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.

Real World

Considering all of the violence that transpired in Africa, I was wondering why we do nnot hear about it more in the United States. When I think of Africa, the first thing that comes into my mind is AIDS. I knew that wars had occured, but I had not idea it was so bad over there. I wonder why reporters, nespapers, television, etc... do not focus on the war in Sierra Lone like they do on the war in the middle east. It saddens me to think that there are so many suffering just like Ishmael, and we know nothing about it. It makes me, personally, feel ignorant to what is going on in our world.

My World History teacher from last year used to tell all of us that we lived in "our own little bubbles, not in the real world." To a certain extent that is true, but the real world seems so dangerous and scary. Ishmael lives in the "real world" and he is running from death all the time, is traveling with different friends constantly, and has a very rough life. Is that what the real world is like? Death and violence repeated over and over again? While reading this book, I am mroe grateful than ever for my "little bubble" because I do not think I would be equipped to handle a life like Ishmael's.

It is said that war changes people. I know that this is true, but I do not think I fully understood the extent of it. When Ishmael joins the army, he changes drastically. Ishmael used to run from the army, and the army shattered his life, because of the war. When Ishmael kills people and takes that lightly, that shocked me. At the very beginning of the book, when Ishmael sees everyone hurt, wounded, and alone he is affected by it. When Ishmael saw the man whose body parts had been torn off by a machete, he throws up. Now, Ishmael can be someone who he used to run from-someone who raids villages, kills people, and now shatters other people's lives.

Inspiration

While reading A Long Way Gone, I was confronted with a lot of graphic descriptions of people suffering and all of the violence that transpired. These boys had to witness so many horrors, including families being pulled apart, people being shot, and so many others that are absolutely unimaginable. The strength of the characters inspires me, and they always keep fighting. I feel incredibly bad for the people, including the main characters, who are forced to fend for themselves and carry on without loved ones. If I was one of the boys, I do not think that I would be able to find strength to run from the rebels if I did not have family or other parts of life to keep living for. Also, the people who kept fleeing from the rebels and witnessing horrors, had to be mentally very tough. The everyday scene for people was witnessing death and suffering, seeing lost children cry out for their lost parents and vice versa. One who deals with that sort of situation has to be psychologically stable. I was very sad when I read the story, because it puts everything in my life into perspective. I am sad when I do not perform well on a test or if I am late to an event or miss a television program. The characters in A Long Way Gone have a shattered and violent war going on right before their very eyes and they still manage to hold it all together very well, considering the horrible circumstances.

A Long Way Gone 1

While reading A Long Way Gone, I discovered that I related to the characters very well. The main characters are teenagers and are interested in some of the same things that I am. They talk with each other, and their hobbies include listening to music that appeals to them and learning hip-hop dance steps. However, the lives that the main characters lead are harder lives than mine. They have to be very careful concerning money and food. For example, they walk multiple miles to the nearby village where they are going to go to an event concerning the music they listened to. They walked in order to save the money that would have cost them to take a car. When I go someplace, I almost always take a car (unless it is very close to where I live) and I do not even think twice about it. The characters live in Africa and they are plagued with war in their country, in their villages. I felt that the book was quite sad, especially when describing the pain, both physical and emotional, that people were going through. however, I do think that this book is a very interesting story and I look forward to reading more.