A Long Way Gone #2

The second part of this memoir was filled with emotion. Ishmael Beah started the chapter with an unexpected attack on a village that was hosting him while he was on the run towards safety and news of his family. Keep in mind that this boy was much younger than I am now and he was already making the decisions of life and death every day. Beah went on after the attack alone. The poor communication systems in Africa provided nothing for him. This is what the Invisible Children group is doing that, after reading this book, makes me realize is so important. Simple communication systems can reunite families and bring news of danger. A simple telephone tower could have provided Beah with information on how to get to safety and possible news of his family. However, he did not have this luxury. He found himself alone in the forest for days. Survival was difficult but Beah had made friends.

             Once again, I find this situation too similar to the Holocaust. People had no reason to survive other than the people around them. Beah had made friends with other runaway boys and used them as his means of survival. They truly kept each other alive. Without family, the boys were lost without authority. They found ways to keep the mood light.
            This part of the book ended with Beah receiving information that members of his village, Mattru Jong, were in a town that was nearby. He was overcome with joy. I still feel as though the luxury of a communication cables would have made this book nonexistent. People would know of the horrors that were coming and there would be no surprise attacks.
            It makes me feel like I take luxuries for granted. 911 is only three buttons away and it is easy to turn on the news and know of horror. Humans are an interesting race. There are the kinds that do both good and evil and they are the kind that can destroy each other. This is what is happening in Central Africa right now. We are the only people that can stop the suffering or the slaughters will continue. Something that may seem not important to us can be the difference of life and death to Beah.