Ok,so my friend and I are collaborating on a story. The story revolves around the subject of war, and during the introductions we have established that our main characters have been captured by soldiers of another country.My friend and I have been on a few sites (or at least tried to find sites on the subject), but the information is either not clear, or they don't mention the subject at all. My question is can anyone explain what process prisoners of war go through when they've been captured? It would be much appretiated. Thx.
Once upon a time when people actually had decency, POW's were treated fairly well. (See the World War 2 movie "The Great Escape" as an example - they had gardens, books, games, etc....). As long as they didn't try to escape or cause trouble, they were OK. Not allowed to leave, but OK.
Now, not so much. People who abide by the Geneva Convention will treat prisoners decently (food, water, reasonable-sized cell, free time, etc.).
Others (China, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan....) are brutal.
-They are either kept in their own torn, soiled, stained, dirty clothes, or else almost immediately stripped and given some sort of prison garb. This could be a jumpsuit, or it could just be a really baggy plain, drab shirt and pants.
-They will be interrogated (or "questioned" if you prefer). Some captors focus on tiny, minute details; others just want the main important stuff.
-Food and water. There's typically not much of either. Sometimes it's fairly decent: not very tasty and not a lot of it (think dry, tasteless, bland). Other times it's rancid. Moldy, infested with bugs or worms, dirt or glass(!) in it, lukewarm, cold....
-TORTURE. Usually a mix of psychological and physical. Physical: -Rape (male or female - this is popular) -VERY difficult physical labor. Sometimes it has a purpose (digging trenches, building something) and other times it is just something meaningless (moving giant rocks back and forth, digging holes that won't be used for anything) -Extreme heat or cold -Starvation/dehydration -Beating/flogging -Scourging (whips with knots, sharp metal pieces, or glass attached to cause deep cuts and severe pain) -Acid or chemicals used to burn skin -Salt poured into wounds -Electric shocks -Cattle prods -Tasers -Chemicals and drugs. These can slow down or speed up heart rate, cause difficulty or inability to breathe (look up Beroglide), cause severe and disturbing hallucinations, and all sorts of other lovely things. Some prisoners have gotten two simultaneous IV lines, one containing a sedative (ex. Ativan) and the other containing some sort of stimulant (ex. Adrenaline). The body wants to respond to the sedative by falling asleep, but the stimulant shocks them awake. Back and forth, back and forth, over and over. -Insert any other disgusting thing you can think of; someone has probably done it!
Psychological: -Sleep deprivation (this could also be physical; it causes extreme weakness and hallucinations) -Lies/Mind games ("We've captured your comrades/family and will torture/kill/otherwise harm them if you don't [insert action here]." Maybe it's true, or maybe they just want to see their captive go crazy with worry.) -Extorting fears. (Ex.: If someone is scared of bugs, they might be placed in a room filled with icky bugs to crawl on them. If they're afraid of drowning, they might receive some form of water torture.)
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