Many countries in the world have some issues with their government, or the country itself. In the Democratic Republic of Congo for example, a war which has already taken 3 million lives, has become worse and the women of the country are on the front lines of the army. Women are treated so badly, that the UN investigators have called what men do to the women as unprecedented. Many women are dying because of the effects of the war, but more are dying from HIV infections and at the same time, have to look over their children alone. One of the many responsibilities is getting food and water to support the family, which they have to now risk their lives for. Not like here in the United States where we can get in our car and buy the food we need in minutes. The Republic of Congo doesn’t have a lot of money or modes of transportation, therefore being unable to escape the country.
From reading, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah, my partner and I have both realized that countries like Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, do not have the luxuries and opportunities that we have here in the United States. If we are in the middle of a serious war, we would first send men and women, over the age of 18, who have signed up to be a soldier, to fight the war. Not forcing women and children like Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the Washington Post, by the beginning of 2012, 25 countries in the world use child soldiers, Sierra Leone being one of them. Living in an advanced society has its advantages and luxuries that other countries don’t have.In A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael and his friends leave their village to go to a rap competition and when they finally get to where they are going, the next day rebels attack their home village. They quickly start heading back but stop and start going from village to village. Over the course of the story Ishmael had many encounters with rebels and had escaped but one of the times, he didn’t and he was forced into becoming a child soldier. Later he came to the United States and finished his high school education that he wasn’t able to finish back in his home country of Sierra Leone. Ishmael later went on to college in 2004 and wrote the book of his memories.
When we first started reading this book, my partner and I had absolutely no clue where Sierra Leone was located or what was really happening with the rebels. We discovered, through research, that the main rebel group was called the Revolutionary United Front. Their purpose was to have control of the entire West African area, and that is where Sierra Leone is located. Looking for diamonds and lots of objects of rich value, they are described like, “Notorious for hacking off limbs and indoctrinating children into their struggle…” (CNN). After looking further into the issue, we discovered a page written by Encyclopedia Britannica about the civil war. The most shocking discovery was that Revolutionary United Front was led by the former Sierra Leone army corporal. This was one of the main reasons that the civil war started in the first place. The war stretched from 1991 - 2002 and Encyclopedia Britannica states, “An official end to the civil war was declared in January 2002. By that time, it was estimated that at least 50,000 people had died, with hundreds of thousands more affected by the violence and some 2,000,000 people displaced by the conflict.” (Encyclopedia Britannica).
But, the best source for what happened during the book, is the author of the book. Therefore, above, you can see an interview conducted with Ishmael about his life experiences in Sierra Leone. Also, below we have the links to the articles we used incase you want to know more about the Civil War at Sierra Leone.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/africa/ishmael-beah-child-soldier/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543356/Sierra-Leone/274792/Civil-war
After reading your blog I feel like I got a good first understanding of the book, and a good reason to the read this book. I'll be sure to add that to my list books that I want to read.
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