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A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier By Ishmael beah

A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier By Ishmael beah. Presentation By Sean Rich. About the author. Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980

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A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier By Ishmael beah

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  1. A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldierByIshmael beah Presentation By Sean Rich

  2. About the author • Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980 • “When he was 13 years old, after his parents had already been ripped apart from him, his town surrended to Sierra Leone's long, on-going civil war. “ 1 • Sierra Leone’s military was running out of men, and as a result, Beah along with other refugee children and adults were trained to fight the rebels • At fourteen years of age, Beah was rescued by UNICEF 2 and put into rehabilitation • Once out of rehabilitation Beah became a pacifist and moved to his uncle’s village in Sierra Leone • War was on its way to the village and Beah moved to the United States as a son of a peace conference member • Beah continued his education and would go on to attend Oberlin College in Ohio 1- http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~aelapine/ChildSoldiersStory.html 2-United Nations International Children's Fund

  3. The hard life ahead of Ishmael beah • The book follows the life of a boy in Sierra Leone during its civil war in 1980 • Beah was in a group of friends and his brother when his village got attacked • Mental scars followed the group for the rest of their lives • They managed to escape, but ended up coming back for resources, reliving the attack again and again • They begin an adventure for a safer environment • The group comes across countless abandoned/destroyed villages which they use to gather resources • Each village they come across has multiple dead carcasses scattered around • The emotional strain on these boy’s was immense

  4. Survival • Survival becomes the only need for Beah • Looting abandoned villages becomes one of the only ways to get food • Mental trauma make Beah’s thoughts painful • Opportunity strikes Beah at an army protected village • Food, water, and a chance to avenge his friends and family convince Beah to join the fight against the RUF (Revolutionary United Front/rebels) • The worst decision Ishmael Beah ever made http://goodwillambassadors.blogspot.com/2009/08/ishmael-beah-from-child-soldier-to.html

  5. changes • Through the army, Beah and other boys introduced multiple drugs into their systems including: • Marijuana • Cocaine • “Brown Brown” (cocaine mixed with gunpowder) • These drugs heightened senses and reduced pain • The squad was trained to use firearms and to kill every last member of the RUF with no mercy • They channeled all of their anger and put it to use while attacking RUF camps • This went on for 2 years

  6. Rescued • Members of UNICEFF appeared to take the younger members of the squad away for rehabilitation • This included Beah and 14 others in his squad • After six months in physco-social treatment, the boys were able to be reintroduced into the world • Near the end of the rehabilitation, Beah was giving speech’s about the war and being a child soldier • Beah went on to live with his uncle in the capitol of Sierra Leone, Freetown • Beah promoted peace and gave more speech’s in Freetown

  7. War spreads • Territorial disagreements entered Freetown and with it violence • Killing, fear, and looting spread through the city in a matter of weeks • Businesses and stores closed, and food was only sold in secret locations for double price • After five months of Freetown in total collapse, Beah’s uncle died • Sadness overcame the family • Beah refused to be sucked into the war again • He decided to leave Sierra Leone for good • He went alone trying to get a way to New York where he planned to live with an American coordinator at a conference he attended

  8. Ishmael Beah’s • Ishmael Beah is a living example of a great person who got transformed into a monster because of being drafted into a war at a young age • He was reintroduced into society after undergoing rehabilitation and stands to be a great contributor to the world • He got himself educated and speaks about child warfare and encourages organizations like the UNICEFF to stop it • He has attended Oberlin College in Ohio and promotes a good cause to the world • Though tragic, Beah’s story is a very inspirational one Ishmael Beah as a senior in Oberlin College http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~aelapine/ChildSoldiersStory.html

  9. Presentation By, Sean Rich Special Thanks to, Ishmael Beah

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