In the third section of A Long Way Gone, Beah does what most people would imagine to be the unthinkable. He is forced into becoming a child soldier and fight and kill and torture other human beings. Beah was being brainwashed into thinking that what the soldiers were doing was okay, humane, and right. Beah notes, "I shot everything that moved until we were ordered to retreat because we needed another strategy" (Beah 123). He started doing drugs, acting out, and doing the unimaginably horrid duties that the soldiers wanted him to do. They are essentially only there to convert them into being little killers to follow in their lead. Beah struggles with the issue of violence at such a young age and it's sad to see what he has to go through to deal with the life he has been given. By the end of the section, UNICEF, an organization designed to protect children's rights, saves Beah and exclaims, "[they] are there to protect [them] and will do all [they] can to make sure nothing happens to [them]" (Beah 123).
One of the problems was that when Beah was fighting, he was given food and a place to sleep every day. How enticing is that? When you are running away for so long, and once you are caught you are given what you don't have daily! Just as long as you do one simple task. Dancing with the devil. I'm not saying what Beah did was right- not that he had a choice, but in the event that he did, would he have resisted?
yours truly,
Amy
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