Recognize Us - Tumblr Posts

One moment of my life that I will never forget was in my freshman year world history class. I went to a private school in America and was surrounded by kids from rich families who had been living in America for generations.

We had just finished a unit on the foundations of a guerrilla war and my teacher was taking questions. A girl in the back of my class raised her hand and stood to ask. She asked “do wars still happen?”

She asked this question in all seriousness, not a drop of humor in her tone.

And I froze.

A week before this, my home country had fallen into terrible war. Fathers and sons fought alongside each other, mothers buried their sons, gone too soon. The gangs in the streets had put aside their crime to fight for their country, their home because damn it all if we were going to let it be taken. 9 year olds carrying guns and wearing military uniforms every size too large because it was put upon them to protect their village. We all pleaded and begged for the media to recognize us and help us, to save us from the slaughter we faced. The media turned a blind eye and the humanitarians that decide which lives matter and which don’t had decided we weren’t relevant enough to be cared about. Unspeakable crimes against my people fought against by a nation that loves their country like no other. My people lost their lives to protect the future of those who’d come after them and keep the legacy of all who’d come before

And the child of America wonders if wars still happen.