A Long Way Gone by Ishmeal Beah
Rachel Emerson Sept. 4th; 1st hour
Ishmael Beah. A Long Way Gone; Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Copyright 2007.
This memoir provides a first hand view on how modern day wars are now fought. At the age of 12 -the author- Ishmael Beah’s village in the country of Sierra Leone in north-western Africa was attacked by the rebels. Ripped away from his family; he spends two years fleeing from the war in a group of seven young boys. Each day they struggle to survive. In time Ishmael becomes one of the people he feared most: a killing machine hyped up drugs and handed an AK47. The marijuana and cocaine are everyday staples that provide the courage to engage in killing as well as suppress all emotions. During this time his family in killed, in which he realizes that everyone in an enemy. This is his reality for two more years. In the spring of 1996 the lieutenant sends him and a few other boy soldiers away with UNICEF representatives. He is relocated to a rehabilitation center in Freetown - Sierra Leone’s capital- where he resides for six months. Here he receives extensive counseling, therapy, and medical care with the ultimate goal of reshaping these war-traumatized young men into productive members of society. He is then released to his last known family member - an uncle who lives with his family of five in the capitol. Short after, Ishmael is invited to speak to the United Nations in New York City along with other children affected by war from 23 other countries. After the conference he returns home only to soon discover war under the country's new leader and is then present at the death of his uncle. Alone, he flees the country and at 16 is adopted by a storyteller he me in New York.
About this book.
This book was written to provide a clear understanding of modern day war and the effects it is having on 250,000 children globally.
Ishmael Beah did a phenomenal job giving his perspective.
This Pbook was sectioned off into chapters.
Ishmael Beah. A Long Way Gone; Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Copyright 2007.
This memoir provides a first hand view on how modern day wars are now fought. At the age of 12 -the author- Ishmael Beah’s village in the country of Sierra Leone in north-western Africa was attacked by the rebels. Ripped away from his family; he spends two years fleeing from the war in a group of seven young boys. Each day they struggle to survive. In time Ishmael becomes one of the people he feared most: a killing machine hyped up drugs and handed an AK47. The marijuana and cocaine are everyday staples that provide the courage to engage in killing as well as suppress all emotions. During this time his family in killed, in which he realizes that everyone in an enemy. This is his reality for two more years. In the spring of 1996 the lieutenant sends him and a few other boy soldiers away with UNICEF representatives. He is relocated to a rehabilitation center in Freetown - Sierra Leone’s capital- where he resides for six months. Here he receives extensive counseling, therapy, and medical care with the ultimate goal of reshaping these war-traumatized young men into productive members of society. He is then released to his last known family member - an uncle who lives with his family of five in the capitol. Short after, Ishmael is invited to speak to the United Nations in New York City along with other children affected by war from 23 other countries. After the conference he returns home only to soon discover war under the country's new leader and is then present at the death of his uncle. Alone, he flees the country and at 16 is adopted by a storyteller he me in New York.
About this book.
This book was written to provide a clear understanding of modern day war and the effects it is having on 250,000 children globally.
Ishmael Beah did a phenomenal job giving his perspective.
This Pbook was sectioned off into chapters.