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13e6c7b
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We had not only lost our childhood in the war but our lives had been tainted by the same experiences that still caused us great pain and sadness.
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Ishmael Beah |
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16d263a
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One man carried his dead son. He thought the boy was still alive. The father was covered with his son's blood, and as he ran he kept saying, "I will get you to the hospital, my boy, everything will be fine." Perhaps it was necessary that he cling to false hopes, since they kept him running from harm."
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Ishmael Beah |
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fe6b625
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Children played guessing games, telling each other whether the gun fired was and AK-47, a G3, an RPG, or a machine gun.
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coming-of-age
memoirs
sierra-leone
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Ishmael Beah |
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bddd531
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Sometimes a story does not make immediate sense--one has to listen and keep it in one's heart, in one's blood, until the day it will become useful.
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Ishmael Beah |
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c836af1
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I AM PUSHING a rusty wheelbarrow in a town where the air smells of blood and burnt flesh. The breeze brings the faint cries of those whose last breaths are leaving their mangled bodies. I walk past them. Their arms and legs are missing; their intestines spill out through the bullet holes in their stomachs; brain matter comes out of their noses and ears. The flies are so excited and intoxicated that they fall on the pools of blood and die. T..
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Ishmael Beah |
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18df9af
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You can only threaten someone with hell if they have never had hell
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Ishmael Beah |
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7083101
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This wasn't a place for illusions; the reality here was the genuine happiness that came about from the natural magic of standing next to someone and being consumed by the fortitude in his or her humanity.
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Ishmael Beah |
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53468a0
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When I was very little, my father used to say, "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." --
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Ishmael Beah |
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d2393f6
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My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed.
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Ishmael Beah |
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394bb36
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Most of the staff members were like that; they returned smiling after we hurt them. It was as if they had made a pact not to give up on us.
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Ishmael Beah |
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d23a137
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I was so happy that my mother, father, and two brothers had somehow found one another. Perhaps my mother and father have gotten back together, I thought.
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sierra-leone
innocence
sad
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Ishmael Beah |
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edc070f
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I only liked talking to her because I felt that she didn't judge me for what I had been a part of; she looked at me with the same inviting eyes and welcoming smile that said I was a child.
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Ishmael Beah |
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4e52a48
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Even in the middle of the madness there remained that true and natural beauty, and it took my mind away from my current situation as I marveled at this sight.
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Ishmael Beah |
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2bd79b1
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Circumstances will change and things will be fine, just hold on a little more
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war
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Ishmael Beah |
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28bdbbb
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Bahkan di dalam kegilaan pun masih ada keindahan yang sejati dan alami
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Ishmael Beah |
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052fa6f
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The day seemed oddly normal. The sun peacefully sailed through the white clouds, birds sang from treetops, the trees danced to the quiet wind.
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Ishmael Beah |
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067ccd9
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I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies.
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Ishmael Beah |
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bed8c3b
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She was wearing her white uniform and was on her way to take on other traumatized children. It must be tough living with so many war stories. I was just living with one, mine, and it was difficult, as the nightmares about what had happened continued to torment me. Why does she do it? Why do they all do it? I thought as we went our separate ways. It was the last time I saw her. I loved her but never told her.
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Ishmael Beah |