My childhood stressor experience
There are many stressors all
around us and many times one stressor creates another or more stressors. Racism
in some countries result in civil wars then the war creates poverty because it
stresses the economy; however, many of us deal with at least one stressor at a
time. Children also have to deal with stressors in their lives and those
stressors affect children. Some affect their mental state; others can affect
their physical state while other stressor affects every part of a child. As I
think about my childhood, I reflect on the main stressor I dealt with. My
family was not rich, but we were never hungry, we were able to wear the latest
styles; so, poverty was not a stressor. The biggest stressor that I had to deal
with as a child was racism. I remember moving to Georgia and attending an elementary
school in Statesboro and being bullied by older, much bigger white boys. I told
my mom; she talked to the principle, but the bullying and racial name calling
did not stop. I was confused as a child because before moving to Georgia, I
never had to deal with anything like that. I was just a second grade student
who was trying to adjust to the south. I remember, one day I was walking home
with some of the neighbors when the same young men begin to call us derogatory names.
We ignored them at first, but the yelling kept coming. The older neighbors
begin to yell back at them to let them know that they were not afraid of the
boys. The next thing that I remember, I was feeling pain and blood gushing from
my face. We later realized that one of the boys had thrown a rock that had hit
me in the face. The rock busts the top part of my lip and left side of my nose.
The incident was addressed, but for a long time I was afraid to go to school.
My family and I later moved to a smaller town, Twin City, GA. But the racism
was still present. I did not have to deal with any physical confirmations, but
I did have to hear white students call me the “N” word. I had to deal with
teachers that would mistreat their African American students (the only minority).
Many of the African American students were place in lower level reading and
math groups without any explanation. Once moved from the elementary school to
the other school in the 4th grade. The racism was so obvious that
the teachers from the elementary schools (both white and black teachers) begin
to complain about the others school. They begin to warm parents to be on very vigilant
with their children once they move to the other school (one teacher warned my
mother). Things did not change once I got to high school. Racism was so bad in
Twin City, GA that we had separate proms labeled as the black prom and the
white prom. The younger generation wanted to change that, but the adults were
not having that. Even, now the proms are separate.
A first, I did not think
that dealing with racism growing up affected me at all. I was not until later
in my life that I was able to recognize the effects. I have a hard time
trusting white people. As a child, I developed a prejudice towards white people
based on my childhood experience. I was always aware that I had to work twice as
hard to prove myself as a black person (known as the “black tax”). Even though
I dealt with racism as a child; my adulthood has been shaped by those
experiences.
THE
STRESSOR OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN AFRICA
I begin to think about the different stressors of
children in different parts of the world. I decided to find more information
about war in Africa because I had a classmate at Voorhees College that was a
child soldier when he was in Africa. We were close friends, so one day he
shared with me why his behavior was a little bizarre. He told me that, before he was rescued and brought
to America, he was from Liberia during the time of apartheid. He explained to
me how he watched his parents get killed and how he was abducted and forced to
be a soldier.
There are many children that are
affected by war in face it is estimated that there are over 250,000 soldiers in
the world today (War child, 2013). The child soldiers include both boys
and girls; 40% are girls (War child, 2013). The largest number of child
soldiers is located in Africa (War child, 2013). The children are physically affected
by war. The children soldiers have scars from fighting and they also have to deal
with drug addictions (War child, 2013 ). The children have mental challenges to
deal with even if they are released from their duties as a soldier. The mental
challenges come from the inability to go back home because of their past and
many of the girls have children during the time they are soldiers and are then ostracized.
The effects of being a child soldier will follow the children for the rest of
their lives because many of them miss school. Because the children are uneducated,
they are unable to obtain jobs in the future.
EFFECTS
OF WAR ON CHILDREN
The stressor of war creates more
stressor that children have to deal with. The original stressor is war, but
then the war affects the economy, education and health. It affects children’s
health both physically and mentally.
Physical effects
War affects children that are not soldiers as well. Wars
are being fought in many parts of the world now and children are in the middle
of it all. Even if they are not on the front line, children have to deal with
the physical effects of war. Those that are not killed are maimed and young
girls are raped or abused sexually (War child, 2013). Children are also physically
affected because many necessary structures are destroyed and children suffer
from diseases.
Psychological effects
Children who have to deal with war
daily began to suffer mental and socially. The children that are not dealing
with physical issues may deal with mental issues such as Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) (War child, 2013).War can affect the children’s ability to form
relationships. Many times the children that are affected by war suffer from
drug abuse and alcoholism (War child, 2013).
Economic effects
As an affect of war, many
children do not have access to education and with the lack of education the
economy is affected. The economy is
affected many times because places of employment are destroyed. Poverty becomes
an issue now that affects children dealing with war (War child, 2013).
