Book 3: Non Western - Memoir/non-fiction

"When I was very little, my father used to say, "if you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen.  If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die."  I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn't know where I was going.  Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive." (Beah, p. 54)

Beah, I. (2007). a long way gone: memoir of a boy soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/B002N2XHXU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302647820&sr=1-1

In "a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy soldier," Ishmael Beah relays his life to us chronologically, beginning in his home village. He and some friends took a several day trip to a neighboring village to show off their hip-hop skills at a talent show. Little did they know, that little trip probably saved their lives. For while they were away, the rebel army attacked their home village.   Beah reflects upon his childhood, walks us through the civil war that consumed his country of Sierra Leone and the role he played in it following his conscription into the army and eventual removal from the army and subsequent rehabilitiation through the intervention of UNICEF.  He was ultimately lucky to escape to the United States, where he lives now.

This is a powerful book filled with intense descriptions and accounts of the violence that are an integral part of the childhood of an entire generation.  At times, it is difficult to get through probably due to the common language the author uses in an almost numb, matter-of-fact style of prose, but the weight of each word is contemplative and the descriptions are purposeful as "he comes from a very storytelling-oriented culture (Baeh, p. 197)."

While the fighting and terror were experienced in different ways throughout the country, even in the capital of Freetown no one was able to escape the realities or brutality of the long-standing civil war.  It is amazing to believe that this occured during our life time, that it continues to occur even today in some parts of the world.  No where in his two-hundred twenty five pages does he ever offer what he believed to be the reason for the war - child soldiers had no idea what or for whom they were fighting for - none of the other forces they came into contact with had any idea with -- you were either loyal to the army or you were a rebel, though what divided the two was never relevant - kill or be killed, kill when you were told to, follow directions or be left to starve to death.

The memoir begins with Beah's young life, his upbringing in a somewhat more 'suburban' village, not having to work in the fields and because of his family, he was able to focus on his education, to enjoy western clothing and his love for rap and hip-hop music -- Run DMC and LL Cool J actually save Beah and his friends on more than one occassion. 

When the fighting begins, Beah is separated from his family but escapes along with several of his friends.  Together, they wander aimlessly through the forests and subsequent villages with no real idea of where they are going.  They search for food, struggle to avoid death at the hands of the RUF, rebel soldiers seeking to overthrow the country who use civilians - mainly women and children - as a shield against Leonean soldiers.

Eventually they are captured and conscripted into the army where they are fed a steady diet of cocaine, marijuana, brown-brown (concaine mixed with gun powder), hatred and anger.  They believe that the army is the only family that they have left.  They are tought to kill without thought or remorse, to seek retribution for the death of their loved ones and the loss of their homes and their childhood innocence.

In contrast to the violence and loss of innocence experienced by Beah's generation was the tireless work of UNICEF and the UN workers that stood in direct juxtaposition to the boy's anger - "It was as if they had made a pact not to give up on us.  Their smiles made us hate them all the more" (Beah, p. 140).

Because of Beah's demeanor, he is selected to represent his country in New York City and a UN Conference on the welfare of children.  It is many year later he is able to call on the friends and allies that he made at that conference in order to gain salvation in the United States.

Like post World War II Germany, the concept of "war lords" being put on trial still holds true.  Charles Taylor, whose Liberian forces played a role in the civil war in Sierra Leone, was eventually put on trial.  This article was posted the same time Beah's book was being published: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/warcrimes/liberia-child-soldiers.html.

Despite it's Lexile score of 920L, I would recommend a book of this nature for high school age students, with an emphasis on the lasting impressions left on children based upon seeing violence at a young age.  I think it would be really interesting to use a book like this in an urban setting such as Baltimore/Washington, DC, where gang violence, youth violence, gun violence, etc. are far to prevalent on news, television, etc.  I think it would spark interesting and relevant conversation for the population that we are serving.

Here are other selections concerning the conscription of child soldiers:

http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Inform-Tomorrow-Killed-Families/dp/B002PJ4I2K/ref=pd_sim_b_2#_



Also by Ishmael Beah: http://www.amazon.com/They-Fight-Like-Soldiers-Children/dp/0802779565/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299633219&sr=8-2

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