Sunrise Over Fallujah Discussion Question 2

Discuss your views on the war and whether what Robin's group is trying to do a good thing or if it is a futile effort.

An emotional picture capturing the distress, agony and suffering of Iraqi civilians.

The war in Iraq is unnecessary and fruitless, and what Robin's group is trying to do is a hopeless, vain attempt to comfort the emotionally torn Iraqi civilians. The statistics of the war in Iraq show that the loss of life on both sides is not worth the billions of dollars spent just for the removal of weapons of mass destruction and the capturing of Saddam Hussein. By trying to accomplish their goals, the US military ravage through Iraqi towns and kill many innocent civilians who stood in their path. By killing all of these people, they emotionally devastate many family and friends. Children witness their fathers and brothers killed in front of their eyes, and wives saw their husbands perish in a blink of an eye. There is nothing that Robin's group can do to fill the void of a deceased family member, and what they are doing is barely comforting at most. After an attack on civilians, Robin and his group decide to visit an affected village and do their best to console and aid the physically and emotionally wounded children. They meet a lady named Halima who speaks English well and talk to her about the war and what they can do to help. "'There is so much killing that there is no place left in our hearts to hold our grief or our anger. Now the children are asking the same question as their brothers: Why have you come to kill us?' 'I'm so
rry. I'm very sorry. Is there anything we can do to help?' Captain Miller said. 'Treat our lives as if they are as precious as your own,' Halima said. 'That's all we ask'" (293). Halima clearly says that all of the killing takes up all of the space in their hearts, and there is no room for any other emotions. There is nothing that Robin's group can really do to help mend their broken hearts and shattered souls except to just respect the civilians as they would want to be respected themselves. No monetary value or any form of physical compensation will fill the holes in the Iraqi civilians' hearts. What Robin's group is trying to do is well-intentioned, but in the end, whatever they do will not end the suffering and pain of the Iraqi people.