In the Middle East and in Africa, thousands of men and women join the army; many

forced into it with the potential of fighting for their country in war. Some soldiers are children,
conscripted into the army through torture and manipulation. Soldiers spend tedious years on the
front gaining negative experiences of death and demise, creating long-lasting trauma. The adults
and children lack an education. Instead of carrying a backpack, they carry guns. The inevitable
mental struggles of the war distress soldiers, causing them to get addicted to dangerous
substances. The physical wounds bruise, bleed, and become infected requiring medical
examination. With so many injuries from thousands of soldiers, each individual consequently
receives a small amount of care. Once the soldiers return home from serving, they cannot forget
the destruction it caused to themselves and to others. Most individuals develop PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder) requiring therapy. These soldiers cannot return to the men, women,
and children they were pre-war because of their experiences. Soldiers do not deserve a corrupted
life after serving. As a result, it should be a requirement for all soldiers to receive education,
substance abuse rehab, proper medical examinations, and therapy.
The traumatic experiences of war elucidate the significance of soldiers receiving
treatments. In the autobiography, ​A Long Way Gone,​ Ishmael Beah describes his experience of
war as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, “Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept
death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body
walking with you” (Beah, 70). Unlike many soldiers in Africa, Beah received drug, therapy, and
medical treatments, which helped cured his trauma. As a result, he reveals the importance of
treatments for soldiers after enduring the war. The novel, ​All Quiet on the Western Front,​
continues to demonstrate the significance of treatment for soldiers post-war. One character
reminisces, “I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death,
fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow”(Remarque, 88). The character does
not recall his life pre-war. Instead, the frightening visualizations of war corrupt him. He
elucidates that war depresses him, representing the hardships of what all soldiers go through. The
soldiers need treatments to heal their souls. Charles Small painted a gruesome fight in Africa,
The Battle of Blood River. He illustrates that the war has put an end to all life. The soldiers
dynamically change from the beginning of the war, to the end of the war. To return to the men,
women, and children they were once before, they need to receive an education and undergo
treatments.
The soldiers do not deserve a life corrupted from an enduring war. Instead, they need
help to return to the individuals they were before. They need education, substance abuse therapy,
medical examinations, and therapy. As a result, soldiers can have a future filled with hope.
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