One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.
Agatha Christie (1890-1976)
This quote summarises everything I read in a shocking Newsweek-article today.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17773294/site/newsweek/
The article is called "The war in the words of the dead" and is part of a series called "Voices of the Fallen" published by Newsweek.
The shocking thing about this article is that it's not about the Iraq-war in general, but about individuals.
The families of those who died in the war work together with Newsweek, allow them to publish letters, e-mails etc.
I only started reading the whole thing, I've only read the introduction, but I found it very touching and moving.
This sad topic also has a language-learning side: Newsweek offers recordings one can listen to and videos one can watch, soldiers talking about life in Iraq.
The series isn't yet finished, more letters and videos will be added, and I think it's really worth a look because it just makes you think. We all have a image in our head, we all think we know what war is like, but the truth is: We don't even have an idea of what it's like, and we really should be glad about that.
I would like to finish with what a soldier said:
"It's a fight of 10 man squads in the dark, of ambushes and snipers and IEDs. When I go out to fight, it's usually with less than 20 men ... And I go out to fight almost every day."
Me-Birgit :)
- Birgit
- Who's that girl? Lalalalalalala :) I am a 19 year old girl from Klagenfurt, Carinthia, but I now live in Graz in order to study Translations and Interpreting at the ITAT. I am a very outgoing person and like to have people around me. I LOVE to talk, which means that my telephone-bills are sky-high, but what shall I do? I love to communicate ;) I would say that I am a very understanding person, I like to listen to what other people say. BUT I'm really capricious, and one should not try to talk to me in the morning. What else? I love to go out, play soccer, go shopping, listen to music... When I'm in Klagenfurt, I spend most of my time with my best friend Steffi. I guess that all you need to know about me :)
2 comments:
You're right, I luckily can't imagine that... However I've got a book tip for you that is exactly about that topic, namely "Das tapfere Schneiderlein" by Janosch. Mostly, ignorant storekeepers sell it as children's book, although it's obviously meant for adults (Yes, dear parents. Not every animated cartoon like the Simpsons is for children and the same is true for picture books!!!).
It's about that little tailor, who gets involved into war and the farther the war goes the less contact has the tailor with the victims that die because of him.
The books illustrates in a shocking way, how colder we get the less we are confronted with the results of our actions. Really recommendable, though not for children (I can't stress that enough).
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