a long way gone – Review

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is the story of a child from Sierra Leone who is displaced from his family by war and who finds himself caught up in the fighting as a 15 year old. Ishmael’s memoir focuses on his life of violence and his rehabilitation from the psychological damage and drug dependencies pushed upon him as he falls into fighting for the Sierra Leone army against the RUF rebels in the mid-1990s. You may have seen this book selling at the local Starbucks recently, as they are doing a big push to sell the book and help promote Beah’s story. I would tell you this is not a Mitch Albom book and as trendy as it might seem to buy a book at Starbucks, I wholeheartedly recommend it because of the incredible story it includes and because of the immense implications it should have on our lives.

It is wild to think about holding an AK-47 as a 15 year old boy. It’s even crazier to imagine killing without remorse, without thinking, in response to a war that has displaced your family, most likely killed all the people you know and love, and has entirely ruined your world. But this is where Ishmael found himself. This book is full of heart-wrenching images of killing and pain, all things that no person should ever have to witness, let alone be taught to do. It is painful to hear Ishmael’s account, as he seems to lose all sense of identity and memory within the war and the killing. The deep emotional damage this creates is incredible.

Yet, this book is full of hope. I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone, but it is a story of redemption and he is eventually liberated from the army by UNICEF. It is hopeful as we see him fight through nightmares and drug withdrawals (substances which included marijuana, cocaine, and "brown-brown", a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder). To see him respond to the care of the UNICEF workers and people who actually cared about bringing him back to life is very emotional, as I felt invested in bringing him around and helping him see that what he did was not his fault.

I definetly recommend reading this book. Borrow my copy, please. Or, buy it from Starbucks, where they will donate $2 to UNICEF with your purchase (Make sure you buy Fair Trade coffee while you’re there though).

The issue of children soldiers around the world and specifically in Africa is horrifying. A book like this or a movie like Blood Diamond, which is also about Sierra Leone and I also recommend, help me see the real people who are impacted by these issue and help us all see the pain it causes. It is never right for a child to have to carry a gun and kill. Why should children fight wars that they have not started? Should they have to respond in violence to the violence inflicted upon them? It’s not really even a question about whether these wars are right, that’s beside the point in a lot of ways. It’s that this generation of children is missing their childhood and growing up only knowing war and death and suffering. Who will they be when/if they grow up? How will they help solve the problems if the adults who put guns in their hands take away their voice and take their hope away?

I feel like I kind of go all over the place with different causes, at least here on this blog. Whether it’s the climate with An Inconvenient Truth, or faith and politics, or now children soldiers, I feel like I get passionate about something for awhile and then drop it. Or I get cynical about it, knowing that it’s such a big issue and so few people actually give a rip. I would just say this in closing then: we need to find a way to do something. It can be giving money to UNICEF. It can be calling our senator about acting in environmentally conscious ways or doing something about the Darfur conflict. Whatever we do, it should be our response as people who care about our world, who want to see people loving each other, who want to see people standing up for those who struggle, and because we know God calls us to act on behalf of our world and on behalf of the "least of these." So, I don’t know what you’re going to do. I’m not sure what I’ll do. But let us all be aware and let us not turn our heads away.

The Social Justice Tradition

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it here before, but this quarter I’m involved in a small group with some good friends from church and our pastor. We’re going through Renovare’s six aspects of a balanced vision for faith. We’ve talked about the Contemplative (meditation, lectio devina), Holiness (pietistic), Charismatic (Holy Spirit-empowered), and Social Justice (umm…social justice?) traditions up to this point. We’ll round out the discussion by approaching the Evangelical (word-centered) and Incarnational (sacramental) traditions. I’ve been really excited to engage in some honest discussion about each of these traditions because I’ve looked into the Renovare curriculum before, while reading Dallas Willard’s "Divine Conspiracy" and I was very excited by the ideas of rounded spiritual formation that it presents.

World Vision Article

Here’s a great article from the Seattle Weekly on World Vision. It’s awesome to hear more details about this amazing group, especially when my good friend Sean works there.

This article and the organization they speak of are both very encouraging as we think of the seemingly overwhelming fight against AIDS in Africa and around the world. Where I don’t feel like I act out much in the international justice realm, I’m encouraged to know that there are those in the Christian community who are standing up to the stereotypes of AIDS/HIV and actually trying to do something about working towards solutions.

Read on: The AIDS Evangelists (Seattle Weekly)

Spring Break Mission Trip

Every year, right about this time in Fall quarter, there’s a little announcement that gets made at the INN which sparks excitement and anticipation in the entire community. Last night, we announced the destinations for our 5 spring break mission trips.

Would you like to know where we’re going?

Sean in Africa

Another very exciting thing is happening with this blog: My good friend Sean Baird is heading off to the country of Niger on September 10th. While he’s away, he has asked to be a "guest blogger" here at Twenty-three, sharing his thoughts on his work in Africa as well as his insight into the greater issues he’s working with, including disease, poverty, AIDS, water, and working with relief organizations.

Take a look at his post below and please check back often to hear more about what Sean is doing. I feel incredibly privileged to let this site be a vehicle for his voice and I ask that you please consider his ideas. For those of you who are new to my blog, from Sean’s email list and referral, welcome. It’s great and humbling to have you join this conversation here.

Please pray for Sean as he is away, that he will be safe and continually challenged by God’s calling to help those in need.

Two Week Trip to Niger (Sean)

My good friend Seth has been kind enough to create a space for me to share my thoughts and experiences with each of you on his blog rather than start a new one up or put a ton of time into maintaining my old one.  I hope that you will feel free to comment and I will do my best to respond, you can also send me an email at baird.sean@gmail.com  with more specific questions/concerns.  I am traveling to Niger for work but will refrain from using the name of my organization and would appreciate the same from those of you who know where I work in order to maintain integrity with my employer.  Seth will delete comments that mention the organization – sorry to be a stickler, but people have lost their jobs because of these things!  I also hope you will take time to read the things Seth is writing about/discussing on his blog.  I believe the issues Seth discusses here are becoming increasingly important for Christians (especially the posts about beer!) and his voice is an important one to me as I strive to follow Jesus in a global and postmodern time.  With all this said, welcome…

I leave on September 10th to begin round two in Africa.  This time I will be traveling to West Africa, which will be a striking contrast to what I saw in East Africa (Kenya- see http://underafricanskies.blogspot.com/).  West Africa does not receive the same attention as Southern and Eastern Africa receives due to the relatively low prevalence of HIV/AIDS.  Thus funding for these countries is vastly insignificant compared to the rest of the continent despite the fact that extreme poverty reigns paramount along with atrocious malaria death rates and devastating hunger.

Niger is one of the world’s poorest countries, in fact the Human Development Report (United Nations Development Project) places it as 177 out of 177 for the development index which measures educational attainment, life expectancy, average household income, etc.  One of the major issues surrounding Niger is famine, which occurs after regular droughts in the arid climate just south of the Sahara.  The only fertile land for agriculture in Niger is the bottom one fifth of the country, which is called the Sahel (for a brief summary of Niger, please go to https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ng.html).  My time will primarily be spent in the Sahel and will focus on health issues (trachoma, malnutrition, etc) as well as observing economic development projects that are implemented to promote markets within the communities. 

However, what I look most forward to is time spent with the communities, listening to their hardships and joys, seeing smiles stretch across the children’s faces, and being invited into their mysterious lives.  I find myself excited and nervous at the same time, much like I was before leaving for Kenya.  Part of me fears some of the things I know I will see- the tears of infants falling due to starvation, exhausted mothers doing everything they can to provide for their families…poverty sears one’s heart when it stares you in the eyes.  But part of me feels excited for another chance to connect and learn, another chance to hold those captivating African children, and another chance to see the beauty that can come out of such darkness.

I am going to try and write two posts a week including one or two more before I leave, so welcome to Twenty-Three, take a tour and see what Seth is addressing and stop by to get updates from Niger…thanks again Seth, you’re the best.

- Sean

PS- Check out some of the pictures below…a colleague took them in Niger about six months ago.