I wake up in the morning at quarter to four just hours before a top secret mission destination unknown. I suit up in my flight gear. I tighten the laces on my boots. I eat a quick breakfast, drink my coffee, and out the door I go. After the briefing at the command center, I head out to the flight line along with my co pilot and initiate the starting sequence on my Apache Helicopter. The air turbine engines fire up. The fuselage begins to shudder, and the rotor blades begin to turn. I increase the rpm and we lift off in flight. I think to myself just another day of killing terrorists. I wonder how many I can kill today? My copilot and I scan the Northeast sector of Blue town from above and spot 3 terrorists trading weapons in a field. We are hovering over a small village just out of site from the terrorists. I think to myself these guys are toast and they don’t even know its coming. The apache helicopter has a kill radius of 2 miles. They never see or hear it coming.
As certain death waits for the terrorists my copilot calls the command center. We report our situation and patiently wait for the frag order. Command gives the order. “Shoot to kill.” It’s easy my co pilot sets the range, aligns the crosshairs with the target, and squeezes the trigger. No more terrorists. Nothing but grease marks left on the ground. It’s almost like a video game. We kill terrorists on a daily basis. They seem to never go away. They keep multiplying. At times I wonder what becomes of the civilians that get killed in the crossfire. I’m sure there families are not happy. They may even become enemies. They may turn to terrorism. I can only imagine what it must be like for those people who live in fear every day with bombs going off, and their loved ones dying. It must be really horrible. But it’s really not that bad for me I’m not the one with crosshairs pointed at me. I just know it’s my job and ill wake up tomorrow and do it again.
Oh and we take videos just to prove we can kill terrorists really really well. Check out the video attached. It’s kind of graphic but it shows how calm and cool the pilots are about killing and how it’s almost like a videogame.
By Jason Siska
16 comments:
I live in a small town, it would be nice, but my family and I are surrounded by constant gun shots and bombs going off.I watch my neighbors die in the middle of the street because they were at the wrong places at the wrong time. I pray that my family will not be in the wrong place. It has been total chaos since this war started.We all live in fear because innocent civilians are getting killed. There is no way out of this hell on earth, only to get stronger and smarter.We must survive because if we do not there would be nothing left of our town,our history, and our families. Unfortunatly, this morning I woke up as normal, I walked outside down the road in order to get fresh water(which is very scarce nowadays). There was something in the air, I do not know what it was, but it made you fear what the day was going to bring. Sure enough as I was walking back to my house there it was, a military helicoptor. I pray this is not going to be that day. The helicoptor dropped a bomb, fortunatly it was at the end of town, just missed my family. But unfortunatly the bomb did kill many people in my community. When is it going to stop? When will my family and I be able to live without fear?
Most of my days are very similar to each other througout the week. I start my day off by waking up trying to figure out the best possible way to avoid all the bombs and gunfire that occur near my town on a daily basis. Every day is a struggle to survive and it takes an extremely harsh mental and emotional toll on not only myself but my family and friends as well. Watching close relatives and friends die on a daily basis will do that to a person. I walk around town fearing the sound of that airplane or helicopter which is responsible for most of the deaths and bombings that occur. Living in total fear is like not living at all because I am not able to enjoy the things that I used to anymore. Nowadays its all about avoiding conflict, being lucky and trying to avoid being at the wrong place at the wrong time. My only wish now is for all of this warfare to stop and to return to the lives that we used to have and enjoy. Living in a World with such anger and violence makes me think about the past and how I took what I had for granted. If I survive this violence I now know not to take anything in the future for granted and I will try to enjoy my life to the fullest. Hopefully I will be fortunate enough to get to that point again.
It didn't start off like this. The Americans came and everything changed. They talk of "fundamentalists" and "September 11", these things I do not understand. I understand a war that has no purpose. Yes, Saddaam is gone and in many ways that is good, but many of our citizens are gone too. So many buildings and precious artifacts destroyed. Some of our history, many of our families -- abolished. This angers me. I want the U.S. out. I want them out. I had nothing to do with 9/11, nor did my close friend killed in a bombing last week. Americans say that terrorists are evil and full of hate, but Americans are full of hate as well. They kill 10 innocent civilians to get one terrorist and consider us all the same because we are Muslim. Today I say no more, and I join the cause to get the occupiers out. I am on a mission to plant a roadside bomb. To some I might be a "terrorist" and to others a "patriot." Only perspective can tell.
My eyes are red from lack of sleep. I can't even remember what a good nights sleep feels like. I glance out my window. It looks like I'll be walking to work today because the army has blocked off the roads. I was sure I wasn't dreaming when I heard that blast last night. Its easier to walk these days anyways. The check points always make me late for work and I have had to just leave my car before. I cant believe how much Baghdad has changed in ten years. It used to be a bustling city in its prime, and now the roads are lined with blast walls. I leave the house and about half way to work a blast goes off. It was another car bomb. The man walking next to me didn't even flinch. I ducked and continued on my way. I am no longer phased. My emotions have become numb to war. Last week my sister told me about a neighbor of ours. I felt a second of anguish and then went inside to continue my cleaning. What else can I do? How many tears can I really cry? How much can I really hate? Who do I hate? What can I hate? I hate death. I hate that nations and religions can't find equilibrium. I hate the bombs. I hate the blast walls. I hate the hummers. I hate the check points. I hate the starving community. I can hate all I want but isn't that how this started. I just keep moving on because what else do I have control of, well except my hate.*****written by Autumn
Lord please deliver me. Sweat. Muhammed, Muhammed. Let's go play. Pass. Shoot.
This is right.
You shall be greatly rewarded reward gift prize God's grace grace of God.
Heavy vest represents righteousness the Lord's sword Give me strength Lord I am your humble servant buy me a ticket at your side tonight
Smothering dust devout chants infidels on way home divine home.
I breathe it in sun at zenith not a shadow unshaded gleam of riveted aluminum top God's work dust to dust Lord please accept my accomplishments for you Lord I love you Lord
And there was no thought but a blank stare on a windowed wall obstructed by the seat and the people occupying it. A bearded man with defeated eyes staring ahead. A woman devout. There was no thought, but there was a thin film of sweat on his face and neck with legs bent in the aisle facing them. No thought, inquiring mind respiration, inspiration done Nike did
I live in constant fear...Do you know what it feels like leaving your home everyday not knowing if you are ever coming back? Do you know what it feels like each time to kiss your loved ones not knowing if you'll ever see them again? Do you know what it feels like seeing your neighbor's kids crying because their house just got destroyed? I hope you will never find out the way I was forced to...
It wasn't always like this. My small town was once a peaceful place like yours. I almost remember what it is like to have a childhood. My sister and I used to have the same dolls. Mine had a pink dress and her doll always had a yellow one.Everday we'd play with them until my father came home from work. However, everything changed the day my world fell apart.
I remember that day so clearly as if it really was yesterday morning. My sister were playing with our dolls outside, enjoying the warmth of the last day of the summer. Because we live so close to the airport, it was normal to see planes flying low all the time. So we didn't think of it much when we heard several planes fly right over our heads. What happened next is hard to explain in words. I didn't even realize we were hit by a bomb until after I heard the explosion. I must have been knocked out for a while because when I finally opened my eyes there was fire and people screaming everywhere around me. I just lay there for a good part of time trying to comprehend what happened. It wasn't until later I found my sister ten feet away from me. Unfortunately, she was not lucky as me.
I don't know or understand why we are at war. What I can see around me is parents loosing their children everyday. Something tells me that whatever the cause of this war is, it's not worth those parents' tears over their children. I pray every night...I pray hard for this to stop.
Some people fear heights. Others fear the dark. If only those were my biggest fears. Every night I fear that I won't wake up in the morning. When I do wake up I fear that I won't make it through my day alive.Its hard to rise from my bed everyday,not knowing what to expect and knowing exactly what to expect all at the same time. The only sounds I hear are bombs exploding and shots being fired.What do I have to look forward to? Why should I rise from my bed today and live in fear? I have no family. My fears became their reality. I am empty and I fear that I will always feel this way.I find myself constantly wondering...when will I be able to go to work without having to go through dozens of check-points? When will it be safe for me to walk around the village I call home? When will I enjoy living again? I know I am not alone. The people of my community go through very similar srtuggles. Yet I still feel alone. Alone in a place full of uncertainity, dispair and most of all fears.
I awoke this morning to the sound of an explosion the next next block up from my house. The moments after an explosion are always the worst part of violence: the cries of the mourners. My neighbor's daughter was killed in the explosion. A suicide bomber walked into our neighborhood market and killed 10 people. I knew most of them. My mother was supposed to go to the market this morning and thank Allah, she decided to stay home. The next time we may not be as lucky. We are tired of war and tired of death. When the U.S. came to this country many believed that perhaps this would be the turning point for us; our lives would improve. We were wrong. We have traded one terrorist group for another. Because the United States has become a terrorist group killing more of our people than the Taliban. Many of us want the U.S. to leave because they have made our situations worse. There is still starvation, there is still death. When will we live in peace? When will we finally be free to enjoy life?
Everyday I wake up and question the fact that God would be so cruel to send the end of days to his beloved nation. What sins have we committed that he would remove his mercy from us and condone us to destruction. Have we committed the same sins as the people during that time of Noah and the ark.
I wake believing that today can not be any worse than yesterday, but as soon i complete the thought another bombing goes off and i realize that today might be worse than yesterday. i dread going outside with fear of finding another dead body outside my front gate or a car burning just down the street from the church, leaving us with no place to seek serenity. i pray to God everyday hoping to see change before this becomes the destruction of all mankind. how this began is beyond my comprehension.
On September 12 I heard the news that America had been attach by terrorist and many people have been killed. These individuals who believe they were doing God’s work were linked to us and now we are paying for their cruelty against humankind with the same fate they gave the people of the world trade center and the pentagon. the fact that we are all perceived as having the same feeling towards America as those of the terrorist really kills me inside.
Every night i wake up hoping that the next morning i wont wake to the sound of machine guns or a car bombing, but instead to the sound of children playing outside and adults laughing and talking.
The suns going down and night is approaching. I fear whats going to happen tonight because every nights a mystery. I know that their targeting terrorist but they live right next door. Im afraid they're gonna mistake me for one of them and kill me at my front door. I lay under my covers in the dark with my eyes wide open, listening to the sounds of the bombs in the distance. I listen harder and it seems as if there getting closer. I hold my husband close and pray i will make it through another night. I fear for my kids in the next room and i walk over to go check on them. Their awake scared in the corner because of the harsh sounds. It makes me sad to see them scared but i cant show fear. I hold them close while my eyes fill up with tears. I hate always having to live my life in fear. This is something i just cant bare. I cant wait for all this madness to be over. I lay in bed with my kids and try to fall asleep, hoping that I wont end up another name in the morning obituaries. My eyes open to the morning sun and i hear my kids playing. A big sigh of relief, I made it through another war and terror night.
The sounds of rapid gunfire used to wake me in the middle of the night. I can still hear my neighbor’s young daughter crying and calling out for her mother as she was awakened by this endless nightmare. We did not ask to live in fear. We certainly did not wish for militaries to react out of fear, hoping to end terror, and merely perpetuate it. The apache helicopters fly overhead on a regular basis, searching for “terrorists.” I can no longer hear my neighbor’s daughter crying in the night. No longer can her mother see her smiling face as she dreams of a bright future once the war is over. She is now a casualty, like so many others. She was walking through the center of the village with her grandmother as the explosion of a nearby building easily ripped through her small frame.
Everyone around me is someone’s child- some are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, and wives. Yet they are ripped away from their homes everyday. Some by the blast of a bomb bringing the terror into the home, others leave everyday to try and fight back against the terror, however, it only seems to escalate more. The pilots do not mourn those that are killed, they merely throw bombs. It is just a job to them, the complications of life and death are only witnessed from the ground, from the graves of so many in the remnants of school buildings, doctor’s offices, and houses.
I sat on the old tire swing, just waiting. It was almost 10 o’clock at night and I didn’t know why dad wasn’t home yet. Dad and I never got to finish our game the other day and I really wanted to show him that I could beat him. After the game, we were supposed to have dinner together and celebrate. I just wanted today to be the perfect day…I only turn 18 once.
It’s been hard this past year with mom getting sick and all. Once she died, dad had to start staying longer at work and I had to start doing more house chores. I mean, we don’t have the nicest place to live but it’s better than nothing. This town is practically falling apart with the war and everything so we’re lucky to have a roof over our heads.
The sky suddenly lit up in the distance. The light didn’t look like the typical lightning I’ve seen these past couple of months. There was something different about it. Maybe it wasn’t lightning… could it be something else? The only sounds I heard came from the crickets outside.
It finally got too late I couldn’t wait any longer for him. I guess this was going to be another night of being home alone.
Dad never came home. I woke up the next morning to find his food still sitting on the table, waiting for him. I fear the worst has happened to him, but I still set a plate for him, just incase he does someday come home.
Posted by: Natalia Minkin
I woke up again last night because of the bombings outside. I held my child close to my chest, covering their ears. "What's wrong, mommy?" I respond quietly, "Nothing dear, go back to sleep." I lost my husband two years ago and my life will forever be an unending game of torture in one way or another. The only hope I have is for my son. I bite my lip so I don't sob and wake him up again. This pain built up inside of me causes this feeling of a bomb within myself. I should just explode like the bombs outside my home. I don't want to leave my bed, nor do I want my son to. However, this is an unrealistic and unhealthy answer. I get a flow of sensation every time I venture out to the market or for other supplies for the home. I fear of not coming back or not having anything to come home to once I leave. But there is no way out of here, I'm trapped and doomed to live this life. But my son is getting older and I would be proud for him to defend our home and what we believe in.
I woke up this morning to the very familiar sounds of bombs exploding in the distance. As the seconds went by the sound of the bombs grew closer and closer. For my husband this was just another day out in the field. As for me.... I tried to stay calm to keep from frieghtening the children. Although they are too young to understand the severity of the situation I try to inform them of what is going on. Having to answer the question "where is daddy?" everyday is one of the hardest things to have to deal with. Not knowing when or if my husband will return is a devastating thought. I nervously get out of bed and make my way downstairs quietly to stop from waking the children. Afraid to even look out the window I stand and think to myself, " I hope no one ever has to live with this fear that my community, my family and myself have to live with everyday." Knowing the horrible things I'm about to see, I take a few more steps forward and pull back the curtains. I felt as if I were in a video game, watching buildings and people drop to the floor one by one. Some peoples worst nightmares were my reality.
I walk around and it's just another ordinary day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the bombs are dropping. I see the people around me dropping off one by one and i can't help but to wonder if I am next. The constant day to day fear is taking over my life. Everytime I hear the sound of the fighter planes I think that the time has come. At the sound of every jet engine I wonder if that will be the last thing that I ever hear. It seems my only option is to join the fight. I fear for my life either way. It seems now when I describe my life the only word that I can think of is fear. Fear of fighting, fear of death, fear of the unknown the list goes on. When will it end? When will the fear go away? Will I ever know?
In stories, heroism always seems too easy - do the right thing, follow the voice in your heart, stay true to your beliefs. What about when your beliefs just aren't celebrated by the rest of the world? Can one still be a hero then? In my own mind, what I am doing is just and right - I know not all people think this, though, and it makes me hesitate, just a little.
Regardless, I am a champion of righteousness. Some call me ugly names - murderer, terrorist, coward... It doesn't matter what others call me - my faith, my heart, my brothers guide me all in the same, true direction. I have a mission to carry out, and I need to complete it for the sake of my people, my god, and my honor.
Ignore the people. Ignore the panic-stricken eyes, perspiring skin, the stench of fear surrounding them, surrounding me. I've long forgotten my drenched clothing clinging to my clammy flesh, and all I know and feel is the heat of my gun. This realm is filled with hatred, fear, and violence. This is reality - I know. But amid this rotting world, there can still be valor, and I will be that burning light in the darkness. I will prevail.
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