War brings tragedy

New York : Riverhead Books

2003

Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the ratat-tat-tat of gunfire. “Father!” Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room. We found Ali hobbling frantically across the foyer.

“Father! What’s that sound?” Hassan yelped, his hands outstretched towards Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed, lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by a rapid staccato of fire.

“They’re hunting ducks,” Ali said in a hoarse voice. “They hunt ducks at night, you know. Don’t be afraid.” A siren went off in the distance. Somewhere glass shattered and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, jolted from sleep and probably still in their pajamas, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness. Later, I would tell myself I hadn’t felt envious of Hassan. Not at all.

We stayed huddled that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us have ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generation of Afghan whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. Our way of life. If not quite yet then at least it was the beginning of the end. The end, the official end, would come first in April 1978 with the communist coup d’état, and then in December 1979, when Russian would roll in the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of the still on-going era of bloodletting.

Just before sunrise, Baba’s car peeled into the drive way. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the door way and I saw something on his face. Something I didn’t recognize right away because I’d never seen it before: fear. Amir! Hassan!” he exclaimed as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. “They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn’t work. I was so worried!” We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief insane moment, I was glad about whatever happened that night.

Extract contributed by Crystal Lee, Charlotte Lim, Naomi Shin and Neo Jing Yu

Is war good or bad? Would you rejoice if your country was winning the war?

25 Responses to “War brings tragedy”

Soma Says:
August 5th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
I was hooked to this book. would love to read it again.
Daniel Says:
August 24th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
I feel that this extract truly expresses the reason why war is bad, it captures the essence of what the victims go through.
Xuhua Says:
August 30th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
War is both good and bad. Even though it caused uncountable deaths, it is not downright bad. It allowed the world to see how destructive war is, it showed the devastation of nuclear weapons and lastly it spurs technological advancement. Without war, there wouldn’t be a motivation to develop stronger weapons, and in the process accidentally discovering something else. Yet if there is a war and my country is winning, it is something definately worth rejoicing about. It means that the war would be over soon, and the suffering would soon end. It would also mean that we are safe, however the innocent civilians in the other country may not be. Winning a war would also show how strong my country is, acting as a deterrence to prevent other countries from attacking us, sparking another war.
Lea Yap Says:
October 7th, 2011 at 10:21 am
War is both gd and bad.

I would not rejoice if my country wins war. This means the enemies might want to fight bk as they are angry at having lost the war. War kills many innocent ppl and lives are lost. This can be prevented if leaders make right choices for their ppl and let them have a say.

Whenever I hear of wars happening I feel so miserable. Why must people go against one another? Though I’m just a kid, I feel sad that our world is becoming like that.

But then I feel sometimes it’s gd as ppl can be more united through difficult times like…… WAR.
Aiyi Says:
February 7th, 2012 at 6:39 pm
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of my favourite books. It is a tale of betrayal and redemption that rises above time and place while simultaneously remaining firmly anchored against the tumultuous backdrop of modern Afghanistan. It covers various themes in the book like the resilience of the human spirit, man’s inhumanity to man, the fragile relationship between fathers and sons, loyalty and devotion, as well as the discrimination of Afghan society. It is a very sad book. It describes the difficult lives of people in Afghanistan, especially in modern days, under the Taliban rule. A glimpse is provided into the lives of people whom the Western world marks as enemies, showing that as always, the reality is much more complex than what the press shows. To me at times The Kite Runner is tragic, filled with despair and very sad; at other times, it is uplifting and hopeful. It is definitely a story that touches hearts.
Valen Says:
February 28th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Both sides have lost the moment war is fought. We shouldnt be contending over the victor of a dispute fought at the cost of innocent lives, but instead against the ideology of war and those who act in its favor. If we were winning a war, my rejoice over victory would not be for the battle won, but for casualties spared and a war ended. Nobody wins a in a war, the only victory would be against war.
Bing Xian Says:
August 9th, 2012 at 9:40 am
War has never been a good thing. With the advancement of technology, countries are now in possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction that once released on one another, would lead to mutual destruction, and great loss of human life. Wars are also due to a country’s greed for power and land, as well as to spread their ideology and culture. In the process of a war, many people will be hurt. It affects people in many ways even after the war has ended. Thus, war is a bad thing.
Sonia Says:
August 9th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
As history has time and time proven again to us in the form of world wars I and II and countless other wars, war brings nothing but destruction to human life and is definitely bad. No gain is substantial enough to warrant that war is good. However if I was a citizen in a war-torn country, I could feel glad if my country was winning the war. Going through a war is very exhausting and by the time the war ends, families have been broken up, countless have died and the people just can’t wait for it to end. At this time, the people simply have no energy left to care for the people in the enemy’s country, as they’re just glad that their suffering is about to come to an end. Hence I would be happy if my country was winning the war.
Yue Jun Says:
August 9th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Although at times, war is fought for defensive reasons, most of the time, war is fought or started for control or to rectify an idea upon others, which is bad. Ultimately, war only leads to mass destruction and loss of countless lives, including innocent citizens and disrupts peace and progress in countries. The negative repercussions of war definitely far outweigh the benefits. War is destructive in nature, especially with aid of technology such as nuclear weapons and atomic bombs. This is reflected in records of war in history till thus far. The decade long war in Afghanistan has only resulted in loss of thousands of lives in the process. Fear is instilled in hearts of people there and the people cannot lead peaceful lives, progress of the country is also hindered. Thus, war fought due to selfish aspirations and ambitions of men is bad, only leads to loss of life, grieve, destruction. Although it is only natural to rejoice over winning, during a war, this feeling of rejoice would be built upon the sufferings of others, and a result of a period of unrest and destruction. Thus, I would not rejoice if my country was winning the war.
Jocelyn Says:
August 9th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
What is good or not is subjective. People fight a war not because it would benefit the world, but because it helps them to achieve their personal agenda. What is good to some might be bad to others, like what is medicine to one is poison to another. The motives of those fighting the war might be seen as beneficial to the people by several, but also seen as harmful to the society by others. In this sense, war is both good and bad. It benefits some, harming others.

At the end of the war, no matter who is deemed the winner, there will be many deaths and even more casualties. Even if my country is winning, I will not rejoice, because the consequences suffered leaves a greater impact than whatever gained through the war. Rather, I would be relived if the war ends, as that means prevention of more innocent lives lost.
Hnin Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
War is generally bad. War costs a lot of money and lives. The amount of money spent on resources for weapons and troops is enormous. War often causes countries to become bankrupt, even countries that win or great powers such as Britain. Great Britain’s economy became bankrupt after World War 1, even though they won the war against Germany. In addition to money spent on resources to sustain war effort, many cities were also destroyed in the war. Hence, countries need huge sums of money to rebuild the cities. For example, 90% of Berlin was destroyed during WW1. Furthermore, millions of lives are also lost. Russia won the war too but suffered the most number of casualties. About 4 million people died in total and almost 5 million were wounded. The total number of casualties in World War 1 is 37 million. This shows how many lives, including soldiers as well as innocent civilians, can be claimed during wars. Therefore, war is bad because it causes economy losses and many lives to be claimed.
Some critics argue that some wars may be good. Some wars are fought for economic and territorial gains. Hence, it would be beneficial to the country if it wins the war. However, war is still bad because while fighting for the economic and territorials, lots of money is spent on war effort and many lives are being sacrificed. Thus, war is generally bad because it inevitably causes a lot of damage.
If my country was winning a war, I would rejoice, although I would feel sorrowful at the same time. I would rejoice because losing a war means the country would have to succumb to the winners’ orders. Most often, the losing country would have to pay a very large amount of money as compensation and its land would be taken over by the winners. Hence, I would rejoice if my country was winning because it would be subjected to all these harsh consequences. However, I would feel sorrowful at the same time because many lives were lost during the war. Although my country is winning, lives including those of the enemy and innocent civilians are lost. Hence, I would feel sad for the people who died fighting for their countries and especially women and children who were not involved but killed innocently.
Wong Jun Wei Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Is war good or bad? Would you rejoice if your country was winning the war?

Personally, I would contend that War is certainly bad as it would lead to unjustified and widespread destruction of humankind. With the advancement of technology, weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons and dynamites have been developed and there is no doubt that many innocent lives would be lost if a nuclear war broke out. As seen in the example of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the most dreadful slaughter of civilians in modern history, about 250000 people were dead and many children who were born after the explosion were physically deformed due to the exposure to harmful nuclear radiation when they were still in their mother’s womb. Similarly, in World War 1, dynamite was also used intensively and rampantly to destroy the infrastructures and buildings of the enemy and was the culprit of many innocent deaths during the war. Clearly, it could be seen that once the war starts, both parties were bound to suffer great losses and such full scale use of nuclear weapons of two opposing sides would eventually just lead to a total mutually assured destruction. Since war brought about numerous harmful effects to the human civilization, it is irrational to argue that a war is good.
However, I would definitely rejoice if my country was winning the war. Thought war indeed brought about harmful and devastating impacts on both countries, it is undeniable that one should be glad that his or her country was winning the war as this implies the ending of the war and the sufferings of innocent civilians from both countries. Ultimately, war is indeed bad and one should rejoice if either side was wining as a stop would be put to the evil war.
Joan Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
War is an irony. The purpose of war is to fight for peace and harmony within the land, but instead it has disrupted all the peace and harmony in the country itself. No matter how noble the purpose of war is, it will never be noble enough to warrant war. When one country declares war on the other, it means that all forms of peace talks have failed. Therefore, resorting to violence is the only way to resolve the matter. War leads to broken families, countless casualties and deaths. War weakens the social fabric of any society. It harms the innocent, and leaves the rest of the population feeling fearful, depressed, and helpless. People lose their loved ones, and live their lives in misery and fear. At the end of the day, no matter who wins the war, both sides would suffer the repercussions of war. War is a tragedy and benefits no one.
Ya Rui Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Be it for defensive purposes or not, war is definitely bad. Take a look at WWI and WWII, there were massive destructions. Tension escalates as people lived in fear everyday. Innocent civilians suffered. People lost their families. Both parties incurred massive losses in the economic, social, military aspects, and so on. War brings nothing but countless destructions, so much in exchange for one country’s selfish aim to expand for power. Most of the time, countries that seek for invasion ended with what they had originally. War is seen as a pointless and redundant act that could have been prevented. Since some argued that war can be averted, I definitely hope that my country would not be involved in any wars or crisis. I would be thankful that war has ended, that we will be free from the countless battles and sufferings.
YUJING Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 11:33 pm
War is never a good thing. As proven by history, all that war brings is destruction and death. Although some might argue that war has a purpose, I do not think that it is any reason to kill so many lives, innocent or not. It is an inhumane mistake that we humans have committed over the times. When it comes to war, no matter the aggressor or defender, there will only be losers. I will not be able to rejoice even if my country were winning the war. Although I will feel extremely lucky and grateful that my country is the one that is winning, I am unable to be happy about it because someone will definitely get the shorter end of the stick and have to suffer through the ordeal. If caught in a war, I will be able to empathise with the victims of the other country because we are all faced with the same fear and uncertainty. I cannot rejoice because I was born with a heart.
Jiahui Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Despite certain positive impacts a war can bring to the society , the negative impacts are often far more devastating. If the war is for defensive purposes, it can still be justified. However if the objective of the war is merely to reclaim more territories, I believe that there is no point in starting the war. It would only result in loss of innocent lives from both participating parties. The fatal and violent nature of the war cannot be underestimated. Take world war 1 and 2 for example, millions of lives were lost, both soldiers and citizens alike. It also left many wounded and destroyed the city. Families were broke apart and many have lost their loved ones. The money spent on warfare could have been put to better use by using it to help the poor and needy. I would definitely rejoice if my country is winning the war. Eventually one party has to win the war to put it to a stop. When one party wins, the war would finally come to an end. This would stop the suffering and misery of the people.
Jessica Leow Says:
August 10th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
Just like how the world is not absolutely black or white, war is not an absolute good phenomenon or a bad curse. On the surface, people link war to bloody images, killing and destruction. As war involves fighting and defeating the enemy, soldiers often go all out to kill, resulting in massive killing, soaring number of deaths and tragedies, not just for the front line soldiers, but also for their innocent families. However, one often forgets about the reasons why one goes to war. It is because people seek a change in their lives. It might be due to oppression that people turn to war to go against those that used to control them; it might be due to seeking for a better life and prospects that people go to war. Therefore, in another perspective, war can also signify a hope for the better life. War might spur on new hope for a country, and might even stimulate economic growth. War is just like a mistake made. On the surface, it seems bad. However, it might be turned into a lesson learnt if one reflects upon it and change for the better.
Hence, if my country was winning the war, I would definitely not rejoice. Instead, I would feel relieved. Although I understand that war might bring hope in the end, I still picture the process of fighting in war as merciless and devastating. No doubt my country wins the war, lives are still lost and property damaged. There is no reason why I should rejoice over loss and deaths. However, if my country is winning the war, I would choose to believe that the war is ending and hence feel relieved as I know that new hope is arising.
Khai Qing Says:
August 11th, 2012 at 12:32 am
However justifiable our reasons for war are, it makes no difference to the people whom sons, daughters, friends or loved ones had been killed in war. Wars are often played between the major powers, whether is it the governments or leaders of a country, in which more often than not, to achieve their own personal agenda. Soldiers and civilians must be sacrificed in order to win the war, to protect their own country or rather, to achieve the personal agendas of their leaders – all for the sake and betterment of the country. If any person is killed, he or she will just be labeled under the category of “causalities” and be the mindless face behind statistics, just one of the many other people killed in the war. We may worship war heroes and war leaders, but what of the many others that are killed in the mindless slaughtering and the loss that their families have gone through in the midst of chaos, and of losing their homes and everything they held dear. Would I rejoice if my country was winning the war? Yes, I definitely would. Losing the war would put our lives in the hands of our enemies, where more blood will be shed as they take revenge for the lives loss on their side. The consequences may prove much worse. It would also mean that the war is ending and the mindless slaughtering of innocent lives under the name of war is coming to an end, but the pain of loss for those killed will dim even as we seek to rebuild our lives.
Mindy Says:
August 11th, 2012 at 12:43 am
There are quite a few reasons why war is bad. The most apparent reason is that war brings a stop to everybody’s normal way of life. Lives are lost and families are broken. The second reason is that sides that start the war often do not achieve their ultimate aims of starting the war. While these aims may, at times, outweigh the importance of the peace in the country, arguably, these aims are rarely successfully achieved. This can be derived from the Second World War, the most widespread war till this day. On the Asian side of the war, Japan was looking for rapid expansion through the military to find supplies for their fast-diminishing natural resources. However, at the end of the Second World War, not only had Japan not secured a steady supply of resources, their land was also left in great destruction that they had not expected. Since wars are so ineffective and capable of so much destruction, they are obviously bad to a certain extent.
However, it can be argued that countries who start wars do sometimes win wars and that the benefits that come with the victory are very great. As there are always two sides, advantages and disadvantages, to everything, I believe that the decision of whether to start a war and whether the “good” side of it outweighs the “bad” side can only be decided by the people of the country itself and that no third party can be involved.
Rather similarly, if my country was winning the war, whether or not I would rejoice would depend on whether the benefits that come with the victory outweigh the magnitude of destruction dealt unto my own country and the country being attacked.
TanChuan Says:
August 12th, 2012 at 9:30 pm
War is bad. Throughout history, war has been used as a means for expansionist to expand their control, used as a means to punish those who had wronged others, and in the ancient times, used as a means to resolve conflicts between one tribe and the other. Although war is sometimes good, and can bring about positive changes and freedom, such as the Arab Springs uprisings which brought about many democratic reforms in many different Middle East countries, the underlying negative impacts far outweigh the positive changes that war may bring. War brings a country’s economic development to a standstill, threatens and destroys the lives of many citizens. When there is a war, a country’s funds and manpower are all used for the war. Everyone becomes concentrated on the war, and this impedes economic development because the government and the people are so concentrated on the war, which has become their first priority, that they have to neglect the economic development to concentrate on the war.
However, war does bring certain democratic reforms which are beneficial to a country’s progress. This occurs when there is an authoritarian regime, such as those in the Middle East(Afghanistan, Syria) and suppresses freedom of speech and human rights. As a result, people revolt against such regimes, like in Tunisia and Libya where both their dictators has been ousted from their seat of power. As a result, democratic reforms are in the way, and the countries now have elections for government, suggesting the democratic progress the country has made since their revolution.
Yet, war is the perfect epitome of a human’s greed for expansion, a desire for power, and a human’s extremist viewpoints. Throughout history, we can see how war has brought about death and destruction, for example the Holocaust which killed many millions of Jews, the expansionist movements of the Ottoman Empire which disrupted the lives of those living in the city of Constantinople, and forced them to evacuate their homes. War causes death and destruction, and disrupts the way of life of many citizens within a country. The immense number of casualties that war brings about speaks about the extent of how bad it is. Lives lost cannot be regained, so even if war does bring positive reforms to a country, how are we going to do those who lost their lives in war justice?
Mankind must put an end to war, or war itself will put an end to mankind.
Emily Says:
August 15th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Although some may say that war is a good thing because it stimulates the economy, the impacts and consequences it brings along are irreversible. It causes innocent lives to be lost and families to break apart. People witness their friends and family members losing their lives in war and many soldiers who leave home never returned. Lives lost can never be returned. War destroys peace. The damage is being made to buildings and infrastructures, destroying the efforts and success of many. In my point of view, war is bad. Countries broke out into a war due to several reasons. One example would be to obtain more resources that are readily available in other countries. However, declaring a war is like starting a fight. It is hard to stop once started, even if one starts to regret. People lose their humanity after getting into a war. Enemies kill each other showing no signs of sympathy. Many soldiers are forced to kill innocent civilians and destroy the grounds of the enemy although they may not want to do it. Even if my country was winning the war, a war that broke out, already meant that there were thousands or perhaps millions of lives lost. The only thing that I would rejoice after winning the war is that it is finally over and there would be no more destruction and innocent lives lost.
Jingheng Says:
August 15th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
War, to me is an uncivilized manner to settle conflicts and a very cowardly way of doing things.

Firstly, it is uncivilized and ridiculous to go to war given the extent of development, as we know that it definitely does not help to sacrifice life after life just for your personal gains. War brings nothing but tragedy and tragedy all over again. Given the number of lives lost during a war, imagine how much these people could contribute to our society in terms of development and many aspects and they could play a part in building a better world for us. But when war exists, our development slows down and we harm not only people, but also the environment. The Earth that houses all 7billion of us is at risk with the amount of air pollution caused when we go to war.

And why do I say that it is a cowardly act? Have you ever wondered who are usually the ones starting the war? And who are usually the ones going to war? The people who start the war and want the war to happen send people to fight for them and sometimes for plain ridiculous reasons. These masterminds hide behind the scene and watch the war go on and watch people die while they are a safe distance away. Is it fair to those people who sacrifice their lives? Definitely not.

Therefore, war is undesirable and it should be avoided at all costs. If humans fight among each other, then who will benefit? I suppose ultimately, only that one mastermind behind it will. My stand towards war is to never let it happen again as it will bring about tragedy and pain.
BN Huang Says:
August 19th, 2012 at 1:59 am
Prussian military strategist once defined war as “a continuation of politics” which still holds true today. In every war, there would be tragedies in which humans display inhuman cruelty towards others for no sensible reason—like what the Germans did to the Jews in the Holocaust. However, examining the consequences of war on our world in general, one cannot help but conclude that sometimes, wars are capable of propelling the society forward more quickly than what it would be like in peaceful times. War is an expensive lesson from which humans learn more than from they do from peace, but at a much higher cost nevertheless. It was the brutality of the First World War that gave rise to the concept of self-determination and collective security, which then displaced the old mindset of balance of power to shape our current global geopolitical landscape. Without wars, humans would have taken a longer time to reach such a stage. If not for the American Civil War, the Black slaves would have to remain as sub-humans for a much longer time before their equal status could be recognized by the White people. Tragedies of individuals or a large number of individuals are indeed lamentable, but such occurrence is inevitable whenever a war is fought. It is possible that the current pain of war could bring bliss for generations in the future. In the event that my country is winning the war, my energy would be spent more on what is going to happen after the war, than on creating an emotion to respond to the current events.
Ming Yu Says:
August 20th, 2012 at 2:14 am
When we look at the effects of war on the human population, war is both good and bad. During times of war, there is a severe negative impact on the human population. Many able bodied people are send off to fight, breaking apart the family unit and causes great distress upon those left behind for fear of the lives of their loved ones. During a war, resources are depleted very quickly due to a greater number of fighters and a decreasing number of farmers. This again causes people to face the problem of food shortages. However, war causes technology to improve at great rates. It is due to the development of the computer during war time for calculation purposes that we currently get to enjoy the use of the computers that we have now. Thus war is both good and bad. If my country was winning the war, I would rejoice for my country because it indicates that the end to fighting in near. I would prefer that the war does not drag on for longer than it need to so that more lives will be saved.
Jenifer Says:
December 3rd, 2012 at 1:15 am
Is war is good or bad. its good and bad because you lose but you also gain from it. you lose love ones but you always know that they died fighting for what they love best. Would I ever rejoice if my country was winning the war . no i would not because to be winning the war means that we have taken and lost lives of everyone that loves their country so much they fight for it. the truth is do we really need war? all war causes is sadness and pain to everyone. for me its hard because ive been out there with the men and women who fight for their country and nobody really understands how hard it is out there for them. the truth is that when your out there alone at a base with commrades everyone becomes a big family. sure theres some you like some you cant stand to be around, but all in all when one of them gets hurt or shot you feel like you have lost brother or sister that you have none all your life. but everyday you have to push those feelings to the side and stand strong but not everyone can do that they all have those moment when you break down and cant take it anymore. for others they force to keep it locked up and when they finaly come home they lose it. but all of that suffering out there always stays in their mind no matter what they try or do. and thats all im gonna say