Writers Unbound

After finishing the book ‘Reading Lolita in Tehran,’ I remarked to a friend who’s an English professor that writers working in English as a second language are often more eloquent than those of us who speak it as a primary language. Azar Nafisi managed to write long sentences uncharacteristic of American writers, with layers and layers of meaning. It’s a beautiful book.

I felt the same way after reading Ishmael Beah’s ‘A Long Way Gone.’ Beah brings the oral history of his native Sierra Leone to the forefront. Starbucks Coffee Company helped bring this book to the marketplace. I have to say Starbucks really supports authors and literacy here in my hometown as well. I’ve done quite a few author events at different locations here. And even if you’re not a best-selling author, staffers treat you exceedingly well. The company donated $2 from sales of each copy of Beah’s book to support UNICEF programs for children affected by armed conflict.

Beah’s story for me is a page turner. It’s hard to imagine a young boy being converted into a child soldier, being fed drugs to keep him awake and aggressive, and losing his whole immediate family in a bloody war.

There’s a passage towards the end of the book—I’ve read and re-read it. I think it’s a well-nigh perfect piece of nonfiction writing. I learned a lot simply by reading and studying it. Beah is addressing the UN Economic and Social Council chamber about his experiences in a war-torn country:

“I am from Sierra Leone, and the problem that is affecting us children is the war that forces us to run away from our homes, lose our families, and aimlessly roam the forests. As a result, we get involved in the conflict as soldiers, carriers of loads, and in many other difficult tasks. All this is because of starvation, the loss of our families, and the need to feel safe and be part of something when all else has broken down. I joined the army really because of the loss of my family and starvation. I wanted to avenge the deaths of my family. I also had to get some food to survive, and the only way to do that was to be part of the army. It was not easy being a soldier, but we just had to do it. I have been rehabilitated now, so don’t be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child. We are all brothers and sisters. What I have learned from my experiences is that revenge is not good. I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I’ve come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in that process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end…�

Beah wrote his memoir as an adult, but the syntax and tone in this passage are those of a child. There is so much in this single passage, especially in the genuine feeling back-lighting his words, “…don’t be afraid of me.�

English might not be Beah’s primary language, but he’s certainly mastered it well enough to move a reader, to shape his words as a revelation of universal truths.

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