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Ishmael Beah (born on 23 November 1980〔UNICEF, (''Youth leadership profiles'' ), unicef.org; retrieved 15 February 2007.〕) is a Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist who rose to fame with his acclaimed memoir, ''A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier''. His most recent novel, ''Radiance of Tomorrow'', was published in January 2014.〔("BEA 2013: Ishmael Beah: After War" ), Hilary S. Kayle, ''Publishers Weekly'', 30 May 2013.〕 ==Biography== In 1991, the Sierra Leone Civil War started. Rebels invaded Beah's hometown, Mogbwemo, located in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, and he was forced to flee. Separated from his family, he spent months wandering south with a group of other boys. At the age of 13, he was forced to become a child soldier. According to Beah's account, he fought for almost three years before being rescued by UNICEF.〔 Beah fought for the government army against the rebels. In 1997, he fled Freetown by the help of the UNICEF due to the increasing violence and found his way to New York City, where he lived with Laura Simms, his foster mother. In New York City, Beah attended the United Nations International School. After high school, he enrolled at Oberlin College and graduated in 2004 with a degree in Political Science.〔 During his time in the Sierra Leonean government army, Beah says he doesn't remember how many people he killed. He and other soldiers smoked marijuana and sniffed amphetamines and "brown-brown", a mix of cocaine and gunpowder. He blames the addictions and the brainwashing for his violence〔James Pitkin, ("Ishmael Beah—An ex-child soldier's trip from Sierra Leone's war to a Starbucks bookshelf" ), ''Willamette Week'', 14 February 2007; retrieved 15 February 2007.〕 and cites them and the pressures of the army as reasons for his inability to escape on his own: "If you left, it was as good as being dead."〔 During a 14 February 2007 appearance on ''The Daily Show'' with host Jon Stewart, Beah said that he believed that returning to civilized society was more difficult than the act of becoming a child soldier, saying that dehumanising children is a relatively easy task.〔The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 14 February 2007 ().〕 Rescued in 1996 by a coalition of UNICEF and NGOs, he found the transition difficult. He and his fellow child soldiers fought frequently. He credits one volunteer, Nurse Esther, with having the patience and compassion required to bring him through the difficult period. She recognized his interest in American rap music and reggae since he was a kid, gave him a Walkman and a Run DMC cassette, and employed music as his bridge to his past, prior to the violence. Slowly, he accepted her assurances that "it's not your fault." Living in Freetown with an uncle, he went to school and was invited to speak in 1996 at the UN in New York. When Freetown was overrun by the joined forces of the rebels (RUF or Revolutionary United Front) and Army of Sierra Leone in 1997 (the Army of Sierra Leone was originally fighting against the RUF), he contacted Laura Simms, whom he had met the year before in New York, and made his way to the United States.〔 "If I choose to feel guilty for what I have done, I will want to be dead myself," Beah said. "I live knowing that I have been given a second life, and I just try to have fun, and be happy and live it the best I can."〔Alissa Swango, NYC24, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, (''A Child Soldier Grows Up'' ), 2006. Retrieved 15 February 2007.〕 In 2009, the 29-year-old traveled home to Sierra Leone with an ABC News camera, a return that he describes as bittersweet. Later in February 2013, he traveled to Calgary and spoke at the My World Conference.〔(Child Soldier's Long Way Home ), ABCNews.go.con; accessed 10 December 2014.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ishmael Beah」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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