There was a war in Sierra Leone, Africa, from 1991 to 2002 where a rebel army stormed through African villages amputating and raping citizens left and right (“Sierra Leone Profile”). Adebunmi Savage, a former citizen of Sierra Leone, describes the reality of this civil war:
In 1996 the war in Sierra Leone was becoming a horrific catastrophe. Children were recruited to be soldiers, families were murdered, death came easily, and staying alive was a privilege. Torture became the favorite pastime of the Revolutionary United Front rebel movement, which was against the citizens who supported Sierra Leone’s president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. I was in the grips of genocide and there was nothing I could do. Operation No Living Thing was put into full effect (Savage 33).
The R.U.F., however, was not alone in servicing children as their own messengers of evil, the military group countering their acts of violence also had children fighting their battles. A Long Way Gone and The Bite of the Mango are eye-opening books because they give various people all over the world a glimpse into the horrors kids in Africa were facing on a daily basis. However different Mariatu Kamara and Ishmael Beah’s experiences were regarding their journeys and disabilities, they both exhibited the same extraordinary resilience in the end to better themselves, create futures they could be proud of, and make the best with what the war left them.
Kamara and Beah’s journeys were notably different, starting with their vantage points are early involvement in the war. They both grew up in traditional African villages and were traveling home from neighboring villages when they first encountered rebels. They both also knew about the threat of the rebels, Kamara’s village was u...
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...y had endured. It’s inspiring that two children who have been to hell and back can remain positive and still become successful young adults. Their disabilities have made them stronger, more determined people. Mariatu Kamara and Ishmael Beah’s stories show that no matter how hard life can get, no matter how hard or how many times life knocks one down, he or she can always pick him or herself up and turn their life around for the better.
Works Cited
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone. New York: Sarah Crichton Books, 2007. Print.
Kamara, Mariatu and Susan McClelland. The Bite of the Mango. New York: Annick Press Limited, 2008. Print.
Massland, Tom. “We Beat and Killed People…” Newsweek. 13 May 2002: 24. Print.
Savage, Adebunmi. “ Escaping Civil War.” TeenInk. 1 May 2008: 33. Print.
“Sierra Leone Profile.” BBC News: Africa. BBC. 18 June 2013. Web. 11 November 2013.
The Sierra Leone Civil War was a savage conflict that would rage for over a decade, claiming the lives of 300,000 and displacing 2.5 million civilians. The Bite of the Mango and A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier are firsthand accounts of children affected by the war. Mariatu Kamara had her hands severed and was left for dead. Ishmael Beah was conscripted by the government army to fight the rebel forces. Ishmael and Mariatu were both victims of the bloody Sierra Leone civil war, however their journeys to safety were vastly different.
Think about how your life was when you were ten. For most people, the only worries were whether you finished your homework and if you’ve been recently updated for new games. Unfortunately, in Sierra Leone, kids at the age of ten were worried about if that day was the only day they’d be able to breathe. The cause of one of this devastating outcome is Sierra Leone’s Civil War. This war was a long bloody fight that took many lives and hopes of children and families.
Kamara, Mariatu and Susan McClelland. The Bite of the Mango. New York: Annick Press Ltd., 2008. Print.
A vivid use of description when discussing stories about the war in Sierra Leone drastically impacts the readers. The war in Sierra Leone broke out in March of 1991, and it lasted until 2000. This war happened because a group of men believed that the recently independent government of Sierra Leone was corrupt (Bah pg. 2-3).The Revolutionary United Front, or the rebels, began to attack villages in attempt to overthrow the government. They typically cut off the hands and feet of civilians. RUF grew, and they took over much of the countryside. Then, they began to attack Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, continuing their attempt to overthrow the government. They killed and wounded thousands, and they robbed
Vol. 8. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2009. Print. G Freeman, Shanna.
Cortazar, Julio. "Axolotl". A Hammock Beneath the Mangoes. Ed. Thomas Colchie, N.Y.: Plume Printing, 1991. 11-15.
Book Title: The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Contributors: Robin Higham - editor, Steven E. Woodworth - editor. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1996
Wells, Karen C.. "Children and youth at war." Childhood in a global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009. 152. Print.
The civil war of Sierra Leone lasted from 1991 to 2002. In this civil war approximately fifteen thousand kids were forced to become soldiers. Either by being kidnapped or by having their lives threatened. The situation was an extremely sad one. They had no choice weather they wanted to be soldiers or not. Like Ishmael said in A Long Way Gone, “It was either kill or be killed.” This situation is one where most people would not even be able to imagine themselves in. Ishmael Beah was a boy who suffered, because of the civil war. His family was killed and he was forced to become a soldier for the military. He eventually was rescued by UNICEF and eventually moved to the United States. For a decade, there has been a war between Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican government. There have been an unacceptable number of kids that have been used as soldiers in this war. Approximately, thirty thousand youngsters have been forced into becoming soldiers. In contrast to Sierra Leone, the soldiers here are only for the drug cartels, but in Sierra Leone even the government made the children become soldiers too. Just like the children of Sierra Leone, the children of Mexico are also kidnapped or threatened into becoming soldiers. Once captured, they are transformed into belligerent
The lack of parenting during the civil war in Sierra Leone is a major cause that leads to the use of child soldiers during the war. The outbreak of the war in Sierra Leone caused everyone to run for their lives, leaving behind loved ones. Due to the sudden outbreak, many children were split apart from their parents leaving them abandoned. Wen the war began “fathers had come running from their workplaces, only to stand in front of their empty houses with no indication of where their families had gone. Mothers wept as they ran towards schools, rivers and water taps to look for their children. Children ran home to look for their parents who were wandering the streets in search of them. As the gunfire intensified, people gave up looking for their loved ones and ran out of town” (Beah 9). Ishmael realizes that he will be alone without his family and begins to feel as if a part of his is lost. As for the separation of families, the children in Sierra Leone were forced to make their own sensible decisions in order to stay alive during that time. Young children who lost their families were brainwashed into believing that fighting in the war was the right thing to do. Correspondingly, the lack of parenting during this difficult...
Taylor, Rupert. “The Plight of Child Soldiers.” Suite 101. Media Inc., 11 May 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .
Machel, Graca & Sebastian Salgado. The Impact of War on Children. London: C. Hurst, 2001.
The war was worsened by the wealthy minerals in the ground and the influence of the mineral was strengthened by the fear and displacement the war caused. The intertwining of these two destructive forces is seen in the story Salima is told by a man who bought her. In this he tells of a man who stuffed”...the coltan into his mouth to keep the soldiers from stealing his hard work, and they split his belly open with a machete”(31). Not only does this story show the harsh conditions the men are exposed to in war, but also it further demonstrates the hold coltan has on the minds of those who live in the Congo. The want for coltan leads to the destruction of the community and individual identities of those involved as it perpetuates a cycle of war that damages men, induces violence against women, and ultimately creates a cycle of lost identity.
Neruda, Pablo. “The United Fruit Co.” Trans. Ben Beltt. One World of Literature. Ed. Kristin Watts Peri, Lynn Walterick, and Robin Bushnell Hogan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Copany, 1993. 793-794. Print.
It is said that the most delicate, crucial time in one’s life is their childhood. In a span of four years, a child is taught to walk, talk and interact with one another. Around this time, they also begin to learn a sense of right and wrong. A child who is raised in a nurturing environment knows to be kind and caring towards others, whereas a child that is brought up in violent and demoralizing conditions displays more hostility towards others. The protagonists in Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father and Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone are prime examples of children who commit demoralizing acts as a result of their violent surroundings. Therefore, as child soldiers, both Ishmael and Loung are corrupted by their experiences, however Loung is more severely impacted by the atrocities of war.