I think about all that I saw, it just makes me want to kill myself. But with my mom, brothers, and sisters on my side and playing the sport I love and dream of playing my whole life keeps me going through life everyday.