War in Sierra Lone

After reading the articles about child soldiers and reading Ishmael's story, I feel really bad for not only Ishmael and the people in the articles but for all of the men, women and children stuck in similar situations. There are many organizations and charities for people who are starving, and diseases and peace in the Middle East, but I was not aware of the severity of the violence in Sierra Lone until I read A Long Way Gone. The people over there are going through just as hard of a time as the people in other parts of the world who we hear about everyday. Why are we not aware of what is happening? Why did I know so little about this war but so much about other wars? I think that one of the reasons Ishmael wrote this book is to raise awareness of the violence and suffering occurring in Sierra Lone.

Torture

One of the articles we read had to do with child soldiers. When I read about Ishmael's story I felt that it was already planned and fictional, because of the lucky breaks he caught. The article talks about how some people were treated when they were seized by the rebels. A few examples that stood out to me were a little girl who had a limb shot off, a woman whose ankles were cut off and was constantly abused, and pregnant women who would have to suffer through the soldiers cutting open their stomachs and taking out the babies. The rebels were out of control and they just wanted to kill people and get other people to join them, to basically turn the whole country of Sierra Leone against one another. The events discussed in the article were akin to the ones mentioned in the story. The sights were just as graphic and gruesome, but the reality of child soldiers and people sized by the army really hit me when reading the article. I could not believe that people could be so mean and cruel to little girls or pregnant women. I have to wonder what was going on in the minds of the rebels, and I have to wonder why they are so violent and killing. Even after reading materials on the war, I still have no idea what the rebels wanted from all of this.

Changes

Throughout A Long Way Gone, Ishmael goes though a lot of changes. The war changed his whole life and family. First he had to go through his family being split up and running from the rebels. He witnessed terrible sights including countless people suffering and dying.

Then, Ishmael was forced to join the army, and he almost transformed as a person. He became someone who killed people without thinking twice, and he fought with the same group that destroyed his country and family. He became involved with drugs and he was very angry person. It was almost like it was somebody else trapped in Ishmael's body. I was not surprised that Ishmael changed because the war had a great affect on him. It could not have been easy to go through experiences like almost being shot. He became angry and he became a different person who did drugs and killed people.

Then, Ishmael went to the Benin Home Rehabilitation Center. At first, Ishmael resisted and did not make progress at the center. Then, after some time, Ishmael became happier and he became more like he was before all the madness of the war started. I was glad that Ishmael did in fact make progress and become a better person at the center. I do not think he would have survived if he remained as he was as a rebel. Ishmael ends up going to New York, and I like that he got a chance at having a good life in a better situation after he makes improvements at the rehabilitation center.