Ishmael+Beah

=**Ishmael Beah **= = = - **__Basic Information__** o Current City: New York o Hometown: Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone o Sex: Male o Birthday: November 23, 1980 o Political Views: n/a o Religious Views: There is a Supreme Being (African tradition, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist influences) o Bio: Ishmael Beah was born November 23, 1980, in the small village of Mattra Jong, in Sierra Leone. Ishmael loved listening to, memorizing, and performing rap music with his friends, with whom he had started a group to listen to and learn rap when the boys were 8 years old. Ishmael was travelling to his grandmother’s house with five friends when he first came in contact with the civil war. He was 12 years old, and saw the horrific things the rebels were doing to the people. It seemed as if only Ishmael’s older brother Junior would survive, but fortunately someone else shot at the rebels as the rebels were about to shoot the boys. All five of them managed to escape. They stayed together starving for a few weeks, then Ishmael decided to go off on his own. He travelled from village to village, grateful that he could find enough food that he would at least survive. He later met up with another group of six boys, and travelled around the countryside with them. In one village, a fisherman took their sandals and chased them out of town. That day, the sun baking the sand, their feet were blistered, raw, peeling, and extremely painful. A kind man gave them ointment for their feet so they were able to at least walk the next day. After hearing about his plight in the civil war, Laura Simms of New York decided to adopt Ishmael. He attended the United Nations International School in New York for high school, and went to Oberlin College to study Political Science. He is the author of __A Long Way Home; Memoirs of a boy soldier__. He is now a well-renowned author who travels the world to talk about his experiences as a child soldier in the Sierra Leone civil war. o Favorite Quotation: "We must strive to be like the moon" -Kabati elder "If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die." -his father - **__Relationships__** o Mother: killed in the civil war; Laura Simms (adoptive mother) o Father: killed in the civil war o Daughters: n/a o Sons: n/a o Brothers: Junior (older) Ibrahim (younger) o Sisters: n/a

- **__Likes and Interest__** o Activities: reading, playing s​occer, dancingo Interests: Spreading the news aboout child soldiers o Music: Reggae, Hip Hop, Jazz, African music o Books: __Things Fall Apart__, __At Hell's Gate__, books by Elie Wiesel (__Night__) o Movies: Pirates of the Carribbean, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Thin Red Line o Television: Seinfeld, Law and Order

- **__Education and Work__** o High School: United Nations International School o College/University: Oberlin College o Employer: author and speaker

[|Child Soldier 3] [|Child Soldier 4] [|Child Soldier 5]**
 * __Photos__**
 * ALBUM 1: Child Soldiers**
 * [|Child Soldier 2]

ALBUM 2: Places of Residence [|Residence 2] New York City United Nations International School

Oberlin College

ALBUM 3: Life Today [|Today 2] [|Today 3] [|Today 4] [|Today 5]

__Groups__ - EXPLANATION: The main focus is private military groups, or PMGs. They look in to many wartime practices such as child soldiers. I would joined this group because I do not want there to be any more child soldiers who have to go through what I did. Hopefully by sharing my knowledge of what my captors did, I can help others free more of the children. GROUP 2: CEOSA - EXPLANATION: Some of my friends who were not killed might have gone to one of these schools in Sierra Leone. I probably would have, too. However, because of the civil war, I came to the United States instead. I am hoping that I might find a few people I knew in Sierra Leone in this group. GROUP 3: reggaeroad - EXPLANATION: I joined this group for only one reason. I like Reggae music. I hope to find other people who have similar interests as me in this group as well. Also, it is an easy way to find out about personal opinions on new music. GROUP 4:equality4all - EXPLANATION: I believe that everyone has the same rights. Especially in the civil war, I have seen people fighting for what they believe to be true. Unfortunately, this occasionally does result in war, because people have different definitions of rights. I joined this group in the hopes that I can share with others my view on lack of rights during wars. GROUP 5: BestClub2006 - EXPLANATION: I joined this group because I enjoy reading. There are may e-books available to people in this group. Also, since there are books, there are probably discussions about the books as well. I am excited about having so many new books to read and people to discuss them with. GROUP 6: Oberlinblackalums - EXPLANATION: From the name of the group, it is fairly obvious why I joined. I am a graduate of Oberlin University. I am from Africa and have dark skin, thus marking me "black." I hope to stay in contact with my classmates from college this way. GROUP 7:** The Un-Official UNIS Alumni Network GROUP 8: SALONEDiscussion - EXPLANATION: I joined this group because I think it is cool that there are people who have not necessarily been to Sierra Leone, but they are still interested in the country. I hope to be able to answe some of the questions people may have about the country. Hopefully I can also spread the news about child sodiers. Maybe the group can even do something about it... GROUP 9: pirates_of_the_Caribbean - EXPLANATION: This is one of my favorite movies! I joined this group because this is one of my favorite movies. I will enjoy talking to others about their opinions and perspectives. I enjoy this movie, and am excited that they are making another one. GROUP 10: Africa_Today - EXPLANATION: This group has a lot if information on it that will be interesting for me to see in an easy way. Also, Much of the information is about the world cup for soccer. Since I love soccer, it is nice to have it right in Africa. I joined this group to gain insight on other people's opinions on the World Cup being held in Africa.
 * GROUP 1: AMPMlist
 * - EXPLANATION: Again, this is a fairly obvious group for me to join. I graduated from the United Nations International School. I hope to be in contact with some of my classmates. It will be interesting to know what they have acheived so far in life.

__Quizzes__** - RESULTS: Mulan - EXPLANATION:** You are tough and aggresive and you are really brave. Lucky you!
 * QUIZ 1: Which cartoon character are you?
 * During the war, Beah had many things to worry about. Day to day survival was a struggle, and because of this, he had to become tough. Through actually fighting, he became aggressive. Experiences also made him brave, and he stood up for himself. His toughness allowed him to excel as a child soldier, allowing him to survive.

**QUIZ 2: What is your favorite color? - RESULTS: Orange/yellow - EXPLANATION:** Orange/yellow, you are such a caring person, you always want to help people (whether they are less fortunate than you, or not) wich is such a good way to be, but sometimes you nose into others' buisness, or get so worked up about things that you cant even take care of yourself!
 * As a soldier, he was able to somewhat be a help to the younger children, though there was not much he could do without the fear of being killed. Now, Beah spends time volunteering. He is a huge advocate for child soldiers. Through his book, he is helping to bring global attention to the issue.

**QUIZ 3: What's your magic power - RESULTS: Earth - EXPLANATION:** Healing
 * As a child, Beah did not like to see the horrors of war. This was not surprising, as he was only 13 when he was forced into being a soldier. Also, Beah is healing wounds of war by using his story of immense tragedy to spread the word about what is happening to the child soldiers. He hopes that his story can help heal the lives of some of these children who are forced to fight on a regular basis.

**QUIZ 4: What animal are you at heart? - RESULTS: Wolf - EXPLANATION:** you are loyal and protecting, if one of your friends is hurt you do all you can to help. if someone hurts them, you do all you can to revenge them.You dislike the light in terms of overcheerfulness and those who are never serious.


 * This is partly true for Beah. He did try to protect some of the smaller children during the war. However, he also left the first group of boys to set off on his own. Either way, he is stil loyal to his friends.

**QUIZ 5: How should you spend your summer? - RESULTS: Soak up the SUN!!! - EXPLANATION:** You scored as someone who should really enjoy your summer being in the sun and never shading yourself! Get a tan, or be a little more confident! Shine like the Sun but aim for the stars
 * Ishmael could probably use a break. Especially during the war, there was little time for down time. Ishmael should follow the quiz's advive to relax over the summer. Also, the result says to aim for the stars, a well-known quote. By doing son, Ishmael could relax and have fun at the same time.