What is the worst thing that prisoners of war, or POWs, encounter when they get home? Some say it’s the strange feeling of being displaced. Others would say it’s those uncertain looks and uncertain reception they would get from people whom they used to be familiar and close with, or even from strangers on the street. Then there are others who would also say that it’s those incessant nightmares of being imprisoned that wouldn’t just go away, wouldn’t leave them alone, wouldn’t give them peace of mind. These are just a few of the quandary prisoners of war typically go through. And this is what Bernie McAuley touches on in his book, The Shadows Of Sawtooth Ridge.
Life In Prison
Prisoner of war, or POW, was coined for a person or persons held captive by the enemy, or belligerents, during or after wartime. Capturing and holding prisoners is a common practice whenever there is an armed conflict. Whether the state or the reason for being held as a prisoner is legitimate or not, the debate on how prisoners should be treated is still ongoing. Laws and treaties such as the Hague and Geneva Conventions sought humane treatment and respect for the rights of the prisoners captured during wartime. But who knows what actually goes on behind those steel bars, despite those signed treaties. You’d hear POWs talk about life behind the prison, describing the harsh living conditions that they have gone through, including the exploitation and despotic treatment that they would receive from the hands of their captors. The experience is oftentimes akin to living in hell. There are some prisons that are so overcrowded, where sanitation is so bad that there is a constant looming fear of contracting a deadly disease at any skin contact made. Aside from that, there is the persistent lack of food supplies, which often are intentionally brought about by prison guards who refuse to provide appropriate amounts of decent foods to the prisoners. There are even some prisons that would make their prisoners do manual, laborious, and grueling labor without just compensation. On top of it all, the mental and emotional abuse coming from sadistic prison guards would seem like the cherry on the cake of the already hellish living conditions.
Over time, treatment of captive prisoners, especially in the more modern times, took on a more civilized and humane route, although there are still some talks that prison brutality for prisoners of war still exists in some cultures.
Life After Prison
Who would have thought that the battle continues even after the war for POWs? The battle this time around comes in the form of physical, mental, emotional, or psychosocial problems or traumas for the POWs. Because of the exposure to unhealthy living prison conditions that they went through, POWs tend to develop over time infections or diseases, particularly musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal infections. POWs who have gone through severe mental and emotional abuse while in prison develop high anxiety and irritability levels and often tend to get seclusive. Stress and depression are very commonly felt among POWs, and yes, having recurring nightmares are also reported. But what about the treatment that POWs receive as part of their homecoming after being released? The perception of how POWs are being treated is split in the middle. Some people would treat these embattled war veterans as heroes, while others are shy away from discriminately treating them as outsiders, which further enhances their post-traumatic stress disorder. POWs are caught in a dilemma with life after prison, wondering if there is any glory or heroism at all to being a war veteran and an ex-captive prisoner at that.
At the end of the day, it’s all about breaking free from the grasp of the past. Whether it is a battle out there on the field or it is a battle for the human soul, POWs have a lot to reckon with from their experience. Whether life during imprisonment is humane or not, still, being captured and held against your freewill will always leave a lasting impression and effect on the prisoner’s life. Hence, a support system should be created explicitly for POWs. More benefits, more rewards. Because after all, people who fought and defended their country at the risk of being caught or killed deserve more than just admiration; they deserve the highest respect from the country and from its people that they’re fighting for.
The Happy Hammock 