A Long Way Gone #5

This part of the novel was both the most frustrating and the most emotional. Beah reconnects with an uncle that lives in the city. He has never actually met this uncle but he has heard many stories. His life almost seems as though it is back to normal. Beah ends up interviewing with a youth agency that flies him out to New York! His dreams are coming true and he sees snow for the first time. He shares his stories with the people of the United Nations. He states, “I have been rehabilitated now, so don’t be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child” (Beah 199). This is a really powerful scene. He doesn’t want to leave. However, just like the rest of the novel, as soon as that seems to happen things seem to get worse. The government in Sierra Leon is overthrown by a combination of the army and the rebels. There is a man who says he is president and the city is in trouble. Luckily for Beah, he lives on the outskirts of the city where little of the fighting takes place. Almost as soon as he is situated his small village runs out of food and his uncle becomes ill. It is almost difficult to imagine. He cannot find food and he is even tempted to join the army again. This would, once again, put Beah in a situation of death. He decides to escape.

His emotions are what really drive the book. It played with my emotions and how I feel about charity. I always hear about stories and causes to donate, but I never do.  We need more panels like the one Beah went, to really make issues like this one clear. He is taken everything from him and we do not know what that feels like. I think that is why people are reluctant to donate. They cannot feel the same thing. It is hard to put yourself in the shoes of these soldiers. That is why I think Invisible Children are doing the right thing by bringing former child soldiers to the United States. They can really spread the issue through experience.