The Forty Third War: Journal 3

This morning I woke up very early, not many soldiers were awake yet. I started to roll my blankets, when I saw the captain wondering around the camp. He looked very concerned. Although I knew that a soldier was not allowed to speak to a captain directly, I dared to ask if we will ever win this war. He thought for some time and then replied, "We might win the war one day or another." I could see that six soldiers were digging two holes in the ground. I knew that they were the grave for the two who had died during the raid last night. The Sergeant asked us to pray for the soldiers. As the soldiers started throwing dirt on the bodies, I felt the dead soldiers deserved more than that. It was not how we buried our deads in the village. I thought about coffins and proper rituals.

After the ceremony, we were told to clean our rifles. The Sergeant showed us the proper way of dismantling the rifle to clean it. We were then given lunch, which was again tortillas, beans, and coffee. After we ate, the captain ordered us to divide into two teams. One team was lead by the Sergeant, and the other in which Roberto, Carlos, and I were in was lead by the captain himself. We hiked a hill for about two hours. While we hiked, the captain had us do many drills. We were practicing all of the sign languages, the shooting positions, and how to sneak and shoot. I wandered why we were doing all this. I also thought if we were going to start a battle soon. We hurried back to the camp, because it was getting dark. At the camp, we were given the same dinner. We were then ordered to get our blankets and ordered to sleep.

The Forty Third War: Journal 2

This morning I woke up thinking about my sister, Alicia. She was very talkative before and knew how to keep a conversation going. These days she doesn't talk as much. She stopped talking after the loyalists took her in their trucks and did something to her. I wonder what they did to make her so quiet. After I put my cover and blanket back to the tent, I started to clean my rifle. Some moment later everyone woke up, and then we were told to gather near the tent with the HQ (Headquarter) sign posted on it. The Sergeant taught us how to load and unload the AK-47. When the training started, it was very hard to load the rifle, but after a few tries I was comfortable doing it. After everyone got the hang of it, the Sergeant made us do the same drill blindfolded. I had no clue what I was doing, so I got slapped by the Sergeant. After many tries, I knew how to load my weapon without any difficulties blindfolded. We were given a ten minutes before we started practicing the shooting positions on our weapons. We did not fire because the army did not have enough ammunition for the AK-47. We were then given lunch, which was the same - tortillas, beans, and a cup of coffee. After we ate, we were ordered to meet at the HQ again. The captain was talking when we heard a sound from the horizon, approaching the camp. The captain quickly notified us that this was a helicopter raid, and we needed to take cover. Roberto, Carlos and I quickly ran towards a rocky place, covered by trees and then hid there. The helicopter started firing every where for ten minutes, then flew away.

Some soldiers told us that two people had died and five were wounded. Rest of the day we spent cleaning the camp. Dinner was the same as lunch. We were ordered to practice what we had learned during the day. I kept on thinking about the helicopter raid and dead people before falling asleep.

The Forty Third War: Journal 1

After hours of driving, we arrived at the camp tired and thirsty. The soldiers in the truck pushed us out of the truck very roughly. My friend, Carlos, my cousin, Roberto, and I were the new recruits. We were pushed near a tent, where a bundle of clothes was kept. Sergeant Juan shouted at us to wear the clothes that were on the ground. We took the clothes. We all were given a pair of brown pants, and a green shirt. Carlos seemed happy, because he always wanted new clothes. Then we were taught many maneuvers, including hand signals used by the guerrilla army during battles . I was not sure of what was going on, but slowly I started to understand the commands. We had a half hour break and then the captain come and told us that it was time for lunch. When the food was being served, Carlos and I tried to run for it, but instantly the captain hit us with his rifle. We understood that we had to wait for the captain's orders before eating. We were served beans, and tortillas with a cup of coffee. Roberto, Carlos, and I sat under a tree and started to eat. As we were eating many other soldiers came near us too. I was scared first, and then asked a soldier named Jose, what was going on. He said that the revolutionaries didn't have enough army people, so they were recruiting every man they could find.

After we ate, we were assigned an AK-47 each. We were given instructions on how to handle the weapon for the whole day. It was uncomfortable at first, but then I statred to enjoy it. We were given dinner around nine. We were given the same food as we had eaten for lunch. After dinner, we were ordered to get blankets and covers from a tent, and we were ordered to sleep.

The Forty Third War: Intro

My name is Antonio Sanchez, and I am twelve. I come from a small town in Central America, and I load bananas onto ships to earn money. I have only gone to school for two years, because I had to work, and help my parents as we didn't have enough money. There is a war going on in my country, between the revolutionaries, and loyalists, and both armies often visit our village to take supplies, and sometimes they come to "recruit" men.

This morning, I woke up early because of a disturbing sound. The unusual sound was of army trucks, which were getting closer to our village. I woke up and wondered what was going on. I went outside, making sure that my mom, and my sister, Alicia, won't wake up. I saw two army trucks parked in the village square. I went outside and stood there watching what was happening. Then I saw twenty army men jump out of the trucks. Mr. Ramirez, the head of our village, was also there. I saw them arguing about something. I went closer to see what was going on. Suddenly I figured out that they were people from the revolutionary army, and they were here to recruit "fighters". I cringed and tried to run, but a soldier had sneaked behind me. He hit me on my stomach, and then on my head with the butt of his rifle. He dragged me across the square to his captain. I could see that my cousin and my fried were already there. Although I wanted to, I decided not to run, because they would shoot anyone who ran.

By now almost everyone from the village was there. The captain shouted to us that he had decided to recruit us in his army. I wondered if I would ever see my family. Soon we were loaded in a truck. The engine started, and seconds later we were driving away form the village.