Ishmael Beah

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Cover of Beah's book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Ishmael Beah (b. 1980 in Sierra Leone^[1]) is the author of a memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

In 1991, a vicious civil war overtook his country. His parents and two brothers were killed; at the age of 13, he was pressed into service as a child soldier. He fought for almost three years before being rescued by UNICEF.^[1] In 1998, he fled from Freetown after the 1999 coup to New York City. He now calls his foster mother, Laura Simms, his mother. In New York City, Beah attended the United Nations International School in Manhattan. After high school, he attended Oberlin College, graduating in 2004 with a degree in Politics.^[1]

During his time in the government army, Beah says he killed "too many people to count." He and other soldiers smoked marijuana and sniffed amphetamines and "brown-brown", a mix of cocaine and gunpowder. He believes that, without the addictions, he would not have been able to commit such violence.^[2] The addictions, and the pressures of the army, made it impossible to leave on his own. "The only choice you had was to stay," Beah said. "If you left, it was as good as being dead."^[3]

During an appearance on The Daily Show on February 14, 2007, he said that he believed that returning to civilized society was more difficult than the act of becoming a child soldier—that dehumanizing children is a relatively easy task.^[4] Rescued in 1996 by a coalition of UNICEF and NGOs, he found the transition difficult. He and his fellow child soldiers fought frequently. He credits one volunteer, Nurse Esther, with having the patience and compassion required to bring him through the difficult period. She recognized his interest in American rap music, gave him a Walkman and a Run-D.M.C. cassette, and employed music as his bridge to his past, prior to the violence. Slowly, he accepted her entreaties of "It's not your fault."^[5]

Living in Freetown with an uncle, he went to school and was invited to speak in 1996 at the UN in New York. When Freetown was overrun by rebels in 1997, he contacted Laura Simms, whom he had met the year before, and made his way to the United States.^[5]

"If I choose to feel guilty for what I have done, I will want to be dead myself," Beah said. "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."^[3]

While at college at Oberlin, Beah pursued advocacy work against the abuse of children in wartime. He spoke at the UN and met with world leaders including Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela.^[1]

He currently works for Human Rights Watch Children’s Division Advisory Committee,^[2] lives in Brooklyn, and is considering attending graduate school.^[3]

[edit] Further reading

Beah, Ishmael (2007). A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Sarah Crichton Books. ISBN 978-0-374-10523-5.
Beah, Ishmael (2000). When Good Comes From Bad, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.