Critical Insight, Critical Inquiry: An Analysis of A Long Way Gone The exploration of our place as global citizens can expand our perception beyond the everyday workings of our lives and open us to the unique experiences of each human. Undoubtedly, some may view global health and global citizenship as bizarre concepts; however, these perceptions limit us to the wealth of human potential and the exploration of the shared experiences that are interwoven into the fabric of existence.
One can hardly think that reading an autobiographical novel will open one’s self to the great context of humanity in relation to global health, but the novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (2007) has done just that. In his novel, Beah chronicles his journeys in Sierra Leone as a child soldier and the impact of this experience on his life. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze A Long Way Gone and the authors experiences affected my perceptions of global citizenship.
Summary: A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone (2007) chronicles his relatively simple life as a young 12-year-old boy in Sierra Leone and how in the briefest of moments his entire existence is changed. The story begins as he journeys to a talent show with his brother and friends only to learn that their village was attacked by rebel forces. Not knowing if his family is alive, and with nowhere to go, Beah and his companions travel on foot to village after village seeking refuge.
Instead of being welcomed by the villages, he and his companions often find themselves rejected simply because the villagers distrust since most of the rebel forces are children his age. Page after page I was pulled into this gripping novel knowing that, at some point, Beah is going to be thrust into the life of child a soldier. By the time Beah is captured and recruited into the army I felt a deep sense of connection to his life; often the novel oscillates between his current situation and past memories.
While there are some graphic portions to the novel in which Beah describes how he and his crew would terrorize villages, as a reader, the explicit details allowed me to gain a better understanding of the indoctrination of Beah into a child soldier. In one poignant part of the novel, Beah describes how a seven-year-old child solider, barely strong enough to carry his AK-47, is injured in battle and cries for his mother in the final hours of his life. I could not help but be pulled into these moments and question the atrocities of humanity.
The latter part of the novel depicts his life after being freed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), his struggle to reintegrate himself back into the world, and his journey to New York to speak at the United Nations (UN) regarding child soldiers. Beah finishes his novel with a brief history of Sierra Leone along with how the civil unrest began, which allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the country. Global Comprehension Global citizenship is a concept that requires conscious effort, the cornerstone of which is the desire to continually learn and implement new ways of knowing.
I was aware that children were used as soldiers in Sierra Leone, but I underestimated the enormity of the situation. Almost 10,000 child soldiers are estimated to have been part of the conflict in Sierra Leone’s civil war between 1991-2002 (Dumbuya, 2012, para. 12). As I read the book I was struck by the selfishness of the adults who took advantage of the children. To these adults, the children were thought of as a commodity and not as a people. My global perception shifted and I came to realize that throughout the world many people are viewed as commodities, even in Canada.
In Canadian society the perception of a person’s worth is tied to what they can contribute; it frustrates me that no matter the geographical location, people are viewed by what they can offer to others and not by their humanity. I began to ask myself how I could enact change, and what could I do to make a difference in the lives of these children? It was through these questions that I began a process of inquiry to increase my global awareness. I came to realize that I can act locally by educating people about child soldiers and work to bring about social justice for those at an equitable disadvantage within Canadian society.
Global Health Knowledge The impact of child soldiers on a global context is not something that has clear boundaries. The role of global development organizations was evident in the book as Beah detailed how he was members of UNICEF negotiated his release from the army that, even to this day, Beah does not know the details of the negotiation. Even when rescued, entire generations are impacted by the use of child soldiers, and the family unit can suffer as a result.
In the book, Beah described how one boy he became close to was ostracized by his family because he fought in the war, in the end the boy returned to the front lines because he had nowhere to go. The reality is that if these children do not die in combat they face a risk of self harm and suicide as a consequence of the severe mental health disorders stemming from the trauma of being a child soldier. Beah elaborated on the mental health of child soldiers and how he has fought to overcome the mental health challenges associated with his traumatic past (Canadian Broadcast Corporation, 2007).
No child should live in fear or wake each day with the mantra of kill or be killed, but that was the reality for Beah as a child soldier. I was shocked, as I read the book, to discover the tactics the army used to indoctrinate the children into soldiers. Beah described the various drugs the children were given, the graphic movies they watched, and the speeches made by the adults to insight anger in the boys. The adults knew exactly which buttons to press in the vulnerable young boys to turn them into killing machines.
Obviously the human rights of children forced into combat are violated; however, the political interplay in and among nations is complex and disheartening. As I read the book I was often overcome with anger and questioned how industrialized nations could turn their back on the people of Sierra Leone. I am often dismayed that first world nations will not involve themselves in certain armed conflicts simply because the country in which these conflicts occur offer no economic advantage to the industrialized nation.
Jacobsen (2014) asserts that when children are forced to become soldiers their basic rights are being violated (p. 104). In addition, article one of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood” (1948, para 9). I question if industrialized nations recognize that, as global citizens, we have an ethical obligation to the children in these war torn areas? Global Health Metamorphosis Maya Angelou (n. d. perfectly summarized how my knowledge, as a global citizen, shifted after reading A Long Way Gone when she said “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better. ”
My eyes have been opened to the massive global impact of child soldiers. In addition to the mental illness affecting the children that fought, one must also acknowledge that generations of people in Sierra Leone have been afflicted in some way. As I read the book, I often had to remind myself that this was a story about a boy. It was in these moments where I thought about my own child and imagined him in Beah’s place.
My heart ached not only for Beah, but all children forced to participate in unimaginable atrocities. I now realize that, as a nurse, my care can know no boundaries. Nor can my global awareness recede, and I have come to realize that in my global citizenship I am bound to each and every person in the world. Conclusion A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah provides an intimate account of life in Sierra Leone and the harsh realities of a child soldier. The book left me with a sense of humility, but also empowerment at my place as a global citizen.
As I move forward in the course my ability to pull together the course concepts and readings into the larger context of global health has improved. While it is easy to become overwhelmed by the goings on in the world; I look at Beah and what he overcame, both mentally and physically, to become his own global citizen. Beah has inspired me to look at the world in a different light. Indeed, I now know that I can go forth and provide real change that can impact the world. In truth and in reality any change towards the improvement of our world is better than stagnation. It is no longer a question of what can I do, but what am I going to do?