Ishmael Beah: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Tuesday, April 7^th, 2009

7:00 – 8:45 pm

Burns Back Court

Presented by ASLMU’s Social Justice and Intercultural Affairs Committees

Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone, where at the age of thirteen he was forced to become a child soldier. For three years he fought and killed as a result of the powerful brainwashing effects of drugs and coercion. He eventually was rescued by UNICEF and moved to the U.S. to escape increasing violence. His book, A Long Way Gone, has earned widespread acclaim. Listing it as the third best non-fiction book of 2007, Time Magazine called the book, “painfully sharp,” saying that it “takes readers behind the dead eyes of the child-soldier in a way no other writer has.” Mr. Beah currently works with the Human Rights Watch Children’s Division Advisory Committee. His talk will focus on his life experiences while addressing the greater theme of acting for justice in an increasingly complex and interrelated world.

Check out this interview with Mr. Beah: