I've been hooked on personal stories lately. Mainly those that take place in developing countries that struggle with hunger, war and poverty. The one I'm currently reading is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. It is devastating and heartbreaking and hard to read but yet I can't stop reading it. And it makes me so angry. How can anyone treat another human being so inhumanly and without any respect or dignity?
A Long Way Gone is about a boy, Ishmael who lives in Sierra Leone during the civil war in the 90's. He ends up being a child soldier at the age of 13 for the government and finds he is capable of truly terrible acts. Fortunately at age 16 he was removed from fighting by UNICEF.
Before he became a child soldier he wandered around Sierra Leone for months trying to find a safe place to settle. He lost his parents and ended up separating from his brother after the rebels invaded the town where they were living. Currently where I am in the book, he has not said what has happened to his family, if he does end up finding out.
One part in the book definitely impacted me.
"We had traveled for more than six days when we came in contact with a very old man who could barely walk. He sat on the verandah of a house in the middle of the village. His face was too wrinkled to still be alive, yet his dark skin was shiny and he spoke slowly, gobbling the words in his jaws before he let them out. As he spoke, the veins on his forehead became visible through his skin.
'Everyone ran when they heard of the 'seven boys' on their way here. I couldn't run at all. So they left me behind. No one was willing to carry me and I didn't want to be a burden', he said.
We explained to him where we were from and where we wanted to go. He asked us to stay for a while and keep him company.
'You young fellows must be hungry. There are some yams in that hut over there. Can you boys cook some for me and yourselves?' he politely asked. When we were almost finished eating the yams, he said slowly, 'My children, this country has lost its good heart. People don't trust each other anymore. Years ago, you would have been heartily welcomed in this village. I hope that you boys can find safety before this untrustworthiness and fear cause someone to harm you.'
What is your name? Kanei asked the old man.
He smiled as if he knew that one of us would ask this question. 'There is no need to know my name. Just refer to me as the old man who got left behind when you get to the next village.' He looked at all our faces and spoke softly, with no sadness in his voice."
For whatever reason I have a special place in my heart for the older generation. I was very close with my grandparents so when I hear about anything bad happening to someone of this generation, it impacts me more than another. I can't even begin to imagine what the people in this country where feeling or thinking. Unspeakable acts were happening and people were running for their lives. I can see why the villagers didn't take the old man. Their chances of survival dropped big time if they did. I can see how the old man said to go and not worry about him. He's lived a good life and doesn't want to jepordize another's life. BUT this still isn't okay! The fact that these people had to make a decision like this should never have happened. Put yourselves in this man's shoes. You are old and move slowly. You hear that seven boys are on the way to your village and you know that children are now becoming soldiers so everyone thinks that these "boys" are soldiers; not innocent boys trying to find food and shelter. All the villagers want to leave immediately but wait you can't run like they can. And for any of them to take you it would drastically slow them down. Would YOU want to carry an old man if you were trying to escape rebel soldiers? You don't want to be a burden to any of them so you tell everyone to go on without you. Now you are alone with the threat of seven boys on their way to YOUR village. Can you imagine this? Can you get an idea of what this man felt or thought? This freaks me out! It could be my age. I'm 29 and definitely not ready to die. No one likes to be alone, at least not in circumstances like this. That man was so brave in my opinion. The rebels were vicious and merciless. Who knows what they would do to that man? Someone of this age should die peacefully, not by fire, or gunshot or being cut up. Another man about 60ish was caught by the rebels and they shot near his head and he ran around in circles saying "My head, My brains!" while the rebels laughed at him. This just infuriates me to no end! How can such atrocious acts happen like this?
I don't want to start ranting and raving but I had to write about this. The civil war in Sierra Leone created such horrific acts and untrustworthiness among everyone. It took away the children's childhood. It created nightmares for many and made people make tough decisions. Loneliness swept the country, that would not end for a long time. Ishmael was very fortunate to live and get out but a lot weren't. However he had a lot to recover from.
