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OPEN
what can I
get you? Mr. Julius?
Yes, nice to meet you.
Black coffee
My contact told me you had a story about child soldiers? He said it was a story that needed to be shared.
Orange juice
c ar hil u e dr en vu niq t o ln u e l r m er y t ecr il ab o be u ita l em f t ca itm ry e an o he us en ph d tio ir e n im ys al m ic at al ur it y.
Would you mind sharing?
Yes, I would like to tell everyone my story...
In 1991
The war started
Diamonds were the fuel and the fund
Everyone wanted them
A rebel group arose called the revolutionary united front (RUF)
Made the government corrupt
Blood was shed
And the diamonds were renamed blood diamonds
At 12 years of age, in 1996, after my father left to fight the war
news came of approaching Ruf groups
My mom held my brother, then held me and said‌
Take your brother to the forest, you know where to go. wait for me there. I love you.
And we left, just like other children in the village
We waited for a day
And a night
By the next morning she still had not come, so we went to her
But when we got to our home village, we knew everything went wrong
And then we saw we had no where to return to
We had no where to go but we did not stay
brother I am hungry
Me too
we had no family, no home an no place to belong. we were no one
A day later, We found a small farm
Do you think they have food?
They have more than us
We stole from a poor household They don't have very much
Take some of it
The next day we found a village
We slept on the streets
And took food from unatended houses
One day, the RUF came and took all the orphans sleeping on the streets
They led us to the forest with guns pointed at our backs
you take that one
That was the last time i saw my brother
our words ere...
Get in
Your words here... Brother!
Your words here...
I didn't notice how many of us were in there until we came out
Rule number one, no crying
You are now part of the small boys unit
They gave us 6$ USD ak 47 Taught us how to shoot
And prepared us for the front lines
Just like every other child soldier
Obedient. nondeserting. easily manipulated. don't take bribes. don't negotiate. merciless.
They gave us drugs, such as cocaine and heroin before fighting
It gave us courage, made us think less of our actions I am lucky I am male, I would not have gotten out of that situation had a been a female
Our leaders made young girls their "wives" and abused them metally and physically
I lost my identity, I lost my humandy
I took other peoples lives, i could feel mine leaving
In 2001 the war ended. Child soldiers such as myself were taken away from the battle field. we were put into rehabilitation and eventually foster families.
My family and my home was taken because of the war. them I was taken along with my childhood and innocence. I lost my humanity and my life was leaving me. I was being poisoned by all the lives I took and i didn't even know it. the united nations children's fund made a change in my life. they gave me everything back. to me and countless others. For me it was over. then i was told there are 21 other countries with child soldiers. it has not ended.
Bibliography, ! Works,Cite, , Beah,!Ishmael.!A!Long!Way!Gone:!Memoirs!of!a!Boy!Soldier.!New!York:!Farrar,! ! Straus!and!Giroux,!2007.!Print.! ! ! "Facts!About!Child!Soldiers!|!Human!Rights!Watch."!Facts&About&Child&Soldiers&|& & Human&Rights&Watch.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!20!Apr.!2014.! ! <http://www.hrw.org/news/2008/12/03/factsUaboutUchildUsoldiers>! ! "Foday!Sankoh:!Sierra!Leone's!Rebel!with!a!Cause."!Infoplease.!Infoplease,!n.d.!Web.! ! 17!Apr.!2014.!<http://www.infoplease.com/spot/sankoh1.html>.! ! "Sierra!Leone!Profile."!BBC&News.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.! ! <http://www.bbc.com/news/worldUafricaU14094419>.! ! "Sierra!Leone!Country!Profile."!BBC&News.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!15!Apr.!2014.! ! <http://www.bbc.com/news/worldUafricaU14094194>.! ! UN!General!Assembly,!Universal!Declaration!of!Human!Rights,!10!December!1948,! ! !217!A!(III),!available!at:!http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3712c.html! ! [accessed!18!April!2014]! ! University,!Princeton,!and!Monique!Ramgoolie.!"Prosecution!of!Sierra!Leone's!Child! ! Soldiers:!What!Message!Is!the!UN!Trying!to!Send?"Princeton&University.! ! Trustees!of!Princeton!University!©!2014,!27!Oct.!2010.!Web.!20!Apr.!2014.! ! <https://www.princeton.edu/jpia/pastUissuesU1/2001/>.! ! , Works,Consulted, , "UNICEF!U!SOWC05."!UNICEF!U!SOWC05.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.! <http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/conflictfeat_sierra.html>.! ! "Child!Recruitment!by!Armed!Forces!or!Armed!Groups."!UNICEF.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!17! Apr.!2014.!<http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58007.html>.! ! "The!Child!Soldiers!of!Sierra!Leone."!BBC&News.!BBC,!n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.! <http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/global_crime_report/investigat ion/soldiers1.shtml>.! ! "Côte!D'Ivoire!|!United!Nations!Office!of!the!Special!Representative!of!the! SecretaryUGeneral!for!Children!and!Armed!Conflict."!United&Nations&Office&of&the& Special&Representative&of&the&SecretaryGeneral&for&Children&and&Armed&Conflict.!N.p.,!
n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.!<http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/countries/coteU divoire/>.! ! "Sierra!Leone!|!WeOwnTV!|!International!Collaborative!Media!Project!Promoting! SelfUexpression."!WeOwnTV&International&Collaborative&Media&Project&Promoting& Selfexpression.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.!<http://weowntv.org/projects/sierraU leone/>.! ! "SierraLeoneCivilWar.com."!L&Sierra&Leone&Civil&War.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.! <http://sierraleonecivilwar.com/>.! ! "UNICEF!U!SOWC05."!UNICEF&L&SOWC05.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.! <http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/conflictfeat_sierra.html>.! ! "Watch!Unicef!Negotiate!the!Release!of!a!Child!Soldier."!YouTube.!YouTube,!30!Dec.! 2012.!Web.!17!Apr.!2014.!<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBbanMr2OaE>.! ! ! ! !