A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier
Ishmael Beah was born on November 23, 1980, in Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone. In his critically acclaimed memoir, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”, Beah bases his survival from abduction and terrorism on his recollections as an unwilling child soldier for the Sierra Leone Armed Services during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war. They were fighting the Revolutionary United Front or RUF, also known as the rebels. Ishmael describes his circumstances in simple to understand language. He is also quite deliberate in describing what he’s thinking, how he feels, and what he sees. This book is a must read for every person on the planet. It seeks to inform the reading public about the damages of war.
The main characters in his memoirs are Ishmael Beah who is the chronicler of this factual story; there’s Junior Beah, Ishmael's older brother by one year, their friend Talloi; and Ishmael’s best friend Mohamed. Then there’s Musa, one of Ishmael's friends from his village. Kanei, another of Ishmael's friends from his village; Gibrilla, Kaloka, and Khalilou, mutual friends of Junior and Ishmael; Mambu, a child soldier in the same rehabilitation center as Ishmael; Gasemu, a banana farmer from Ishmael's village; Leslie, Ishmael's case worker at the rehabilitation center. The Lieutenant, a father figure in the Sierra Leone Armed Services; Esther, Ishmael's nurse at …show more content…
Benin House; Alhaji, one of Ishmael's best friends in the army. Kanei, Musa, Saidu, Jumah, and Moriba: Ishmael’s friends from his home village whom he meets in the wilderness after being separated from his initial group. Talloi, Gibrilla, Kaloko, and Khalilou: Ishmael's initial travelling companions. And finally, we have Laura Simms, a storyteller in New York City who eventually adopts Ishmael.
The book begins before the war touched Ishmael’s world. He, his brother Junior, and their friend Talloi set off on foot to travel the sixteen miles from their village of Mogbwemo to Mattru Jong to sing, rap, and dance in a talent show. Ishmael’s best friend Mohammed is the fourth in their ensemble. He couldn’t make the trip because he had to assist his father in some renovations. Thinking they would return the following day, they told no one that they were leaving.
While they were staying in the village of Mattru Jong with Gibrilla, Khalilou, and Kaloko, the RUF soldiers attack.
Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi manage to escape the village without being shadowed by the rebels. They made the decision to head back to their village to find their families before it too late. Junior, Talloi, and Ishmael jumped into a canoe to cross the river and make it back to Mogbwemo. No scene from Rambo: First Blood or any other movie could prepare the boys for what they were about to experience. The carnage made Ishmael’s veins tightened. The boys walked six miles to Ishmael’s grandmother’s
village.
Along the way they experience the horrors of war. The boys looked at each other and knew that it was imperative to return to Mattru Jong, because for what they had seen of Mogbwemo was no longer a place anyone could call home and that our parents couldn’t possibly be there anymore.
Along the way, they encounter multiple other villages but were turned away because they looked like a band of child soldiers. They finally are accepted into village on the grounds that they help with the farming. After a few months, a surprise attack ensues on the village. Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi split up and run into the swamps. Ishmael is not alone.
Ishmael has no idea what has happened to his friends. He roamed around the wilderness by himself, until he meets up with a group of traveling boys who happens to be from his home village. The boys then travel together to another village on the coast. Many refugees fled to this village because the Sierra Leone Armed Forces occupied it. In search of safety, the group of boys and Ishmael go to that village, but soon leave.
Ishmael then learns from a woman from his hometown that Junior, his younger brother Ibrahim, and his parents are safe in another village with many others from Mattru Jong. Just before they reach the village, the boys meet a man named Gasemu whom Ishmael knew from Mattru Jong. Gasemu tells them that Ishmael's family is indeed safe in the village. He asks the boys to help him carry bananas back to that village. However, moments before they reach the town, it is attacked by the RUF.
Although their bodies are not found among the dead or in the burning house where they lived, Ishmael assumes that his family is dead. Devastated, and believing that Gasemu is to blame for his not being able to see his family on time, Ishmael attacks Gasemu but is stopped by the other boys. They are then chased into the forest by remaining RUF soldiers, and Gasemu dies from being shot, leaving Ishmael more saddened.
The boys then settle into another village protected by the army. After many uneventful days, the lieutenant in charge of the troops in the village announced that the RUF was beginning to assault the village. The lieutenant said that in order for the people to survive, they must contribute to the war effort by enlisting in the army; escape was not an option. By doing this, the lieutenant secures many child soldiers, the weapon of choice for both the RUF and the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.
Ishmael becomes a junior lieutenant for his skill in executing prisoners of war and is put in charge of a small group of other child soldiers. As a child soldier Ishmael is exposed to extreme violence and drug usage. The drugs he used are described in the book as "brown brown", "white pills", and marijuana.
In January 1996, during one of the roll calls, a group of men wearing UNICEF shirts round up several boys and takes them to a shelter in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where they and several other child soldiers are to be rehabilitated. However, the children cause much trouble for the volunteer staffers at the facility, with Ishmael experiencing symptoms of drug withdrawal as well as troubling memories of his time as a child soldier.
Despite the violence caused by the children, one of the staffers, Nurse Esther, becomes interested in Ishmael, learning about his childhood love of rap music and purchasing him a rap cassette and Walkman, when she takes Ishmael and his friend Alhaji to the city. It is through this connection and his numerous counseling experiences with Esther that Ishmael eventually turns away from his violent self and starts to heal from his mental wounds.
Adoption[edit]
Eventually, Ishmael becomes adopted by his Uncle Tommy in the city and settles down with him and his family on the outskirts of Freetown. It is during this time that Ishmael is chosen to speak to the United Nations (UN) in New York City about his experiences as a child soldier and the other problems plaguing his country.
While at the UN meeting, Ishmael met several other children who were also experiencing problems in their countries. There were 57 children present at the meeting, and each told his or her story to the UN. Ishmael also meets Laura Simms, his chaperone, who is a storyteller and his future foster mother.
The main characters in his memoirs are Ishmael Beah who is the chronicler of this factual story; there’s Junior Beah, Ishmael's older brother by one year, their friend Talloi; and Ishmael’s best friend Mohamed. Then there’s Musa, one of Ishmael's friends from his village. Kanei, another of Ishmael's friends from his village; Gibrilla, Kaloka, and Khalilou, mutual friends of Junior and Ishmael; Mambu, a child soldier in the same rehabilitation center as Ishmael; Gasemu, a banana farmer from Ishmael's village; Leslie, Ishmael's case worker at the rehabilitation center. The Lieutenant, a father figure in the Sierra Leone Armed Services; Esther, Ishmael's nurse at …show more content…
Benin House; Alhaji, one of Ishmael's best friends in the army. Kanei, Musa, Saidu, Jumah, and Moriba: Ishmael’s friends from his home village whom he meets in the wilderness after being separated from his initial group. Talloi, Gibrilla, Kaloko, and Khalilou: Ishmael's initial travelling companions. And finally, we have Laura Simms, a storyteller in New York City who eventually adopts Ishmael.
The book begins before the war touched Ishmael’s world. He, his brother Junior, and their friend Talloi set off on foot to travel the sixteen miles from their village of Mogbwemo to Mattru Jong to sing, rap, and dance in a talent show. Ishmael’s best friend Mohammed is the fourth in their ensemble. He couldn’t make the trip because he had to assist his father in some renovations. Thinking they would return the following day, they told no one that they were leaving.
While they were staying in the village of Mattru Jong with Gibrilla, Khalilou, and Kaloko, the RUF soldiers attack.
Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi manage to escape the village without being shadowed by the rebels. They made the decision to head back to their village to find their families before it too late. Junior, Talloi, and Ishmael jumped into a canoe to cross the river and make it back to Mogbwemo. No scene from Rambo: First Blood or any other movie could prepare the boys for what they were about to experience. The carnage made Ishmael’s veins tightened. The boys walked six miles to Ishmael’s grandmother’s
village.
Along the way they experience the horrors of war. The boys looked at each other and knew that it was imperative to return to Mattru Jong, because for what they had seen of Mogbwemo was no longer a place anyone could call home and that our parents couldn’t possibly be there anymore.
Along the way, they encounter multiple other villages but were turned away because they looked like a band of child soldiers. They finally are accepted into village on the grounds that they help with the farming. After a few months, a surprise attack ensues on the village. Ishmael, Junior, and Talloi split up and run into the swamps. Ishmael is not alone.
Ishmael has no idea what has happened to his friends. He roamed around the wilderness by himself, until he meets up with a group of traveling boys who happens to be from his home village. The boys then travel together to another village on the coast. Many refugees fled to this village because the Sierra Leone Armed Forces occupied it. In search of safety, the group of boys and Ishmael go to that village, but soon leave.
Ishmael then learns from a woman from his hometown that Junior, his younger brother Ibrahim, and his parents are safe in another village with many others from Mattru Jong. Just before they reach the village, the boys meet a man named Gasemu whom Ishmael knew from Mattru Jong. Gasemu tells them that Ishmael's family is indeed safe in the village. He asks the boys to help him carry bananas back to that village. However, moments before they reach the town, it is attacked by the RUF.
Although their bodies are not found among the dead or in the burning house where they lived, Ishmael assumes that his family is dead. Devastated, and believing that Gasemu is to blame for his not being able to see his family on time, Ishmael attacks Gasemu but is stopped by the other boys. They are then chased into the forest by remaining RUF soldiers, and Gasemu dies from being shot, leaving Ishmael more saddened.
The boys then settle into another village protected by the army. After many uneventful days, the lieutenant in charge of the troops in the village announced that the RUF was beginning to assault the village. The lieutenant said that in order for the people to survive, they must contribute to the war effort by enlisting in the army; escape was not an option. By doing this, the lieutenant secures many child soldiers, the weapon of choice for both the RUF and the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.
Ishmael becomes a junior lieutenant for his skill in executing prisoners of war and is put in charge of a small group of other child soldiers. As a child soldier Ishmael is exposed to extreme violence and drug usage. The drugs he used are described in the book as "brown brown", "white pills", and marijuana.
In January 1996, during one of the roll calls, a group of men wearing UNICEF shirts round up several boys and takes them to a shelter in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where they and several other child soldiers are to be rehabilitated. However, the children cause much trouble for the volunteer staffers at the facility, with Ishmael experiencing symptoms of drug withdrawal as well as troubling memories of his time as a child soldier.
Despite the violence caused by the children, one of the staffers, Nurse Esther, becomes interested in Ishmael, learning about his childhood love of rap music and purchasing him a rap cassette and Walkman, when she takes Ishmael and his friend Alhaji to the city. It is through this connection and his numerous counseling experiences with Esther that Ishmael eventually turns away from his violent self and starts to heal from his mental wounds.
Adoption[edit]
Eventually, Ishmael becomes adopted by his Uncle Tommy in the city and settles down with him and his family on the outskirts of Freetown. It is during this time that Ishmael is chosen to speak to the United Nations (UN) in New York City about his experiences as a child soldier and the other problems plaguing his country.
While at the UN meeting, Ishmael met several other children who were also experiencing problems in their countries. There were 57 children present at the meeting, and each told his or her story to the UN. Ishmael also meets Laura Simms, his chaperone, who is a storyteller and his future foster mother.