When I was in New York, I had the opportunity to attend a closed session at the UN regarding future policy on children and armed conflict. The session was arranged by Jimmie Briggs, UN goodwill ambassador concerning issues of child soldiers and author of Innocents Lost . Zlata Filipovic, author of Stolen Voices, and Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, the invited panelists, both 26 years old and born within 10 days of one another, spoke with wisdom and clarity about their experiences as children in the midst of two simultaneous conflicts in the early 1990s: Bosnia and Sierra Leone. As someone of the same age born during peace time in an affluent country, it was compelling to consider the different paths our lives had taken simply because of where we were born. Yet despite the varying roads that led us there, we were all gathered in the same room together at the UN because we feel compelled to raise awareness, to offer hope, to be a light in the darkness. Throughout the course of my journeys, I have met many young people alive with hope for the world, passionate about the fact that we will move through these turbulent times to a time of great peace. Listening to Zlata and Ishmael speak about surviving conflict with dignity and hope intact reinforced my own belief that the world is not beyond repair.As a former child soldier forced to commit horrible acts of violence in Sierra Leone, Ishmael understands what it means to lose his humanity. After being rehabilitated by one of the organizations dedicated to rescuing child soldiers, he began his journey of recovery and found a new home in the United States with a host family. When he was in college, one of his professors assigned the class to write about how they played as children. For Ishmael, a favorite childhood game was guessing what type of gun was firing in the distance, a scenario his fellow classmates found understandably hard to comprehend. Because his fellow students expressed such an interest in his experiences as a child soldier, Ishmael realized that he could raise awareness through telling his story. Writing his memoir did not, however, come without a cost, as he had to relive the past he had fought hard to forget in order to write with detailed honesty. The result of his soul searching is a genuinely beautiful and unforgettable book whose central message is not about the depraved nature of man, but about man's ability to retain hope and regain humanity, even in the midst of unimaginable devastation and conflict.
Both Zlata and Ishmael spoke of the resiliency of the human spirit, the intense desire to live and to find happiness wherever one can. Zlata kept a diary in order to survive the devastating bombing in her hometown of Sarajevo in 1993. The urge to document, she said, arises from hope. One writes in order to stay sane, to try to make sense of one's surroundings. Though Ishmael could not keep a diary, he echoed Zlata's sentiments when he talked about his continued belief that the war would end soon. Each day he and his friends would say that the war would end, and each day when they went to sleep, they believed that the war would end the next day. That belief, that hope, helped him carry on.
During his speech at the UN, Ishmael recalled witnessing people he had known his whole life turn into killers seemingly overnight. Though the civil war stemmed from a desire to overthrow a corrupt government, the citizens of Sierra Leone soon became caught in a web of dueling propaganda. During his interview with Jon Stewart, Ishmael said that both the government and the rebel forces recruited soldiers, including children, using the exact same propaganda. Both advocated violence and revenge, and insisted that the other side was the cause of all the misery in the country. The people caught in the middle wanted the violence to end, but they did not know whom to fight or whom to trust and were easily manipulated by recruiters. People committed acts of violence of which they never would have thought themselves capable before the war, including Ishmael and many people he knew.
Despite being both a victim and a perpetrator of violence, Ishmael believes that human beings are capable of regaining their humanity. Training someone to become a killer is easy, he said, but the journey to regain your spirit and humanity is infinitely harder. Ishmael is just one example of someone who has been successful in that journey - his love for life, warm smile, and soulful eyes invite shared belief in the resiliency of the human spirit. The fact that he retains his smile and laughter despite all that he has been through is a testament to what we are all capable of doing: renewing ourselves and believing that the world can be saved, as Ishmael was, through the dedication and hope of collective action.
According to the UN, there are over 300,000 child soldiers (soldiers under the age of 18) fighting for both government and rebel forces throughout the world. If you are interested in learning more about what is being done both to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers and to rehabilitate former child soldiers, review the links listed at the end of this post. This post, however, is not just a call to action on the issue of children and armed conflict, but a call to believe in the power of renewal and our collective ability to regain our humanity as a nation and as a planet. When we have hope, we have the possibility of a better tomorrow. Without hope, we have nothing. So here's to the courage and bravery of Ishmael - another reason for hope.
Ishmael's book was recently released, and he is currently on a promotional speaking tour to publicize the book and raise awareness about the use of child soldiers in modern conflicts. Click on the link to the left under "Rebecca's Recommended Articles and Videos" to watch Jon Stewart's moving interview of Ishmael on the Daily Show.
Organizations Rescuing Child Soldiers:
Save The Children
The International Rescue Committee
Childsoldier.org
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
UNICEF
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