Ishmael Beah: Boy Soldier

Ishmael Beah was born in a village in the African country of Sierra Leone in 1980. He lived there with his father, brother and stepmother. His parents separated when he was very young and his mother lived in a neighboring village with Ishmael’s younger brother. When he was young, he attended a primary boarding school and loved to dance and sing to American rap with friends.

At the age of 11, he was separated from his family due to his village being attacked by rebel warriors. He and several other boys walked from village to village for quite a while trying to find food and safety, which they hardly ever came by. Because of starvation and a need to belong, Ishmael joined the army. There he was given food, drugs and a thirst to kill.

For around 3 years Ishmael lived in the cold, cruel, adult world of the war. He was eventually rescued by UNICEF, which was somehow able to get custody of many boy soldiers, of both rebel and army groups. The start of his rehabilitation in a UNICEF facility was rough, but Ishmael eventually prospered with the help of a nurse named Esther. After a while in this facility, Ishmael’s uncle was able to adopt him.

Ishmael lived safely in the city with his uncle and many “cousins” of whom his uncle had also rescued from war broken families. During this time, he was able to speak at the UN and tell others about the circumstances he had to face with the war. Not long after this, the war reached the city of Freetown and his uncle passed away. Rebel soldiers took over the city, and a rebel leader took over the country. With this, Ishmael decided he needed to leave.

He contacted a close friend who he met at the UN meeting, who lived in New York City. She told him that he could stay with her if he was able to reach America. Ishmael was able to make his way out of Africa, and got to America. There he attended his last two years of high school at United Nations International School and went on to study at Oberlin College. He wrote his memoir during this time, and in 2007, it was published for the world to read. He now lives in New York City and has had other works published in many magazines.

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Created by Tessa Greene

October 31, 2007

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