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Explore Ishmael Beah's harrowing experience as a child soldier in war-torn Sierra Leone, his road to recovery, and his advocacy for former child soldiers, highlighting the brutal conflicts, UN intervention, and Beah's resilience post-war.
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Sierra Leone • size: 27,699 sq miles • languages: English, Krio (Creole language), • and a range of African languages • religions: Islam, indigenous beliefs, Christianity • life expectancy: 39 yrs (M), 42 yrs (F) • exports: diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Political Background Sierra Leone, West Africa • 1787 British Colony • Freetown, capital refuge for freed slaves • 1961 independence • 1968 Conflict • corruption & unrest • fraudulent elections • 1996 Election • President A.T. Kabbah • Revolutionary United Front (RUF) did not acknowledge • 1997 Military Coup • to restore Kabbah • 1998 United Nations Security Council • UN involvement • peace keeping role • 2001 17,500 UN Military Personnel
Factors Leading to Civil Warin Sierra Leone • Democratic Republic of Congo(formerly Zaire) • civil war to oust dictator • bloodbath over resources • timber • copper • gold • diamonds • RUF (Revolutionary United Front) • liberation army • former corporal, Foday Sankoh • Sierra Leone diamond mines • to capital, Freetown • Civil War
Child Soldier at War • Age 12 • rebels to Beah’s small town • separated from parents • fled with a group of boys • wandered village to village • barely surviving • reached Atlantic Ocean • recruited into Sierra Leone Army • Age 13 • received his first AK-47 • trained to kill • “We walked around the village and killed everyone who came out of the houses and huts.” • —Beah
A New Life • Age 15 • rescued by UNICEF fieldworkers • rehabilitation center in Freetown • psychological counseling • health care • recovery from addiction & trauma • US immigrant • UN International School N.Y. • UN address: plight of child soldiers • 2004 • graduated from Oberlin College, OH
Beah Today • advocate for former child soldiers • author: A Long Way Gone • New York City resident • 26 years old
“After having survived that war, I know what it feels like to suffer, to lose family, to lose my humanity and regain it… [R]emembering, however difficult, is a small price to pay to expose the continuous and rampant use of children in war.” —Phillyist.com interview, 8 Mar 2007) Beah at Oberlin College, OH
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