A Long Way Gone
Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
February 2014
Sierra Leone Times
Ishmael's Journey
Picture Write-up
By Nicole Westfall
To the right is a map of Sierra Leone. It
shows Ishmael's journey from the very
beginning to the end. The lines are the
paths he made from city to city. He
started in Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone.
This is where Ishmael was born and
raised for 11 years of his life. Then, as
the war began to hit home, he was
forced to move on. He sought refuge in
Mattru Jong, then forced to leave there
and constantly on the run until he and
his companions reached Yele, where
they began to fight in the war. He slowly made his way into Bauya with his
company where he was recruited to go
to Freetown and undergo rehabilitation. After nine months, he began to
make his way toward Kambia to flee
Sierra Leone. Eventually, Ishmael made
his way into Guinea and later to New
York where he now lives today.
Inside:
Pg 2: Letter to the Editor
Pg 4: Obituaries and Horoscopes
Pg 5: The Weather
Pg 6: Tweets of the War
Pg 7: Daily Crossword
Pg 8: Sports of the War
Pg 9: The Lost Chapters
Pg 11: Brought to You By: (Authors, Editors, Creators)
Pg 12: Classifieds
(Beah 2)
2
The Sierra Leone Times
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor (Kyle Jensen),
What do you think of the experiences
and events that Ishmael Beah went
through during his time in Sierra
Leone? What conflicts and events were
surprising and contributed to the build
up of his story? Do you think he made
the right choice leaving everything behind to come to the United States, let
alone New York City? -John
Dear John,
boys, Ishmael, Junior, Talloi, Gabrilla,
Kaloko, and Khalilou, got captured unexpectedly in the grasslands. I thought
for sure that they were going to get
split up or some of them were going to
die because they were held at
gunpoint. But just then, the rebels
were thwarted by another force that
started shooting them. Later that day,
the boys reunited because they happened to end up running away in the
same direction. I do believe fate and
luck exist, but it's when they meet that
miracles happen. (31, 34)
The events and conflicts that Beah experienced in his home country of Sierra
Leone were incomprehensible, vivid,
and quite gruesome, yet it made me realize many things. It shocked me as I
read through his account in A Long Way
Gone.
The first conflict that's encountered is
the appearance of the emerging
"rebel" group. As Ishmael and his crew
come back from Kabati to Mogbwemo,
they hear bloody screams and cries for
help. They realize that their hometown
is under attack, something they never
fathomed could happen. I feel like an
event like this would totally tear me
apart, mainly mentally, just like it did
with Ishmael. Shortly after this experience Ishmael starts having horrid
nightmares. The first one he tells about
is how he is towing a covered wheelbarrow with a body in it. After uncovering it, he finds himself dead with bullet
holes in his body. This is the start to another conflict with himself, and how
he's terrified of what his subconscious
can do to him. These two conflicts is a
great place to start the story. Beah represents an inside, person conflict (himself), and an external, worldly conflict
(the rebels). It helps you realize what's
wrong, right at the beginning. (12, 19)
An unexpected event that appalled me
was how brutal the rebels were to the
people they tortured. I won't go into
detail about things that occurred, but
know it was inhumane and discomforting in many ways. This opposing force
was a serious deal that needed to be
taken care of by a stronger force. This
example really shows the brutality and
ruthlessness of men and how cruel
they can be. It's nice to have an outside
source to give "protected" people a
glimpse of the real world. (27)
Another turn in events is when the six
ation like this. Just a reminder, these
kids are only about twelve to thirteen
years old at this time; that's crazy. It
comes to show the way we are raised
so differently according to our cultures.
Some literally have it in their genes to
be a survivor and fighter. (43, 45)
these "seven boys" were threatening,
so many times they were put on the
doorstep with death by people in the
villages they passed. You can only be
alone for so long until you go crazy. I
think that this ultimately saved Ishmael for the time being. (57)
Being lost and alone can tear one apart
and being rejected by others adds to
that feeling. As Ishmael continues to
travel, people he runs into usually disregard or shun him. Desperate times
call for desperate measures, I guess.
This whole time he has to fight himself
Have you ever walked on burning hot
sand? I know I have just for a bit, nothing too serious. Compared to what
happened to the boys, I have nothing
on them. One day after being kicked
out of a village, the boys lost their
crepes because the people in the previous village had stolen them. The main
conflict now isn't necessarily the
rebels, but more of the ruthless villagers. (62)
After journeying quite awhile, they
boys became very close. One evening
in a village square, Musa brought up a
story about his father. This was the first
time anyone had dared bring up facts
about their family. I think this event
was special and needed because that's
what their main goal was; to find their
families and happiness. I think this
helped the boys with motivation and
hope along their way and kindled the
fire to go on. (78)
Ishmael Beah, author and former child soldier. (2014)
For a while, the boys were uninterrupted on their journey to find a safe
haven, and they had thought they
found one at Kamator. After staying
there for about three months, the
peace ended. Rebels came again and
brought devastation to the village. The
saddest part of all is that Ishmael never
sees his brother, Junior, again after this
attack, so he never knew what happened to him. Not only that, but the
rest of his original crew is scattered. He
does end up finding Kalako, but they
choose different paths and split up, so
that leaves Ishmael scared and alone. I
would never know what to do in a situ-
mentally and physically. Loneliness is
getting into his head and when you
combine that with starvation, it's a formula for disaster. I would like to say I
could make it through a situation like
this, but I honestly don't know what
would happen. I felt bad for Ishmael as
he starts "heading downhill" because
his decisions are what makes the story.
(49, 52)
Ishmael finally finds hope along his
journey as he finds a new group of
friends: Alhaji, Saidu, Kanei, Jumah,
Musa, and Moriba. They have a bad
reputation and word gets out that
The journey gets harder. One haunting
and eerie night, Saidu finds a bird and
decides to eat it. The other boys try to
coax him not to, but he does anyway.
The next day, Saidu doesn't respond
and later he ends up dying. This death
takes a big tole on the group. It's like
they lost a member of the family they
had made. Staying positive in this scenario would be so hard, but Musa and
the boys defy that. Musa was a jokester
and storyteller and had a natural talent
for lifting spirits. Even through all these
events, the boys continue on. (82, 90)
Another unexpected event was when
Ishmael and his clan find Gasemu
working in a field. Gasemu was someone Ishmael knew from his original village and upon finding him, he said that
his family had made it to the village
over the hill. What a day! Ishmael is finally going to reunite with his family as
well as some other boys with their families . . . Or so they thought. When coming down the hill, the tragedy occurs
once again. The gunshots, the screams,
those terrible sounds. Hopes are
crushed instantly and the village containing their families is burned to the
The Sierra Leone Times
ground with no survivors. If I was in
that situation, I'm pretty sure I would
have given up right there. I would have
figured it's not worth going on because
I had lost everything, literally everything besides the clothes on my back. I
think that this moment finally made
Ishmael realize how badly he wanted
to take revenge on the rebels. I think
that without this event, he wouldn't
have been as great of a child soldier.
(93)
Join the fight or die without honor? I
think this is a crucial turning point in
Ishmael's personality as he starts to
become a merciless child soldier. It was
sad to see as he turned from an innocent boy into something else. But this
is quite the example of what war can
do to a person. At first he was reluctant
about killing others. He was even
scared about holding a gun! But as
soon as he realized his friends were dying, he had no fear, he said, "I had no
problem shooting my gun." It started to
get easier and easier and he eventually
found joy in murdering the rebels. Following all of this, he got accustomed to
the drugs that came with it. Ishmael is
now becoming part of the conflict for
other people. It blows my mind that
children so little got involved with such
a thing. It makes me wonder what
would happen if something like that
happened in the United States where
children were fighting the war. I like
how Beah tells of this experience be-
3
cause it's definitely something we can
learn from in many aspects. (120, 125)
Time flies and as soon as Ishmael is
getting comfortable with the war life as
a junior lieutenant he's taken out to be
put in a rehabilitation center. I feel that
this was another big turning point. I'm
glad the lieutenant in charge of Alhaji
and Ishmael was smart enough to take
them out of the war when he had the
chance. I think he realized that those
younger boys still actually had a
chance at a normal life, but in itself, it
was probably a hard decision. After
reading this I realize how unfortunate
some people are that never fully recover. It's surprising how people can adjust from a life full of killing and craziness to a "regular" life. I think Ishmael
is one of the more lucky ones who
came out of the war. One lasting effect
that was always prominent was his
trouble with nightmares and not wanting to go to sleep. (129)
Another conflict that's shown after
some boys get taken out of the war is
adjusting to normal life with other people their age. Right at the beginning of
their time at the rehabilitation center
Ishmael and his boys get in a fight with
the other rebel boys. This is a great example of how people have a hard time
adapting to new and strange situations
with people you don't trust. But all
that's needed in this situation is time
and patience which is shown by the
Five school yard murders in just eight months . . . (Zapiro)
workers and civilians there. The
biggest influence to Ishmael was the
kindness Esther had towards him. It
shows how much difference one pers o n , o n e f r i e n d , c a n m a ke i n
someone's life. And it all started with a
smile and some Coca-Cola. I think
Beah is showing us how giving up on
something never solves anything. Persistence and determination are some
of the keys for success. (152)
Another big event for Ishmael was
when he found family living in Freetown that he could stay with. I was fairly surprised leaving behind what he
has left of friends and entering a new
situation. I think Beah really needed
this though. This whole time his goal
had been to find his immediate family
that he got separated from at the very
beginning. This opportunity is once in a
lifetime because it gives him a chance
to have that feeling of satisfaction to
be filled as he's adopted into his
uncle's family. Sadly, when he does this
it doesn't resolve the conflict. (181)
Another once in a lifetime event that
changed Beah's life is when he speaks
at the conference at the UN in New
York City. Some things are meant to be
and Beah being able to come to the
United States for this conference ultimately changed his life and his decision to come back to New York later on
in his life. I think it's no coincidence
that these events were presented to
Beah because he had something to tell
the world to change some lives. (193)
And finally, the conflict that never
seems to end is the presence of the
rebels in Sierra Leone, but as time goes
on they get a new name, "Sobels". And
this time, they are threatening the city
of Freetown. Beah finally realized what
he wants in life. He doesn't want this
constant fighting, this constant havoc.
Although his only connections of direct
family is in Freetown, he doesn't want
to live a life like this because it has
turned out to be abnormal and a fight
for survival everyday. Because Beah
was loved by many, Laura had offered
him a place to stay in New York, and he
knew that was the place he needed to
be. This decision was probably the
hardest and most life changing event
for Ishmael. It truly shaped him into
the person he is today. If he would
have stayed behind in Freetown, he
would have had no hope for his future
life. Ok, maybe a little, but he would
never make it to the level of happiness
he obtained in his New York life. (203)
Beah's account never ceased to amaze
me as I read. We all need to learn to be
the person that metaphorically "kills
the monkey so others won't be put in a
sticky predicament." (Numbers at the
end of each paragraph refer to the page
number in the book that I'm
analyzing.)
4
The Sierra Leone Times
OBITUARIES
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
By: Liz Anderson
Father (Mogbwemo)
Father Beah was a very strong willed
man. Though we never learn much
about him, he always had an interest in
his sons' lives. He encouraged having a
bright future and was very family-oriented. Until a new woman was introduced to the picture which led to a
nasty divorce and a life away from his
sons. His sons will always remember
the pain they went through, but they
will always love their father. He was the
man who helped raised them and they
always did enjoy seeing him.
Saidu (Yele)
Saidu was a part of a group of boys
that were running from the rebels. He
had to leave his family behind at home
and run to save his life. He had much
love for his family and only wanted to
protect them, however there were
some circumstances that he could not
save them from. Saidu always wanted
to take charge and just live to survive.
This is what they believe caused his
passing. He was 'haunted' by three
white ghosts that put him into a coma
which he eventually came out of for a
period of a day or two. He slipped back
into his coma and died in peace. The
boys are convinced that the stress of
dealing with his family situation is
what really broke him down. It slowly
tore pieces away from him every moment he spoke of his family. They were
his greatest blessing in life.
Josiah (Yele)
Josiah was too young of a soldier to
have to leave the earth. He enjoyed his
time relaxing and had a hard time adjusting to soldier life. Josiah easily became attached to those he was around
and could look up to. He had a large
heart and never turned his back on
anyone. He was small for being a soldier, almost everything tipped him
over. However, he learned how to adjust himself and his behaviors. Josiah
had an ability to bring those to love
him as easily as he loved others. The
day he was injured was a very traumatic day for those close to him. He will always be a little brother to his fellow
soldiers. He left this world too
violently. Rest in peace, little guy.
Uncle Tommy (Freetown)
Tommy Beah became a love of Ishmael
in Freetown. Tommy took Ishmael in
when he was at the rehabilitation center and had loved him from the second
that they met. Ishmael became his son
instantly. That is how Tommy was. He
had five adopted children, all children
of friends and family that needed a
better life. He was willing to provide
this for them. He was an especially caring man, and was always concerned
about how his children were doing and
what they were up to in their every day
life. As a young boy, Tommy caused
much trouble with his brother, running
around the villages. He always believed
in while you're a child, act like a child.
It was his favorite philosophy. He knew
what information to tell and what to
subside when introducing new people.
He knew how to hold his tongue at critical times and just let the world play
out. He appreciated his family for all
that they were worth. Tommy always
had a sense of humor and knew how to
make his friends and family laugh. He
was extremely protective of his family
and only wanted the best life for them.
Which is really difficult when you have
teenagers. Tommy was an extremely
religious man, and always made time
for prayers during the day. Tommy had
many doubts when it came to his children's aspirations. However he was
supportive of them in all of their
dreams. Tommy was loved by all and
was escorted to higher courts with the
love of his family by his side.
Gasemu (Mattru Jong)
Gasemu was a dear friend to those he
knew. He always wanted to help those
get to their dreams. He was a very well
off banana farmer, but always enlisted
help from others. He was not very good
at being sneaky, and this is what took
him from this world. He will always be
loved because of his willingness to help
others.
HOROSCOPES
By: Liz Anderson
ISHMAEL:
You are a very wise man. You know
how to fight for what you love and you
do what you feel is right at all times.
You are a family-oriented man. You prepared yourself for your future when
you were a young child. The future
ahead of you is bright. You will make
your mark as you continue through life.
Don't give up on your dreams and aspirations, you will achieve what you set
your mind to.
JUNIOR:
You are a very nurturing man. You have
always been that way and always will
be. It's who you are. You always look
out for those who you love and teach
them what you enjoy doing. You are a
strong man. You do not like to show
weakness to anyone. You have a love
for music and the culture based around
it. There is a special spot saved in your
heart for your family and friends. They
are everything to you and you would
do anything to help them out.
MUSA:
You are very protective of your friends
and family. You are always one to go
and save someone from a problem and
that is a very special quality. You enjoy
telling stories to all of those around
you, some are for pure entertainment
purposes and others are just to teach
others more about what you love to do.
Your sense of humor is key to enjoying
life. If you can always take a break to
laugh at the situation, no matter what
it is, you will be much more successful
in life.
ALHAJI:
Mother (Mogbwemo)
Mother Beah was a saint to all that she
came in contact with. She enjoyed
spending time with her sons teaching
them how to cook, watching them play
sports, or even just holding a plain conversation. Some of the most treasured
times with her sons were trips to the
market and enjoying themselves at
home. Despite her divorce from her exhusband, she always made sure that
her sons had a relationship with their
father. She will be missed dearly by her
sons. Love you forever Mother.
Teasing is your way of showing love to
those around you. It is a wonderful
quality that you possess. You are very
loving when it comes to your family, especially the women like your mother
and sister. They mean everything to
you, and you want to do everything in
your power to protect them. You will
do anything to protect those around
you. You would be one to always take
the bullet for your friends. Never let
that go, your friends will always love
and appreciate you for it.
KANEI:
You have lost those you love very early
on in your life. You love learning new
things about people and getting to
know them at a more personal level.
You strive to be with your family more
now than ever before. You enjoy being
with those you love more than most.
You have a sense of humor that carries
you through your hard times.
JUMAH:
You enjoy being in the company of others. You are never one to initiate the
fight, you are always one to think
things over and calm down before you
do something you regret. This is a great
quality to have. You will never be the
fault for an argument if you have an attitude like that. You will do well in life if
you keep being who you are and enjoy
every minute!
LIEUTENANT JABATI:
You are a very calm man. You would
much rather sit back and relax, but
your calling in life doesn't allow this
very often. The quiet worries you. You
would much rather prefer things are
busy around you, though that isn't always the case of your surroundings.
You are very quiet, and this tends to
make others scared of you. The authority position you uphold is an accurate
representation of your personality. It
may be better to let up sometimes
from the hardness of your personality
and have some fun.
ESTHER:
Your personality makes you perfect for
your occupation. You are great with
children and can figure out exactly
what makes them tick. You are an expert at helping children get back to a
mental state of where they should be.
You are very patient, and this will help
you throughout the remainder of your
life. Always stay happy and positive, for
it will help you with all of the challenges that you may face. You are a
saint in a world full of devils.
ZAINAB:
You are a flirt. You know how to get
what you want when you want it. This
can be very useful to you, but also very
dangerous. You will go about breaking
many hearts and pulling in many men
to fall for you. Don't abuse this power
or you will be the one who ends up getting hurt. You like to learn about
others, but too soon in a relationship.
You come off as a little bit nosy. However, those who really want to get to
know you will look past it.
The Sierra Leone Times
5
The Weather
Almanac
Moon Phases
Local Temperatures
Waxing Crescent
(Weather.com)
Character Development
By: Liz Anderson
The obituaries and the horoscopes are
how we decided to represent the many
characters that are present in this
book. We realized that you learn a lot
about the deceased when you read
their horoscope, so this would be an
excellent way to tell about the characters that had passed as well as fit into
our newspaper theme. Horoscopes are
always a feature in a daily newspaper
(Crescent Moon)
(Weather.com)
and they were a great way to represent
the characters that made it through
the story. They truly describe who the
characters are and how their personality traits will carry them through life.
describe how hot it was. Their shirts
would stick to there backs as they
trudged through the humid forest.
They'd go and take a dip in a nearby
river when they got too hot, then continue on after they cooled down. Later
in the memoir, Ishmael goes to New
York. The weather for New York is there
because when he went to New York it
was a shock how cold it was and Ishmael thought that it must always be
Christmas there.
Today's Forcast by: Nicole
Westfall
The weather is a symbolism of how hot
it is in Sierra Leone. Many times
throughout the memoir, Ishmael would
Top left: This is the weather for major
areas in Sierra Leone. Top right: The
weather forecast for the next three
days in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Bottom
left: The almanac for today's weather
conditions. Middle Bottom: The upcoming phase of the moon. Bottom
Right: The temperature and chance of
precipitation for the local area as well
as New York's temperature and chance
of precipitation. Fashioned after The
Herald Journal. (Weather.com), (Crescent Moon)
6
The Sierra Leone Times
Tweets of the War
Explanation of Tweets
By Kenzee Jardine
These are the top ten tweets of the war
of Sierra Leone. Many of these tweets
signify the change of mind young men
had during the war they were forced to
fight in and tried to escape from. Just
like @ishmael_124 said, the gun was a
source of power for these men. It was
what they all turned to in times of desperation and fear. But with this said
‘power’ also comes a lack of trust.
@ishmael_37 understood this fact.
One big consequence of this war was
no one trusted the other, especially
young boys and men because of the
guns they held and the shots they fired.
It doesn’t matter if there was no gun
because just being a male seemed
cause enough for people stop trusting
them. @ishmael_104 explains that
cowards die because they chose to let
others do their bidding and use others
for what they want even if it is harmful
to the other. @ishmael_69 expects the
worst to happen because once you
hope for good things, it will be a much
harder blow if those things don’t happen. @ishmael_88 began to fear nightfall because all things were uncertain,
they didn’t know what would happen
to them after dark. Because of the
many violent acts @ishmael_70 faced
in this war, they kept wondering when
they would die. Everyone around him
had, so it was difficult to go day by day
wondering about the inevitable. @ishmael_55 knew that things would get
better, but he and his friends just needed to outlast the war and troublesome
situations they were in. @ishmael_54
realized that when people die, it’s
meant to be. When they survive after
all odds are against them, they must
have a good destiny left and a life left
to live. @ishmael_19 wishes to get rid
of the memories of the war but it’s
these memories that made him who he
is. To get rid of them would be to get
rid of himself. Finally, @ishmael_199
emphasizes that he is no longer a soldier. During his story Ishmael said
many times that he lost his childhood
but at this moment he declares himself
a child again.
*The number at the end of the twitter
name is the page number the quote is
on.
The Sierra Leone Times
7
Daily Crossword
Meaning of the Crossword
By: Liz Anderson
We decided that the crossword was a
great way to review some of the new
things that we had learned in the book.
There are plenty of slang words, characters, locations, and facts about the
book that are easily remembered. The
best way to try and "quiz" ourselves
was to make all of the words into one
big, but fun, review. Hence, the crossword. It's a great way to try and remember what new slang words we
learned and how they lived. The crossword is fun for anyone to try, and it is a
great way to recall facts about the
book. Ishmael was also very
education-oriented. This is a simple
way to show his academic side.
These crepes straight from Sierra
Leone themselves will be great for
any activity of which you wish to pursue! Buy them now for only $49.99!
Ad Write-Up
By: Liz Anderson
The significance of the crepes ad is that
every time Ishmael was "drafted" he
would get a new pair of crepes from
the soldiers, rebels, etc. He always got
extremely excited and wore them out
within a few weeks. He loved getting
his new shoes more than anything.
Page Made By: Liz Anderson
Answer Key
8
The Sierra Leone Times
e Sport of War
By Kenzee Jardine
Sierra Leone Soldiers (N.p.. Web. 31)
over. In July of the same year, most
British troops drew out of Sierra Leone.
They left behind one team of soldiers in
order to train the Sierra Leoneans to
fight for themselves.
Explanation of Score Board
The Starting Point
This chart describes the places Ishmael
goes to try to escape from the war.
While he's trying to run, the rebels destroy every village they came in contact
with. When Ishmael reached Yale he
had to join the army because if he
didn't, he and his friends would've
been kicked out of the village. The soldiers asked for the boys involvement
because rebels were waiting to attack
right next to the village. About this
time of Ishmael joining the war, he became hooked on drugs which made
him almost immune to the effects that
come with killing others. All the battles
mentioned have have caused Ishmael
to have emotional distress because of
all he had done. UNICEF rehabilitated
him and there Ishmael was able to
overcome the distress that the war
caused him. There is a spot added for
other various villages battles because
although they were unnamed, they
were also important in his life. The
numbers under the two opposing
forces signify who ‘won’ or escaped
from the battles.
In May of 1967, Siaka Stevens was declared the new Prime Minister of Sierra
Leone (Beah). There were those that
wished the decision of who was to be
in the office to wait until after elections
of tribal representatives so they captured the Prime Minister and kept him
captive. After the matter was resolved
in 1968, Siaka Stevens returned to his
post. Though he returned, order was
never restored in Sierra Leone.
Children after UNICEF (Hondros)
Children were also hurt by the rebels
(BCC)
Ten years later, the constitution declared the All People’s Congress (APC)
the only legally available voting party.
In an attempt to rid the country of the
power-abusing APC, men formed a
group calling themselves the Revolutionary United Front (RUF); otherwise
known as the rebels. The RUF attacked
villages and committed ruthless acts
against the people living there; including women and children. They also
started recruiting boys to join their
army. If they would not join, they
would be killed. This is why the rebels
became so feared; especially for young
men who did not wish to join the war.
The Sierra Leone government tried to
keep the RUF at bay but failed (Beah).
U.N. Intervenes
In October of 1999 the United Nations
Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was
established in Sierra Leone in order to
come up with a peace agreement in the
country. The peace, however, did not
last. The rebels continued to attack
others and went so far as to kidnap
members of UNAMSIL to demonstrate
how much they did not tolerate violations of their rules (Beah).
In May of 2000 all people not native to
Sierra Leone were evacuated because
of the hostile environment. After this
evacuation, there was a cease-fire and
the war was unofficially over.
For another attempt of a peace treaty,
in 2001 the Abuja Peace Agreement
was signed. The treaty caused less
fighting in the country and the government was able to regain control of previously rebel dominated area (Beah).
As of January 2002, President Kabbah
announces that the civil war is officially
("Coca-Cola magazine ads")
Ad Explanation
The Coca-Cola ad signifies the love Ishmael had for the drink. When he was in
rehabilitation with UNICEF, the nurse
Esther would always have a Coke ready
for him in hopes he would come to be
familiar with her. Esther used the Coke
in order to get him to come to her then
hope he'd talk to her about the war
and the things which were causing him
to have nightmares. I think she was using the drink as a positive reinforcement because when Ishmael came to
her, she gave him a Coke, his favorite
drink at the time, and he was able to
confide in her the harsh reality he had
been in. Esther played a big part of
helping Ishmael come to be a child
again because of their talks.
The Sierra Leone Times
9
The Lost Chapters
22-Kenzee Jardine
The days at the embassy didn’t last
long. Those of us there still needed to
get to a safer place. I talked to those
around me and found that many were
seeking refuge in the United States, but
not many had enough money or spirit
to go that far. These people had come
to their final point in the journey and I
wished them the best, but as for me, I
needed to go farther to escape my
demons.
The workers were very nice and
helpful, much unlike the soldiers and
uniformed men along the way. They
helped me get in touch with Laura in
New York where we made plans for me
to travel. “Everything will be just fine
Ishmael.” She would say, “I will take
care of it.” The days seemed like years
as I waited for Laura to finalize everything. I had no idea what she could do,
let alone if she would be able to accomplish a way for me to return to New
York and find safety.
People came and went in the embassy,
though it was getting increasingly difficult to get there. Three days had
passed before I heard word from Laura.
She had gotten ahold of Dr. Tamba and
they had pulled some strings in order
to book me a flight to New York the
next day. Dr. Tamba was to wait for me
at the Conakry airport where he would
give me further instructions. I hoped
they kept my papers from traveling to
the conference so there would not be
another delay in paperwork. I needed
to escape for I did not know how much
more I could take. I had seen many
gruesome things in my short life and
survived many things that I should not
have, yet at the brink of freedom, I
could not take another delay. As the
night passed on, I could not fall asleep.
I had no idea how to get to the airport
from where I was at, or at all and did
not know how to communicate with
the people in this city. The worries of
my final trek kept me up all night but
luckily I had learned how to function
with little to no sleep from my boy soldier days. The moment the sun out
spoke the moon I was gathering my belongings and readying myself to leave. I
looked around the compound and
tried to remember all the people in this
place. This war is brutal and the people
in this room were all victims of it from
the peaceful child still sleeping in his
mothers arms, to the man in the corner
with his eyes wide, searching as if
someone was coming to get him. I wish
it had never started, but these things
happen and it must not be a coincidence for the people who have become
involved. These situations show the
brutality of men and what that does to
a country as a whole for only the
strongest will survive. Those not strong
at the beginning of the war, had to become strong or they died.
I sighed as I walked out the doors, one
last trek and I could finally be away
from all the evil. At the gate I turned
around. The embassy was quite the
building with the green, white, and
blue flag of my country waving in the
early morning sun. It was such a beautiful sight with the light reflecting off
the embassy that it was almost hard to
turn away but I had to continue on.
I had to get directions to the airport,
but there was almost no way I could
communicate with the few people that
were out in the early morning air. I kept
walking past all the buildings along the
streets hoping for some sign of the airport. After five blocks of straight walking, one of the buildings had a map of
the city. Running towards it and rejoicing for my good fortune, I almost ran
into another man walking on the sidewalk. He looked at me and mumbled
something in his language, one I
couldn’t understand so I ignored him
and continued to the sign. On it was an
airplane that I assumed meant the airport. I hurried off to find it so there was
no chance of me forgetting. It was not
too far from where I was already. When
I finally came to the airport and walked
in, I was stunned at how many people
were roaming about. It seemed like
many had tried to take refuge here as
well as surrounding public areas. There
was an extremely small chance of being able to find Dr. Tamba in such a
crowded and crazy place. I decided to
roam the open spaces and heard my
name being called. Dr. Tamba grabbed
my shoulder and pulled me into a hug.
I had never been so glad to see another
human being in my life. He started
telling me about all the things he and
Laura had taken care of . Between the
two of them, everything was ready and
I was able to get to New York with no
problem.
Upon arriving in New York, Laura greeted me with open arms. It had been a
long flight and I needed to rest,
recover, and get used to not being
afraid anymore. We went to the village
Laura lived in and she helped me get
situated in her home. She slowly got
me accustomed to the American
lifestyle by having meals I was familiar
with but also adding Americanized cuisine. It was during this time I came to
love soda. While I was in the embassy
in Conakry, Laura had started paperwork for my adoption. “It has not been
easy Ishmael. But you need a mother
and I hoped you would be willing to accept me as that; your mother.” This
brought tears to my eyes because it
had been so long since I had even
thought of my mother. We embraced
and I nodded. I finally had a mother
again.
That night I had a dream. I was back in
Sierra Leone and in my old junior lieutenant position in the army. We were
heading to attack a neighboring village
known to be filled with rebels and
food. Two men went to scout the village but only one returned. This filled
us with anger and we marched right to
the middle of an ambush. There were
shots firing every way and pretty soon I
was the only man standing. Suddenly, I
was attacked from behind by a young
Rebel. He knocked my prized weapon
away and we fought hand to hand. I
was on the ground getting kicked and
punched when I gained higher ground
and the fight turned in my favor. In mid
punch I stopped. I took a good look at
the young man under me and smiled.
Rising to my feet, I outstretched a hand
to help him up and embraced him
when he stood. Pulling back, the two of
us were both in tears. We nodded at
one another and parted ways smiling. I
awoke with a tear soaked pillow and a
smile upon my face because I have
grown from this war. I may have lost
my childhood, but I gained something
much greater. I gained the appreciation
of people. I experienced things much
different than any other child and
though it comes back to haunt me, I
am grateful for these experiences.
Through them I’ve learned to love and
accept others as most people can not.
Throughout this war I became many
things but after I was out, I became a
child again. I became me.
23 - Liz Anderson
I had never really realized what it was
like not living in Sierra Leone. Until I
started to recall what my life had previously been; terrible. Living in New York
has been the best part of my life. I have
my mom, my aunt, and everyone
around me who loves me and is not
trying to kill me. It’s a completely different scenario than what I was used to
dealing with in Mogbwemo.
My very first memory of Mogbwemo, I
was four. Junior and I were playing soccer in the street when all of the kids
around us started to come and join in.
First there were only few, but as the
days and weeks went on, our numbers
multiplied and we had too many people for just two teams. It was impossible. Junior had the most brilliant idea
of all time - a competition.
We all decided who would be on what
team and what the team names were.
We would all play each other and whoever came out on top, won. They were
the ultimate champion. The days playing soccer have always been my favorite days. Those days playing soccer,
is where we became friends with Talloi
and Mohamed. And later in life they became our best friends. The last thing
we ever imagined was having to leave
them behind.
Soccer is something I miss very much
from back home. It was my pure joy.
Living in New York, I don’t have much
of a chance to play it anymore, and it
pains me to watch others play it, remembering what used to be. Oh how I
wish things were different growing up.
If only the war had not existed, I would
have been able to see my family another day. I would have never had to
watch my friends die. But I also would
have never had the experiences that I
had, or met the people that I did. I
thank the war. It has given me an awful
life, but also one that I could have never reached without it. If the war had
never happened, I would have never
gotten the opportunity to come to New
York for the CAW conference. I would
have never met Laura, Leslie, or Esther.
Laura. She took me in when I had no
one. I have accepted her as my mother,
and she has been wonderful to me. I
10
love Laura like you can only love your
own mother. She has blessed me in
ways I would have never thought possible after the war.
Leslie. Without him I would have never
had any experience outside of the war.
He brought me to America, where I
learned so much. He helped me become a child when I did not know how.
He brought me back to a state which I
wish I could have been in the entire
time. Being a boy soldier was not the
childhood I wanted, but he was able to
let me have what small portion I had
left. I owe all of my life since the war to
him.
Esther. She brought me back to the reality that I wish I had. She made me a
child again, and I can never repay her
for that. When I first met her, she was
someone that I hated I despised having
to deal with her. However, as time went
by, she became one of my best friends,
and deepest confidants. I owe her for
so much in my life, yet I will most likely
never find a way to tell her, for she is
most likely still in Freetown.
As I sit with my new family in New York,
I can’t help but be grateful for the
changes in my life. I would never be sitting where I am today without the war
at home. I miss my old friends. I miss
my mother and brothers even more.
However, the war had made me who I
am.
I am eternally grateful for the war and
the experiences I have had to deal with
because of the results thereof. Some
may ask me why I am glad I lost all of
my friends and family. I’m not. Those
were the hardest times of my life. However, because of the war, I was able to
make new friendships and find new
people who are now some of the most
important people in my life thus far.
Who knows where I could be right now.
I could easily be dead. I had enough
near-death experiences to qualify for
very many “I almost just died” moments. I could still be as a prisoner in
Sierra Leone, miserable with only my
thoughts of what happened to my family and loved ones. I could have become a soldier, once again, and tried to
defend those on my side of the war. For
I will forever be a supporter of Sierra
Leone and the tribes of which I became
an honorary member while on the run
from the rebels. For these tribes will
forever be my family. That is the way of
Sierra Leone.
I feel terrible for those who are still
dealing with the strife and trauma of
the war. Those who lost everything, yet
still have not been able to be free from
the soldiers and the rebels. Who could
not make their way to Conakry to escape the terrible conditions of being
The Sierra Leone Times
held captive by the rebels. My poor
cousins and aunt, still living with the
rebels attacking the towns. I pray for
them and their safety. Mohamed, my
best friend. Oh how I wish that he is
able to continue his life in a positive direction. I miss my cultures and relationships from Sierra Leone.
After all that I have been through and
seen, I am glad I am where I am. If I
keep living in memory and sorrows of
what my life used to be, I will never be
happy. The key to being happy now is
living in the present. I have been given
a second chance at having a wonderful
life and that is all that I can attest to. If I
relive the past, I will never be a happy
man. I will feel terrible for leaving my
family and friends behind in the dust.
That is why this is my last testament of
my past. The future is in store. I have
never been more excited for life before.
I hope that one day, I will be able to see
parts of the world that I have never
been to before. I wish to be able to live
a life that anyone would be proud to
live. I want to be a great husband, and
an even better father. I hope to be able
to go to college and get a wonderful
education. I want to love my family and
do anything to protect them. I wish to
have a great job that I love. So I may be
able to provide for my family, and enjoy quality time on vacations that they
will always remember. My last and final
wish, to have a life that I always
dreamed of. Be the man who I want to
be. Know that whatever I will do in my
life, it will be the right choice. One day I
will get to a point where I can look back
and be proud of who I am and how
hard I have worked to have gotten to
the point where I am. I thank all of my
friends and family for all that they have
done for me. Good luck to you, and
please send prayers my way. I will be
forever yours.
ven tapestries on the walls, the vases
and birds on the tables, and animals
on the bookshelves that are full of
books (Beah 179-200). Only one thing
has changed… It is my house, my
home now. I was safe from the war and
I never had to go back, though my
mind kept drifting back to my days as a
soldier. I still was having nightmares of
rebels and being back in war after a
month of living in New York. Though I
had started my life over virtually, it
couldn't protect my mind in drifting
back to the past as I closed my eyes to
sleep at night. As life went on, everything got better because my attitude
changed about life.
It seemed so surreal to live in New York
City, where everyone walked on the
streets in a hurry to get to their destinations on time, no one fearing soldiers will shoot them as they walk. I began to love all the rustle and bustle of
the City . This was my life now. I kept
thinking to myself that I don’t have to
live in fear, that I can live a normal life
in America, but I couldn’t convince myself that the rebels wouldn’t come to
my house and take away everything I
care about, take away the people I
love, and force me fight in the war
again. But it was real, and I could be
happy again. Living like a New Yorker
and being pleased and content with
my life; it was a chance to start over.
24-Nicole Westfall
As I lived my life as a soldier, I kept
wondering why everything that could
go wrong did, and why every time I
found people I loved, I lost them again.
I began to realize that the reason that
they were happening to me is because I
found happiness. Goodness and happiness doesn't mean the absence of challenges or problems (Minzesheimer). Everyone will have challenges and problems no matter how content they are
with the life they are living. But it is
when you are in the worst of times that
the happiest of moments revive you.
In July of 1998, I made my way home
after escaping from Sierra Leone into
Guinea. I boarded a plane in Abidjan,
Cote d’Ivoire. (Swango) This was the
second time I had ever rode on an airplane. It was still just as exciting as the
first time. The jolt in my stomach as the
plane picked up speed and rocketed
into the air exhilarated me just as it did
the first time. Watching the circular
rainbows on the top of the clouds form,
then disappear, was spectacular. After
hours upon hours of traveling, I finally
made it to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. This time, it
was no longer like Christmas. It was
more like the weather I was familiar
with. Laura came to pick me up at the
airport and later became my foster
mother. Her house was just as I remembered, with the traditionally wo-
I had finally began to live a normal life,
doing things I wouldn’t have ever
dreamt of back in Sierra Leone. I realized revenge only brought more suffering in life. New York was my second
chance at being normal, my second
life. My mother and I began doing
things that gave me a piece of my
childhood back. We would ride our
bikes in Central park, which was always a blast. We went to the zoo and
saw all the sorts of animals, some I had
seen in the wild, some were completely
new to me. We went out to eat at
places like McDonalds and Wendy’s
and some fancy restaurants and I enjoyed every second of it. We even took
a trip to California that opened my
eyes once again. This all meant so
much to me because I felt like I had
gotten a little chunk of my childhood
back and made me so happy.(Swango)
In August of 1998, I began my last two
years of secondary school in New York
at the United Nations International
School. From the mouth of Nelson
Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world.” Education changed
my life in many ways. I was awestruck
when I discovered the library in our
school. I could go and sit in the library
and read books, read anything I wanted to, and I could borrow the books for
free! I was exceptionally pleased when
I discovered that library. Libraries are
powerhouses of knowledge, a place I
see as the garden where the mind
comes to fuel, revitalize, and cultivate
its potential. It enabled me to rediscover my humanity and my mind, and to
find my place and role in the world. I
believe education to be a most potent
medicine for whatever we encounter in
our lives. My recovery from war was
completed because I had the opportunity of education. It even gave me the
tools to understand what had happened to me ("Newsmaker: Ishmael
Beah").
After secondary school I attended
Oberlin College in Ohio. During that
time, and during high school as well, I
participated in programs like UNICEF,
Human Rights Watch, the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Secretary General’s Office for
Children and Armed Conflict, and serving on a UN panel, on regard to the
predicament the child soldiers are in,
what they are being forced to do, and
what that is doing to the minds of
these suffering individuals all around
the world. This makes me feel like I am
slowly repairing and helping a deep
wound heal that has been made. For
me it’s just a way to give me more
strength to continue doing what I've already embarked on, what I've dedicated my life to doing – which is to make
sure that what happened to me
doesn't continue to happen to other
children around the world (UNICEF). It
helps me choose not to feel guilty.
Since the war has ended in 2002, I have
made visits back to Sierra Leone. This
has inspired me in many different
ways. There is so much tragedy and
heartache in Sierra Leone and throughout the entire world, you have to hope
and be able to look up and look forward to keep on going. This is another
reason why I participate in organizations. To bring to attention what state
the people living in and what we can
do to help them. (Minzesheimer)
A lot of people, when they say 'forgive
and forget,' they think you completely
wash your brain out and forget everything. That is not the concept. What I
The Sierra Leone Times
11
think is you forgive and you forget so
you can transform your experiences,
not necessarily forget them, but transform them so that they don't haunt
you or handicap you or kill you (Beah).
I hope people will do that with all the
things I have done. If I were to live my
life, feeling guilty for all of the treachery I have participated in, if I choose to
feel guilty for what I have done, I would
want to be dead myself. I live knowing
that I have been given a second life,
and I just try to have fun, and be happy
and live it the best I can (Swango).
work, I received a mysterious letter
that had been slid under my apartment
door. I looked at it for a while, debating
on whether opening this letter would
be worth it or not. My curiosity came
over that feeling and I proceeded to
open the letter.
city, I realized how deserted it had become. The busy crowded streets were
no longer filled with the cars and people. Street vendors were empty and the
town resembled a sad ghetto look of
the villages I had seen that had been
affected by the rebels.
As I read through the contents of the
message my heart beat faster and
faster. I felt as if I could hear each
“thud” as my heart beat. Light perspiration had begun and I was confused
whether this letter was real or not.
What I had just read was a letter of desperation from my dear friend Alhaji!
25 - Kyle Jensen
An anxiety attack must have happened
shortly after reading the strange message because when I had awaken, I was
sprawled uncomfortably on the floor
and it was beginning to get dark. I sat
up, still utterly lost and fatigued from
my recent excursion. The gist of the
message was this: my dear friend had
been trying to leave Sierra Leone when
he was captured by a newly emerged
rebel group that had erupted in Freetown. How he had managed to get this
letter to me was beyond my
knowledge, but I knew I had to help my
friend immediately.
Finally creeping into town, I sidled
along a building wall to look around
the corner and to my surprise there
were two armed soldiers. One was
sleeping in a chair and the other stood
on guard. “This is a very crucial moment for me,” I thought. I also remembered the nickname I had been given,
“Green Snake”, and also the words of
Julius Ceasar, “Cowards die many
times before their deaths.” Today
wasn’t going to be the day I died, so I
sprung into action. When the rebel had
turned his back, I sprinted directly towards him. Working quick, I snapped
his neck, took his gun, and put a bullet
in the head of the sleeping soldier. This
was no place for funny business, those
childish days were over about bragging
about how we killed the opposing
force. Moving on, I still had my goal in
mind.
As I look back on my life over the past
few years, it’s a shock of how I did it.
How I survived every battle. How I
thrived taking part of the war as a
child. How I became readjusted to a
normal life through rehabilitation and
how I escaped my once beloved home,
Sierra Leone, to flee from the perils and
conflict there. Now residing in New
York, I feel like I can live a completely
different life. A life that I want to live, a
life that I can freely live.
Although I am living freely, I am also
living alone in solitude, which is quite
different. For the majority of my life
I’ve always been with someone; family
members, friends, people who have
helped me along my way, even if it was
just people of my same culture. Now
that I reside by myself in the lonely
suburbs of New York City, I have lots of
time to think, and that’s not necessarily something I want or need because
too often it brings up painful memories
of my past. If I delve too deep, I start to
have anxiety attacks which are post
war effects I would assume. So I try my
best to stay away from my own self and
thoughts. You might guess that this is
reasonably hard and almost impossible to do, and you’re almost right, besides the fact that it is possible.
I set off the next day. I had a mission on
my mind and I was set to accomplish
this seemingly unsurpassable feat. To
get to Freetown, I knew I had to take a
series of buses from where the airport
was. It felt like deja vu as my passport
was constantly checked by armed soldiers. While one was flipping through
the pages, he gave me a nasty look of
hatred. It reactivated my emotions of
rage from the terrible temper I used to
have. With all the willpower I had, I
held myself back, hastily taking my
passport and continuing on in my journey.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I
had no strategy. I had made my way to
Sierra Leone with no weapons or idea
how I was going to save Alhaji, but I
was a master of “in the moment” situations.
I spend most of my days now writing
columns for the local newspaper, The
New York Times, and talk about life in
my perspective. Over the past year, all
these days of writing, people still are
oblivious to the fact that I was once a
child soldier in Sierra Leone. I have
turned into the typical, ordinary person
here in New York; going about my way,
minding my own business, trying to
find some satisfaction in life. My cassette player with Bob Marley was my
constant companion then with his ever
present reminder of, “Don’t worry, be
happy!” I still stop by to visit Laura
sometimes and that adds some variety
to my days, but other than that, I’m
still myself with my worn down crepes.
As soon as I jumped off the last bus
stop, I was near the outskirts of Freetown. I feared what was coming in the
near future because I knew people had
to die in order to save my captured
brother. My main fear was returning to
the horrid state I was in when I was a
child soldier. I was a ruthless killer and
that’s something I never wanted to be
again. Pushing these thoughts aside, I
continued on foot towards guarded
city of Freetown. Being on foot was no
problem for me, it was something I had
done before and it was something I
could easily do again.
One day as I was getting home from
Only a few hundred feet away from the
Maneuvering through the city, loaded
with a couple of weapons from the two
rebels, I headed towards rising smoke,
where I figured the main encampment
was with the captured civilians. I was
right. While scouting, I could only see
five armed rebels with two prisoners;
Alhaji and a younger boy. It puzzled me
why there was little amount of soldiers
and why they even kept prisoners, for
the rebels rarely ever had prisoners.
Brought to You
By:
Kenzee Jardine
Liz Anderson
Not thinking too much on the topic, I
readied myself for the upcoming moment. I had to take out five soldiers before they knew what was going on and
save “Little Rambo” and the boy.
Creeping in as far as I dared, I took cover, became the Green Snake, and took
aim. Five people, five bullets, that’s all I
needed. Breath in, breath out. This was
it, this is all for my friend whom I would
give my life for.
Nicole Westfall
With the five men playing poker in a
group, this task was made easy. Boom,
boom, boom, boom, boom. It was over.
Hurriedly, I rushed over to my tied up
friend and the little boy. Tears crept
into my eyes as I embraced my long
lost friend, my brotherly figure.
Every day is a reminder to me of the
type of person I am. And that’s all
shaped around a story I heard as a
child. I am a hunter. One who will kill
the monkey for the sake of others. I am
Ishmael Beah, and that’s my story.
Kyle Jensen
12
The Sierra Leone Times
Classifieds
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africa_sierra_leone0s_civil_war/html/
5.stm>.
Beah, Ishmeal. A Long Way Gone. New
York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
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