A Long Way Gone

                When it came to reading “A Long Way Gone,” I felt like there is not much worse kids could go through. What Ishmael and his brother had to go through is beyond belief. Along with that point, when reading about these children becoming a part of an army and being forced to murder and steal from other is something that does not have the same effect when reading as it must have in person. Just knowing that children are brainwashed and forced into murdering people is hard to believe and is something that maybe I wish I could believe never happened. To take someone as innocent as most children are and put them into a killed or be killed situation is something that no child deserves to go through.

                Following Ishmael throughout the story, I thought originally the worst thing that happened was being forced into killing and being held captive. But truth be told, the recovery process and talking about what happened has to be the toughest part. Attempting to cope with the terrible things that Ishmael did has to be a challenge. While he was drugged and kept in a state where he couldn’t think clearly, he still had to deal with the realization of the terrible things he did. One thing that would be very interesting is to know the training of the people who helped children like Ishmael deal with their issues. I find myself thinking about how hard it has to be to help children who have gone through so much and have to realize what they have done.

                Another interesting point is that after he escapes the army and has dealt with his issues, his uncle is killed and then Ishmael leaves for America. This made me curious of what all someone has to go through to be able to seek refuge in America? I found myself having more questions than answers when it came to everything that Ishmael went though and why he could not come to the United States earlier? I also found myself constantly wondering how many children have experienced the same thing. We all watch movies and read books and articles about how these things happen, but unless these things are seen in person or shown in the mass media, it is hard to fully understand. The fact that it is so hard for individuals to recover from probably makes these circumstances tough to show the general public and is also why it flies under all of our radars going without acknowledgement by the general population.

                All in all it is hard to grasp everything that Ishmael and his brother went through along with every other child soldier throughout time. This topic of children soldiers and what they go through once again has brought up a topic that I have let go by the wayside. It is hard to realize that this occurs all over the world and yet there is minimal coverage here in the United States. This is a topic I need to keep up on and see the lasting effects left all over the world.