Ishmael Beah Quotes about War

This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy.

This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy.

War, Trusting Each Other, People

Ishmael Beah (2007). “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”, p.37, Macmillan

Some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their family and communities...This was one of the consequences of civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely careful about how they related or spoke to you.

Ishmael Beah

Hurt, War, Trusting Each Other

Whenever I speak at the United Nations, UNICEF or elsewhere to raise awareness of the continual and rampant recruitment of children in wars around the world, I come to realize that I still do not fully understand how I could have possibly survived the civil war in my country, Sierra Leone.

Ishmael Beah

Country, Children, War

I lay in my bed night after night staring at the ceiling and thinking, Why have I survived the war? Why was I the last person in my immediate family to be alive? I didn’t know.

Ishmael Beah

War, Night, Thinking

Ishmael Beah (2007). “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”, p.179, Macmillan

For many observers, a child who has known nothing but war, a child for whom the Kalashnikov is the only way to make a living and for whom the bush is the most welcoming community, is a child lost forever for peace and development. I contest this view. For the sake of these children, it is essential to prove that another life is possible.

Ishmael Beah

Children, War, Views

"Memoirs of a Boy Soldier author takes on UN role". www.theguardian.com. November 22, 2007.