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January 1993
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Ishmael leaves his home with his older brother and a friend. They didn't realize it at the time, but they would never see their parents again after that day. Ishmael wrote that this was "the first time I was touched by the war." (pg 6) This part in the book is important because it marks the beginning of his journey. Not long after leaving, they would already start to see the violent effects of the war.
1993
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Ishmael is in the town of Mattu Jong with his older brother and some friends when they first get a taste of what the rebels do. The town is attacked, and this part of the story is important because it is when Ishmael can first start forming his opinions and ideas about the rebels. The resentment he, and his fellow companions would have towards the rebels would play a big part of what drives Ishmael and controls his thoughts when he ends up becoming a child soldier later in the story.
After this attack, Ishmael and his group have to run around in the area, avoiding more rebels and getting any food that is available.
1993
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Ishmael had been staying in the town of Kamator for about 3 months when it was attacked by rebel soldiers. As a result of the attack, he was separated from his older brother, Junior, and that would be the last time he saw him. Ishmael continued his journey all alone. This would be the beginning of the longest stretch of his journey that would be spent by himself.
1993 - 1996
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The exact time line for the next few years is unclear, but while Ishmael is alone after separating from his older brother, travelling through forest, his ability to survive is really tested. He has to of course survive in the wild, with finding food, shelter, and staying out of danger. In addition to that, he also has to fight his mental struggles. During this time he understandably feels lonely and he is consumed with his thoughts and memories of his family and the war. He wrote about this period of time, "The most difficult part of being in the forest was the loneliness. It became unbearable each day. One thing about being lonesome is that you think too much, especially when there isn't much else you can do. I didn't like this and I tried to stop myself from thinking" (pg 52)
1993 - 1996
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After spending more than a month alone in the forest, Ishmael meets six other boy who had been childhood friends. His time travelling alone had come to and end, and the start of forming a new group to travel with had begun. He would end up bonding closely with these boys as they continued on walking and surviving.
1993 - 1996
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After travelling for some time with the new group of boys, they arrive to the coast of the Atlantic ocean. At this time, the war was affecting the citizens and everyone was intimidated by groups of young boys, as they could be soldiers. This paranoia led to Ishmael and his friends being captured and interrogated in one of the villages they encountered. They were going to be killed, or seriously injured, but they managed to convince the village chief that they were innocent boys because of the rap music tape Ishmael had been carrying with him. Once the villagers had realized they were innocent, they let them go. Ishmael and the group encountered many dangerous situations like this while they were travelling together, but this one is important because of two main things. First, Ishmael had been carrying the rap music tapes with him all that way for a reason. He had special childhood memories listening to the music, and he always talked about how much he enjoyed listening to the strange lyrics. Throughout the entire book, all the way to when he would get to rehabilitation, he had a love and interest for music and rap. They became a part of who he is and whats important to him. Second, at this moment, it seems that Ishmael had a realization of how far he really was from home. He had been on the run for so long, with no plan of where he was going next, and he understood his life would never be the same. There was no chance he could return to his old life after the war ended. In this moment he wrote, "This time we were a long was from Mattu Jong. A long way gone." (pg 65) "A long way gone" is also the title of the book, so I think this was a considerably significant part of the story.
1994 - 1996
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After a long time on the run, the group gets to a town called Yele. They spend some time there and eventually end up becoming soldiers for the military. Ishmael faces many challenges during his 2+ years as a soldier, including drug use and unimaginable (to us) violence. He wrote about the effect being a soldier had on him towards the end of the two years, "the forests that we slept in became my home. My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed. The extent of my thoughts didn't go much beyond that...killing had become a daily activity." (pg 126) It's hard to put the entire 2 years of him being a soldier in one part of the timeline, but I guess I'm just noting how significant those 2 years would be to him. He completely lost all sense of what is humane, and the things that made Ishmael who he was, and what was important to him, were shut down temporarily. He only thought of military related things, drugs, and staying alive. This of course would leave any person scared mentally for life, and the experiences he had during this time would change who he was forever.
1996
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Rehabilitation was a long and difficult 8 month process. UNICEF rescued Ishmael and other soldiers from the war zones and brought them to Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. There, they stayed at Benin home and underwent rehabilitation. They went through drug withdrawal, and received professional medical attention. At first, there was still a lot of violence happening among the boys due to 2 long years of nothing but violence, but once they started to settle down they were able to start school again and see the civilized city. Throughout the 8 months, Ishmael, along with the other boys suffered greatly from PTSD. The mental struggles they had as they tried to recover were difficult to overcome as the memories of the war are of course hard to ignore or forget. For Ishmael specifically, rehabilitation was a big moment in his life because he finally found a new family and group of friends he could truly trust. He was able to locate his uncle and he formed a close relationship with one of the nurses at Benin home. He could also do the things that made him happy again such as listening to music and analyzing the lyrics. I think his liking for music played an important role in his recovering and rediscovering himself. Again, it's hard to pin point one moment in his rehabilitation that was more significant than all the others because it was a process in itself that was slow progressing and took time. But I think little moments all contributed to healing him. Like talking to a nurse named Esther, like I mentioned, and forming a close friendship with her. Also seeing the city where there were people going along with their everyday lives, seeing the shops, buying food and music. He met his uncle and his new family, that allowed him to feel like he really belonged somewhere for the first time in a long time.
1996
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After undergoing some rehabilitation, Ishmael was well enough to begin talking about his experiences. He applied for the chance to be brought to New York city, through the UN, and talked about being a child soldier. He was accepted and I think his trip to New York ended up being one of his defining moments that further developed him as a person and made him who he is. While in New York, he experienced many things for the first time, like seeing snow, people and kids from different countries, American food, and Time Square. He also met Laura Simms, who would later become his adopted mother. Going to New York introduced him to the world a little bit and was the first time he saw his future home.
May 1997
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After returning from his first trip to New York, it wasn't long before Freetown saw violence from the war. Ishmael was living with his uncle and family, but after his uncle died, it started to become especially unsafe. There were soldiers, fights, gunshots, and violence everywhere. Ishmael could not stay in Sierra Leone, so he left his house and fled on his own. Leaving the country was difficult and he was constantly at risk of being caught, but he was able to push himself through this final stretch of surviving. Part of the reason why he was motivated to flee was because Laura Simms, from New York, promised him he could stay with her if he was able to make it out. The story ends when Ishmael gets out of Sierra Leone. Making it out of the country was a big moment because he finally made it through so much tragedy, war, and fighting, but he was able to keep surviving though it all, until the very end.