About Ishmael

Ishmael Beah was a child soldier for the Sierra Leone Armed Services during the civil war with the Revolutionary United Front, also known as the rebels. The rebels are blamed for the death of Ishmael's family. According to Beah, he fought for almost three years before being rescued by UNICEF. The boys became addicted to drugs like cocaine, marijuana, and "brown brown" to relax them and repress their emotions during the war. After the war, He learns to accept the help of others to relieve his mind from what had happened and to use his story to educate the world about the atrocities of how war affects children.