Ishmael Beah fits the pattern to a T.
At the age of 12 he was forced to flee his home and his family when rebel forces attacked his peaceful village in Sierra Leone, killing everyone in sight, often in particularly brutal fashion.
With a group of other young boys, Beah traveled for months through the jungles. They subsisted on whatever they could find and tried to avoid both rebels and government soldiers who most likely would have killed them on sight.
Then Beah and his friends were caught by the Sierra Leone army and forced to fight against the rebels. They became quite good at it. Beah spent two years fighting when, at his age, he should have been listening to the American rap music and Bob Marley reggae that he loves.
All was not lost, however, as Beah and the others – those who survived two years of fighting – were taken by UNICEF back to the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown and placed in a rehabilitation center. Sometimes the rehabilitation process works. Beah was one of the lucky ones. With a lot of help from the center and a distant uncle and his family, he ultimately rediscovered his humanity and became a potent spokesman for child soldiers everywhere.
Beah tells his amazing and agonizing story in a new memoir, “A Long Way Gone.” It is a story that pulls no punches as it describes a depravity that, until recently, has gone largely unnoticed.
With the help of such organizations as UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, the plight of child soldiers is finally having a light shined upon it. Even Hollywood has gotten into the act. The well-received movie, “Blood Diamond,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, will do more to bring attention to the issue than any number of United Nations conferences.
As you read the spare and simple declarative sentences that make up “A Long Way Gone,” you realize that Beah’s story is beyond poignant. Imagine yourself as a 12-year-old, forced to live off the land with every emotional structure you’ve ever had gone, having thoughts like these:
“I walked for two days straight without sleeping. I stopped only at streams to drink water. I felt as if somebody was after me. Often my shadow would scare me and cause me to run for miles. Everything felt awkwardly brutal. Even the air seemed to want to attack me and break my neck.”
It is no wonder that after months of living like this, Beah and the others found a home with the army. The army provided a certain sense of security. At least they had food and companionship, and shared struggle.
Plus they were fed a steady diet of drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, and propaganda – “The rebels are responsible for everything that has happened to you,” they were told time and time again.
It’s easy to see how malleable young boys can be turned into something they never thought was possible.
As Beah puts it, “My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed. …We had been fighting for over two years, and killing had become a daily activity. I felt no pity for anyone. My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen.” Beah was 15 when he had these thoughts.
After going through rehabilitation at the UNICEF center, Beah travels to New York City to attend a United Nations conference on child soldiers. During an address at the conference, Beah tries to explain the burning question of why these children do what they do.
Here’s what he said: “War forces us to run away from our homes, lose our families, and aimlessly roam the forests. As a result, we get involved in the conflict as soldiers, carriers of loads, and in many other difficult tasks. This is because of starvation, the loss of our families, and the need to feel safe and be part of something when all else has broken down.”
If you can read “A Long Way Gone” without being touched somewhere deep inside, you might need to think about changing the ice water in your veins.
Books editor Tom Walker can be reached at 303-954-1624 or twalker@denverpost.com.
Fact sheet
Source: Human Rights Watch
In popular culture
“BLOOD DIAMOND” | Leonardo DiCaprio is Danny Archer, a hired gun who enlists the aid of local fisherman Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) in recovering a precious diamond. Set in Sierra Leone at roughly the same time as Beah’s story unfolds, a subplot has Vandy’s young son abducted and forced to become a child soldier, and Vandy trying to get him back.
