Ishmael Beah

As my kitties were taking toasty naps I was reading a book Martha sent me that I would like to write about. "A Long Way Gone" was written by Ishmael Beah, a young man from Sierra Leone who was forced to become a child soldier in order to survive. At age 11 the civil war (basically rebels against a corrupt government) came to his village to kill everybody and burn everything down. He ran into the forest to avoid being killed and some time later joined the army as a way to survive. For more than two years he was drugged and brainwashed to perform horrific violence against the rebels and anyone who stood in the army's way. Ultimately he was one of the few boys to be selected for rehabilitation through a Unicef program, where he was then selected to speak at a UN conference in NY. It was here that he met the American woman who would ultimately "adopt" him (his entire family perished in the war) and bring him to the U.S. He finished high school here and attended Oberlin College and now, at age 27, works for several organizations to bring about awareness of the plight of child soldiers.

I found his story very moving and very well written. Moreover, when I finished the book I sought out interviews to get a better feel for this young man. It is hard to imagine this quiet, gentle, soft-spoken man doing the violent acts he so eloquently describes in the book. He explains that as a boy all alone with his family dead, his very survival depended on participating in and living with an organized group. It was either that or be killed by the rebels. The army also drugged the boys to keep them revved and showed them violent movies (such as Rambo) to keep them pumped. His mission now is to help others understand that these young boys need to be helped, that through patience and compassion they can have their humanity returned to them.

If you would like to see a few of his interviews I will provide you with the links to these now. Here is a YouTube video, here is a Jon Stewart Comedy Central video, and here is a CNN video. I really enjoyed Terry Gross's interview with him on Fresh Air on NPR; she asks the best questions!

As I was reading and listening to all these things I couldn't help but remember Anahita's job with the IRC, International Rescue Committee. I seem to remember her talking mostly about refugees from Somalia, but very likely there were participants from Sierra Leone as well. It was at about this time that Saeed and I saw, "Lost Boys Of Sudan," about young men trying to make it as refugees in the U.S. It made me want to bring them all home, but this is not the solution. People should not have to be refugees to lead safe lives; the best scenario is one in which each country's government makes having a decent life possible for all its citizens.