A Long Way Gone

I do not think I researched enough to prepare me for A Long Way Gone. Throughout all of the books we have read this quarter I have been mostly shocked by one common theme; how young all of the kids were. For this book in particular, Ishmael was 12 years old and acting like a normal kid his age. At the time of attack, he was away from his village performing in a rap group with his friends. At this point, his life was normal and what you could imagine from pre-teen boys. Then the fact that he eventually becomes a young boy solider in what is described politely as a grotesque war. Ishmael then becomes everything he could never imagine he would become on his wildest fears.

Even before he becomes a solider, my heart ached for all him and his friends, and everything they had to face. It broke my heart a little more each time they went to a village and found it abandoned and all of the times Ishmael thought of his family and just wanting to know where they were and how they were doing. Specifically in chapter 10, him and his friends’ stories of the attacks on their villages were horrible to read.

Throughout this book, I was surprised at just how grotesque and gruesome everything really was. Even his dream in the very first chapter was preview enough into such an awful war with what he described as the mangled bodies and streams of blood. I then was shocked when in that same chapter, his mind wandered back to when he was a solider, and attacking a village for food and open firing on boys his own age, and sitting on the bodies to eat the food. I cannot imagine something so horrific for any person to do, let alone a teenage boy.

Amongst everything else, I was also shocked with the amount of drugs all of the young soldiers took. It made me sad that that was how they got their energy to fight, and even when they had nightmares, drugs were the answer. The extent of the drugs was one of the craziest parts to me. I could not believe that when they would run out of drugs and food, they would raid rebel cams and attack civilian villages. Throughout this book, I had to remind myself that this was all real life, and not just a fictional book that was written.

While I was happy when they entered the rehabilitation center, it was not any easier to read. They behaved like animals while they all went through such serious withdrawals. I found myself excited for Ishmael when he finally opened up to Esther, and when his uncle wanted to take him in as his own. I am happy that in the end he was able to go on with his life and speak to others about his story. Even with that though, the emotional scaring any of those boys will have for the rest of their lives is unimaginable. 

Sierra Leone Civil War

I previously did not know much about the Sierra Leone civil war. I know I have heard of it mentioned on occasion, but I did not know any details. I found out that it started in 1991, and last until 2012. That would be about a ten year civil war. I could not believe that it lasted so long. It made me wonder what about this war made it last for years on end.

To start, I looked a little at the background and history of Sierra Leone, to get an understanding of what it used to look like, and maybe get information on why this all happened. I found out that Sierra Leone was on the track to have a great future, some even called it the shining light of Africa. I read that it was on track to engineer economic and political prosperity, even having the first University in West Africa. With having so many great resources like the rain forest, clean water and gemstones, they were also paired with a corrupt and unstable government, which was the perfect opportunity for enemies to come and take over. The biggest cause for the war, from what I researched was all about money, power, and  what was called the blood diamonds.

The background I gathered was that the Revolutionary United Front launched a war upon Sierra Leone to overthrow the government on March 23, 1991. Sierra Leone tried to retaliate but was unsuccessful and RUF did take over the following year. Despite this win however, the RUF continued their attacks. I then read that a lot of the trouble just spilled into Sierra Leone from Liberia. From that, I gathered that the RUF promised men and young boy’s money and shelter if they joined their campaigns in Sierra Leone. These people were often drugged and performed inhuman acts such as chopping of the arms. That startled me the most, that they dragged in innocent civilians, promising them a better life if they committed such horrible acts. It makes sense to me now why I kept reading how it was a very grotesque war. I also read many times as well that there was much initiative behind the diamonds in Sierra Leone. From what I can understand, it may have started with wanting the diamonds, but overthrowing their government to get their way worked effectively as well.

To get into some of the facts of the war, it was an 11-year war, that involved the entire country, leaving over 50,000 dead. There was then a UN peacekeeping operation and British military intervention, finally ending the civil war on January 11, 2002. While I am glad there was finally a peacekeeping operation put into place to end the war, it is sad to see how far a civil war can go without anyone getting involved. Clearly Sierra Leone was struggling in the war from the get-go not having a strong government, I would not think it would take 11 years for the UN to get involved. 

Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

I thought reading Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party was heart wrenching, but needed to be read. I was intrigued to read more about the Chinese Cultural Revolution after I researched it a little, so I was glad to have read this book. I was first confused why Comrade Li moved into Ling’s household. I am still a little confused about that, but I could tell that that was when the book was going to turn downhill. When he first moved in, I wondered if Ling’s parents knew what was going on – or what was going to start, and that’s why they were so accepting of him living there, because they felt like they didn’t have a choice.

The part that made me really feel for Ling, noticing her life was changing so much was when she wasn’t able to get new clothes for her birthday at first. Finally when her dad gave her his tickets, she was only able to get Mao outfits. It was very shocking to me stores even stopped selling their normal merchandise to only sell what Mao wanted. I had known about communism before reading this, but I do not think I knew the extent of it. I could not believe that Ling’s father was arrested and put in jail indefinitely all because he saved someone who believed different than the majority of China. To me, I feel like you would be considered a hero for saving someone trying to commit suicide. The fact that everyone conformed to these ways of thinking so quickly is what baffled me the most I think.

The next part that shocked me is how Niu, after having to lose both of his parents, had such a distinct plan to try to swim to Hong Kong to meet his uncle. He got caught, and then had to say that Ling’s family were anti revolutionists, and join the red guards. It was even worse when he became the leader of them. Niu, when he had to leave to the labor camp, was Ling’s only friend for numerous reasons. For him then to come back and learn to hate her family made me terribly sad for her and her family.

To touch a little on her life at school, I did not understand how Gao was able to take so much control in the classroom. I understand his dad was a Comrade, but how did that give Gao so much power with his classmates? He was completely able to take over the teachers position and read to the class himself. Along with that though, how even the students got so into all of this. Ling was between 10 and 12 years old in this book, and kids her age were so concerned about the antirevolutionists and the bourgeoisie. When I was between 10 and 12 years old, I was concerned about watching my favorite television show that night.

Overall, I am glad I read this book. I am still shocked I did not know more about this sooner in my education, but I do think it is a book that could be implemented in a curriculum now. 

China and the Chinese Cultural Revolution

Before researching, I did not know much at all about the Chinese Cultural Revolution. After reading it now, I cannot believe I did not learn about it in any of my high school history or global issues classes. From what I understood, Mao, who was a leader in the late 1950’s and on, made a movement in 1965 to stop any one that may have been smart enough to take on a leading role, lessening his power. In other words, he wanted to enforce communism. He had schools return to the basic revolutionary movements because educational establishments were seemed to be too academic, and therefore too elitist. He had the desire to create a classless society, where no one exceeded one another in any way. This to me is a way of thinking I personally do not understand. Without social classes and anyone wanting to succeed further in life, you have no drive and motivation for people wanting to do better. There isn’t a point for higher education, because everyone is going to be the same class no matter what. You wouldn’t have people striving to be doctors or lawyers spending eight years in school to do their dream profession and make a very good living for themselves. That idea is something I had been thinking about a lot lately in general, how neat it is to get together in a room full of people, and see what everyone is passionate about. Every person has a different dream and goal for their future, and that is what makes life so interesting.

Aside from my own thoughts and opinions on his way of thinking, from further research, it sounds like this was detrimental to China and their economy. Red Guards, who were groups of youths bonded together and criticized anyone who Mao deemed to be untrustworthy, ended up pushing China into a social turmoil. Schools and colleges were closed down, and Red Guard groups ended up fighting each other because each group had separate beliefs on how China should be operating. I read that in some areas, they took their anger out on foreigners and the British Embassy was burned down completely. While reading, I had to remind myself that these Red Groups were started in middle schools. That would be the age group of around 12 to 13 years old. I cannot believe that 12 and 13 year olds were banded together attacking. They don’t have the chance to form their own opinion about how society works yet, so they are extremely impressionable. That is setting them up for never having a chance to believe something different.

What I am still unsure about though is how the Cultural Revolution ended. I read that Mao officially declared it to have ended in 1969. Despite that though, the active phase lasted until the death of the military leader Lin Biao in 1971. I would have liked to have research more about that, and dig into how it ended. Overall, I am very surprised with what I read, and that I did not learn about this earlier.