The Tragedy of Wars
The commencement of a war can happen unexpectedly anywhere around the world. A person can wake up one morning to start their day by going to work or taking their kids to school then suddenly on the news they hear a war has started. It may have started in their country, in another country or their country helping their allies in a war. A country going into war results to negative consequences that effects the nation on multiple aspects. After the war has ended, post war effects can result into short-term or long-term damages within a country and its people.
Soldiers and veterans who have fought on the battlefield suffer long-term effects that need to be cared
for due to physical and psychological impacts of war. Veterans who have served in combat are most
likely to develop PTSD which is post-traumatic stress disorder that have experienced life-threatening
events. From the war in Vietnam, 84.8 percent of veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD thirty years
after combat. From the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, 20 percent of veterans are currently diagnosed with
PTSD. Due to PTSD, soldiers and veterans have a trouble time maintaining healthy relationships with
their loved ones. Health conditions may develop post war such as musculoskeletal injuries and pain, heart conditions due to chemical exposure, infectious diseases, traumatic brain injury due to a hit to the head and hearing impairment due to harmful noises. Veterans develop addictions to alcohol and drugs as
coping mechanisms.
Not only do veterans have to seek medical attention post war but they have to struggle to seek
employment and avoid to be homeless. When seeking for employment, the military career and training
are overlooked by hiring workplaces putting veterans in jeopardy on being hired. Without an income,
veterans are left homeless not able to afford a home. According to the National Coalition for Homeless
Veterans, in the U.S 11 percent of the adult homeless population are veterans.
A nation's economy is at great stake during and post war due to the amount of money invested into the
military and war. War causes inflation in prices for people to help pay for the war that results to them
losing their savings. National debt usually occurs since a country will borrow money from different
countries to help pay for the military and its weapons. Also, the overall cost of war includes
reconstruction costs post war, the cost of human lives lost and military spending. For example, the UK
struggled after World War I with a long period of unemployment and returning soldiers had trouble
finding employment.
Children in countries of armed conflicts face life-threatening challenges every day in order to survive.
Today, millions of children in war zones have to face violence, exploitation, physical harm and death that
forces them to flee their country. Some flee with their parents and some are forced to flee alone since their parents and family have died in an attack. The land these children once knew are taken over by armed groups that have destroyed their homes, schools and playgrounds. It no longer provides a safe and secure environment for children to be protected in. Their rights to be protected from violence are completely violated that results these innocent children to fend for themselves.
To protect innocent people and a nation's economy, war should not be started due to disagreements
and differences. Leaders and their governments have the right to meet to figure out a solution to their
disagreements and stand together to represent their country. War can definitely be avoided since conflict
does not always need to be resolved with violence. If leaders come together, it can reduce the amount of
innocent lives lost and prevent a nation from going into economic debt.
References
• “Background & Statistics.” National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, nchv.org/index.php/news/media/background_and_statistics/.
• “Conflict Causes and Consequences of War.” UNA-ORLANDO, Weebly, www.una-orlando.org/conflict-causes-and-consequences-of-war.html.
• Glover, Lacie. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Statistics for Veterans.” NerdWallet, 7 Aug. 2017, www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/ptsd-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-statistics-veterans/.
• Pettinger, Tejvan. “Economic Impact of War.” Economics Help, 31 Mar. 2017, www.economicshelp.org/blog/2180/economics/economic-impact-of-war/.
• Romenzi, Alessio. “Effects of War on Children.” War Child, 1 Oct. 2015, www.warchildholland.org/effects-war-children.
• Salamon, Maureen. “After the Battle: 7 Health Problems Facing Veterans.” Live Science, 11 Nov. 2010, www.livescience.com/8916-battle-7-health-problems-facing-veterans.html.
