An Interview with Ishmael Beah

Author of A Long Way Gone opens up about his memoir, learning about himself and his future plans. The following is an excerpt that focuses on the use of child soldiers.

During the current book tour for his debut work, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Child Soldier, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ishmael Beah. We talked about his traumatic experiences in Sierra Leonne, what he has accomplished since arriving to the United States and the shamefully persistent use of child soldiers.

The night before, Beah moved an audience with a reading at St. Barnabas Church, his presence and charisma arresting the crowd, who were transfixed by this extraordinary storyteller. During our phone interview, I heard a less vigorous voice. As he was escorted from Toronto to Waterloo for yet another engagement, he sounded close to exhaustion. And who could blame him? It was the last evening of his Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto whirlwind promotion. Fatigue would have overcome anyone by this point but the emotional density of his subject matter must weigh heavy at times.

"There is still a very rampant use of children in war," he says. In fact, on the day of our interview, April 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a media release entitled " DR Congo: Army Should Stop Use of Child Soldiers ." HRW claims that between 300 to 500 children currently serve in the army.

On the sleeve of A Long Way Gone, is the shocking reminder of an estimated 300,000 children involved in armed conflict. Beah is quick to mention this phenomenon is not strictly an African issue. "It's a world problem. There are children recruited in Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia...It's happening everywhere and the numbers are growing so significantly." He then emphasizes his memoir's raison d'être, "I wrote this book, really, to expose [this issue] so that people can see the humanity of those children...and that these children should be helped."

I have always felt that child labour is abhorrent enough, so the rise of children in conflict seems infinitely more disturbing. But Beah informed me that it's easy to turn someone into a killer. "What you do is you destroy everything they know. You destroy their communities, towns, villages, institutions, culture, traditions, their families and then they have nothing to look for. They've lost hope in living." This is the voice of one who knows through experience.

After only fifteen minutes with Ishmael, it's easy comprehend this young man's weariness. Each day he relives the anguish in hopes that other children will be saved. Look for the Ishmael Beah Foundation, launching soon.