WHO IS THE ENEMY?

www.invisiblewoundfoundation.co.uk

It was silent in the bush.  As silent as it can be in the African Bush, where a war was raging. The silent walk of death could be heard loudly - it was there in the body of the nineteen-year-old boy with a fissure in his stomach, the mismatched, scattered shoes and the radio in tatters.  That radio, their salvation - shot to pieces by the enemy.

But who is the enemy? This is surely a matter of perspective. The definition of who the enemy is can be found in lies, half-truths and pre-supposed beliefs. Political words charged with emotion and fed to the people for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so that they would send their beloved children to war, with a smile on their faces and a proud pat on their backs. 

Generals with shiny medals, decorous uniforms and broken hearts, minds and souls will walk the earth afterward - hand in hand with the surviving soldiers, without medals, but similarly with broken hearts, minds and souls.  And in the end they all possess a second shadow - that of their lost comrades (fellow soldiers, wifes and children), who will forever be a presence at their shoulder and in their broken souls.  Dead eyes, begging to be saved - decisions to be regretted, re-evaluated after the bloody combat,  when leaves and body parts are scattered under the trees, as if a hailstorm devastated the fighting terrain. But alas, it was not a vis major - it was merely another fight in a big war. We lost only two soldiers, five wounded. It was the enemy who caused this havoc. Or was it? And what if one of the lost soldiers were your father, brother, husband or boyfriend?

But who is the enemy?

Is our side not also the enemy to the other side? Do they not also send their children with a proud smile and a pat on their backs to a war that has been rationalized by provocative propaganda and emotionally charged words?  Does their nineteen-year-old boy not also lie beneath a tree in Africa,  with a hole in his stomach and questions in his eyes? 

Yet - this is the way of the world, and it has been the same since time began.

Wars are fought by politicians in boardrooms, which will eventually spill over to the bush, desert or other god-forsaken terrain where the sound of death will silently stalk  the proud soldiers with their broken souls and impeccable training.  In the boardrooms the Leaders of the Nation will shake hands on their victory.  While the soldiers will have their medals and memories - and the shadows of comrades proudly offered to the demon god called Victory. The enemy has lost. We are the victors.

But are we really?

And who is the Enemy?

Does it matter? 

Patriotism, or the protection of a country's borders or freedom is a matter of ideology and there will always be proud, brave and fierce soldiers who will unselfishly step forward and take up arms on behalf of those who cannot or will not.

We salute you, the soldiers.

(A special word of thanks to the soldier who shared some of his stories with me. You know who you are.)

Cuban soldier, Angolan War 1980's (not sure of origin)
Might also have been a propaganda tool.

www.fuckyeavintagewarfare.co.uk
South African soldiers in Egypt, Second World War

www.americabymotorcycle.tumblr.com
Boer guerilla fighters during Anglo Boer War, South Africa

This picture was in all probability merely
 taken for propaganda purposes.