War is a state of hostility, conflict, struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end, caused by disputes, hatred, jealousy. No matter what the cause, the results are similar.

People lose their homes; people die.

Some people don’t die. They are the lucky ones who make it out.

They get to go back to their homes, their families, their lives – if there is anything left to go back to.

War is devastating. It doesn’t matter what side you are on. It doesn’t matter if you win.

People are out there grieving for the lose of a loved one who fought for their country.

They fight because they dream that things will get better. That war will be over. But war is never going to disappear. It will always be an alternative to fight when arguments can’t be solved by simple negotiations.

The thought of war scares people because we have loved ones who are in the military who will fight to defend their country.

All those men and women are taken away from their families, sent away to fight with the thought that they might not come back. And what would their friends and families be left with? Pictures and memories. That is all.

But does anybody really care about that? Would someone think twice about war if they actually knew how it felt to have someone special in the military who would be sent off?

Would they change their minds if they knew?

Jessica Teeple, Norway