"The Sniper" Short Story Summary

Summary

On a dark June night the Republicans and Free staters were waging Civil war. The Sniper had a face of student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of fanatic.The Sniper was fighting for the Republicans. As soon as the Sniper lit his cigarette a bullet immediately hit the parapet and he knelled down. He saw the flash of bullet coming from the opposite side of the street but could not see anything which helped his enemy undercover. On the same street the Sniper saw an enemy armored car and a women who was giving the Sniper's location to his enemies. The first time the Sniper killed the enemy soldier and second time he killed the women. The enemy sniper shot at him and the Sniper got injured. He used his willpower to bear the pain. The Sniper made a plan to take out the enemy sniper. He pushed the cap and rifle onto the street and the enemy sniper thought that he killed his enemy. The Republican Sniper then lifted his revolver from the parapet and shot the enemy sniper. When he saw his enemy's body on the ground the lust of battle died within him. He felt remorse and cursed the war. As the bullet went pass the sniper head he got frightened and came back to his senses. The sniper looked for his company commander to report but he was curious to know the enemy sniper whom he had killed. He admired him by calling him a good shooter and risked his own life to see the enemy sniper's face. The sniper threw himself toward the corpse to escape the hail of bullets and as he turned his dead body he saw his own brother's face.

About the Author

In the story "The Sniper" the author tries to explain the negative effects of War and Conflict by giving the message that war leads to negative impact on society and on a soldier's life.  The author depicts this message by showing war between Republicans and Staters and how the same soldiers that used to be on the same side were now against each other in the battlefield. Through the character of the Sniper the author depicts remorse, hardships and sacrifices that a soldier has to make while fighting on the battlefield. The author also tries to show us the dramatic Irony of war where people kill other people, sometimes even their loved ones as did the Sniper killed his own brother. In conclusion the author wants to tells that war leads to loss of life, causes negative impacts on society and most importantly affects those soldiers that are fighting in the war.

Child Soldiers

Connections- Ishmael Beah and the 14 year old killer both used firearms and guns to show violence. Ishmael became a child soldier because the army forced them to join war against the rebels and kill them. The 14 year old killer got the skills and the will to kill through the effect of video games and media violence. The assault rate in Sierra Leon during 1990's had been far greater than any of the other countries as mass killings of innocent people were taking place in this war torn country. Studies have found that most of the soldiers are trained to kill as Ismael Beah was trained by army commanders to kill rebels. The military used brutalization to make soldiers embrace violence and discipline and accept it as an essential survival skill. Ishmael Beah was being trained by the military to kill the rebels or they will kill him. They were being exposed to violence for long periods of time as they had completely lost themselves and accepted the war as a part of their life.When kids nowadays see pictures of human death and suffering they make it pleasure and entertainment. Same way Ismael Beah and other war children were so used to violence and drugs that when they killed rebels it became celebration and enjoyment for them. The author tells us  to protect children from toxic, addictive substance, and violent imagery. In the case of Ishmael Beah and other children they were being given drugs by the army which numb their senses and suppress their emotion so that they could not differentiate  what is right or wrong.

Challenges- Why did NGO and child organisations did not act against the use of drugs in fighting the war? Why didn't the other nations invest in  NGO and child organisations when they were trying to help these children? How could the army use such brutal methods and force children to fight rebels? Why was the treatment being done in a war torn country and why were these children not deported to safe place where they could be away from violence?

Concepts-  Key concepts were that war has negative effects on children and certainly on those that are being forced to join the war. Many of these children were  being given drugs and manipulated by the army commanders to kill others. They are mentally disturbed and become subject to violence. These children had very little future and no education unless they were willing to act. War leads to killings of innocent civilians and loss of life. Children lose their parents and siblings and often have to grow as an orphan. It is very hard for those children exposed to war to become a normal human being and many times it leaves a big impact on their lives. Many child organisations are trying to support these war children but it also requires other nations to contribute and invest in NGOs and child organisations so that they can reach out to as many war children as possible.

Changes-  The biggest change happened when Ismael Beah and other war children were being brought to rehabilitation camps. In these camps the children were taught to behave like a normal human being. It takes a lot of hard work since at first most of these war children were mean to the workers, they have had a really hard time to keep these children away from drugs and any addiction. 

It was also very hard for these children since their bodies had  been so conditioned that it craved for 

drugs. It took Ismael Beah 8 months to to change himself. For him the turning point was when a nurse who used to look after him understood his misery and knew what he felt. Her perseverance and understanding nature helped him to change himself and return to a normal life.

A New Level of Refugee Suffering

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/opinion/angelina-jolie-on-the-syrians-and-iraqis-who-cant-go-home.html?_r=0

This article talks about conditions of refugees in Iraq and how their suffering was being witnessed by Angelina Jolie who was there to support those people living as Refugees. Most of the people she witnessed were suffering to get proper food and shelter since half of the Syrian population was already living in the Refugee camps leading to shortage of supplies. Many of the people had lost their loved ones and others were missing or being abducted by ISIS. Some children had both their father and mother killed in the war and had no one to support or look after themselves. Most children were traumatized through their loss and there was poverty all around. The article also focused that the humanitarian aid that was being provided by UN and other nations seemed to be much less than what was required. Many of the children had to leave their education and resources seemed to be inadequate. These people had  no future of going back home and starting a new life. Angelina Jolie focused on defending refugee camps and asking the community to help these people.

My opinion on this article would be that no matter who starts the war, innocents and civilians are always the ones that are dragged and hurt. People do not realize that war brings destruction to mankind and loss of life. It always disrupts the peace and leads towards no solution. As with the war in Syria no one is sure that whether people would be able to go home or would their lives ever be the same after this war. Sometimes war is the only solution when things do not work out with peace. But war also means that nations should offer helping hands to these refugees, after all they are humans too. Why should these innocent people suffer when they haven't done anything? We need to understand the importance of human life and most importantly religion. It is not accurate to say that RELIGION is the cause of war. It is a very easy way of starting war between two communities. Therefore it is up to us to decide whether we want peace through talk or through killing of innocents civilians.

War and Conflict

http://www.warchildholland.org/(Website Link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO_2FvGKEsI(Video Link)

War leads to loss of life, destruction of land and thousands are left without any shelter or food. People have to leave their belongings and travel to another country as a refugee. The war also affects the soldiers by causing mental disturbances and psychological disease because of spending long periods of time in war. They have to stay away from their families and there is no insurance whether all of them would return home back safely. War also causes misery and suffering. It affects education of children since most of the schools are destroyed and this affects their future. People have to start their life from a new start and country's economy gets hurt. In many ways war can be stopped through peace talks in order to prevent the loss of life and prosperity.  The above video shows the ways in which war affects the people of the country and how sometimes it changes their lives.