What happens in the context of war is that, in order for you to make a child into a killer, you destroy everything that they know, which is what happened to me and my town. My family was killed, all… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
Shakespeare is absolutely big in Africa. I guess he's big everywhere. Growing up, Shakespeare was the thing. You'd learn monologues and you'd recite them. And just like hip-hop, it made you feel like you knew how to speak English really… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
“At night it felt as if we were walking with the moon. It followed us under thick clouds and waited for us at the… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
“I learned that you are not free until you stop others from making you feel worthless. Because if you do not, you will eventually… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
ONE OF THE UNSETTLING THINGS about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn’t sure when or where it was going to… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
For many observers, a child who has known nothing but war, a child for whom the Kalashnikov is the only way to make a… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed. — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
My mother tongue, Mende, is very expressive, very figurative, and when I write, I always struggle to find the English equivalent of things that… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
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… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
I grew up in Sierra Leone, in a small village where as a boy my imagination was sparked by the oral tradition of storytelling.… — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen. — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
“Circumstances will change and things will be fine, just hold on a little more” — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy. — Ishmael Beah Copy Share Image
