[media] Ishmael Beah's speech
Last Thursday, Nafiza, a GK leader and intern, hosted an event in TSL that featured Ishmael Beah being streamed live. In coverage of the real life event, the Charlotte Observer published an article on Beah.
You can read the article below or here.
At age 12, Ishmael Beah became a soldier in a brutal war in Sierra Leone.
He was a killing machine, hooked on drugs, who looked at the army as his family.
Thursday night, Beah stood as a 26-year-old, delivering a message of hope to a sold-out crowd at ImaginOn.
The author of "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier," appeared as part of the 17th annual Novello Festival of Reading.
Beah's speech was also streamed to young listeners worldwide at teen.secondlife.com. "It's a first for Novello," said library director Charles Brown.
Critics praised "A Long Way Home" as haunting and without self-pity.
Beah says the book came about because of frustration. When he came to the United States in 1998, he met people who didn't know what Sierra Leone was. "If they didn't know it was a country, they didn't know there was a war," he says.
He also wanted people to know about the plight of children in 20 countries who become soldiers. "I also realized that children somewhere in the world were being forgotten."
Here are excerpts from his speech:
• On war: "At this point in time, that we have to kill each other to settle difference rather than sit down and talk is completely ridiculous."
• On his survival: "It was purely by the grace of God and pure luck."
• On the U.S.: "There's a difference in the civil population and its government. For people on the outside, it's difficult to see that."
• Parting request: "Don't ever belittle someone's suffering. That's where (the loss of humanity) starts."
Comments
Ishmael Beah's story is amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting him over the summer at an event that honored high school students who have done amazing work to help the global community. I was amazed at his eloquence and calm demeanor. He was sweet, polite and welcoming. It was truly an inspiration to be in the presence of someone who had been through so much. While people were flocking to him to touch his hand and tell him how much he meant to them, he was mostly very quiet. His smile will remain with me forever because it reminds of the true resilience of the human spirit.
Posted by: Liselle Hamilton | October 24, 2007 2:02 PM