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  • I want to hug him, and apologize for everything he's been through.

  • @SarahLovesYOU1117 Lol I remember him stating in the book that he hates it when people do that.

  • what a hero

  • woww!

  • Read the book... There are just no words to explain the emotions you feel while readding it. This man is amazing. Its hard to imagine that this is just but one of the thousands of stories that have come out of this war.

  • he is one amazing man to over come all of these things

  • GOD BLESS!!!<3<3<3:D:D:D

  • @musicxaddict109 yeah, god is the one to turn to, even though it was under gods responsibility to brutally murder families and convert children into life long submissive soldiers, only knowing murder, blood and addiction, physically and emotionally.. makes sense. its all in gods hands.

  • Dont think this just goes on in Africa. This brainwashing ishmael is talking about goes on all the time everywhere from japan to the united states. Maybe not necessarily for you to become a soldier but to control you in other ways. Look up mk ultra.

  • @WORLDPEACEISHERE96 A conspiracy theory isn't really appropriate here…

  • @nicknkub its totally appropriate. i can say whatever i want. if u dont like it, ignore it. k thanks.

  • @WORLDPEACEISHERE96 Don't you post a comment with the intention of people acknowledging it? And are you not prepared for anyone to disagree with you?

  • @nicknkub who said im not prepared for anyone to disagree with me. To be honest, i didnt even know u were disagreeing with me. R u trying to pick a fight cuz its kinda annoying..

  • @WORLDPEACEISHERE96 I'm not tryna pick a fight, I'm just saying that that comment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Let's leave it at that

  • @nicknkub Totally true, this is not a conspiracy theory. In China (i know for sure), they brainwash their citizens if they do not comply to their communist ideas or rules. Im sure this brainwashing is prevalent in certain countries.

  • @blacklightning98 Ok fine, true or not, it doesn't need to brought up here is what I was trying to say

  • @nicknkub Ok. I'm reading his his now and I am almost finished. The suffering he went through was agonizing! He ENJOYED kill people O_o (that was back then at the age of 15). Now he is different and is helping young kids involved in wars. I am happy for him :3.

  • @blacklightning98 Yeah it's an amazing book

  • how could you dislike this video?

  • hard to believe this guy is only 30

  • This guy should use the rest of his life to undo the wrongs and atosities that he took part in

  • you know the world fucked up when u need to look at other people's ''worse'' life's to get strength in your own life. Y'all shouldn't say such things. And this man is a legend. I got a Sierra Leonean roots and this man made my heart hurt for real.

  • @heezychilla I don't think that's what people are saying. They look at the strength Beah had and that inspires them

  • I was talking with my work buddy about "A Long Way Gone" and the atrocities children in guerilla wars have lived through. In Los Angeles we have people who have escaped many terrible wars. Rather than be impressed by the resilience and redemption of humanity he basically summed it up by accusing them of bringing those problems with them. Sometimes I'm so embarrassed by some Americans.

  • one of the most inspiring men ever.

  • whaaa gucci mane ?

  • this guy spoke at my school. best speech i have ever heard. hands down.

  • @internationalnum7 omggg you're so lucky! did u get to meet him?

  • @internationalnum7 Ahh, I envy you =)

  • this book was so touching, so sad. and yes, Beah was reciting Shakespeare in English as a young boy. Very intelligent and strong man.

  • hard to believe this guy has gunned down a shit ton of people

  • I am currently reading the book and i love it. it is so interesting.

  • I cant wait to talk with him today here at EKU.

  • had to read his book a long way gone and it really got to me this is a great man and he should be president of serria leoan and if you have not read that book you should go and buy it

  • @tigerman6911 I agree, I just recently finished this book for my english class and was greatly touched and inspired by his story and his bravery to come "out od the woodwork" so to speak. And tell his story to help other child soldiers.

  • i dont know how old he was when he wrote this book but he must be very smart to pick up a completely new language and write a book in it or was it translated/other help?

  • @ktittykittylicklick9 I know what you mean, but if you did read the book you would know he spoke English since he was a child before the war reached him even.

  • This man words are very sincere and passionate. I wish him well. He has a strong and wise spirit

  • Biggest makers of weapons? The Western world so who is really keeping these Africans wars going?

  • I love his book...it's unbelivable...unbelivable...

  • hes not a killer hes a surviver of the war and told his story, its not like he wanted 2 kill any1 he was forced into the army and fed drugs. hes bin thru a lot and im happy 4 him now 4 living in the US

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  • He shouldn't be in jail! Did u hear what he said? He was FORCEFULLY RECRUITED AND WAS FED DRUGS. He couldn't help it people are such Dumasses when it comes to Africa cuz they never read up on it or been their themselves!

  • @WKaliberr you have no idea

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  • @WKaliberr

    You're obviously retarded if you have petitioned the court to put him in jail...

    You have no idea what you're talking about if you say he's a killer. You have no right to be comparing him to Hitler. Just look at how much good he's done with his life after being given the opportunities to do so!

  • @WKaliberr your an idiot petitioning to put him in jail, your so full of bull shit that you dont even know if what you say makes sense or not

  • @WKaliberr you're a piece of fucking shit. Im going t o force feed you amphetamines when you are homeless tell you that you are invincible and make you kill people. then when you finally gain your sanity back im going to send you to jail for the evil that you did.

  • @GISMCONFUSE dont make excuses for killers and murderers

    I bet you excused Hitler too

  • @WKaliberr what the fuck? did hitler realize the evil he did and become a world renowned activist that wrote books against it? you full of so much shit its unbelievable. child soldiers get forced into drug fueled slaughters everyday in africa. this is an amazing story of someone who survived to not only tell about it but speak out against it to make people realize the horrors that happened not only in sierra leone, but all over the world. And you my friend, are comparing this good man to hitler.

  • @WKaliberr Ironic you should mention Hitler... Hitler had - you know - an army of child soldiers, known as Hitler Youth and they did happen to fight in one of a historys most brutal battles of all the time.

  • @WKaliberr So you try to put every soldier in jail????? Good luck...except not at all.

  • humanity is sick

  • American's have this common belief that war and bloodshed are so distant from our lives. We have this mentality that what happens in other countries doesn't matter. Reading this book opened my eyes in the sense that I realize and am more aware of the atrocities and acts of terror that happen every single day all around the world.

  • @PeptimusPrime most likeley war isnt gonna come to the united states...

  • @lifes40123 well, perhaps, but we still have things like sweatshops in the united states. chances are high there are child laborers. though child labor is not exactly on the same level as child soldier, it's still bad. the point is to protect people from things until they can choose to jump into it themselves.

  • He's amazing.

  • Considering what he went through he seems incredibly level headed and grounded. Also he seems to be a very intelligent and kind. I really envy his resilience...

  • Man, I have so much respect for Mr.Beah and everyone like him. He really makes me want to help the people caught in these situations

  • @rechedelphar i really agree with that i heard about this and i could only say wow in a veryyyyy bad way! i have respect for him 2

  • I have to admit after watching this spoiled the book a little for me.

  • To me, the book is so insane and crazy, it almost seems fiction. But it isn't and that amazes me.

  • All the men who have brainwashed the kids are doing on the spot there where captured shoot!

  • the book is so good and im so glad this man survived all tht

  • his book is good

  • This book is a really good and informative read.

  • this is an amazing book. itll humble you quite a bit.

    really opens your eyes to what people go through.

  • His book is the first book i have read on my own accord. It was absolutely amazing and a real eye opener from the sheltered world most of us live in. He is an inspiration

  • marijuana , brown brown ( cocaine and gun powder) and white capsules( presumed speed)

  • im reading his book now,amazing

  • same he's my hero

  • I read this book while serving in the U.S. Marines while in Iraq, and it was such an eye opener! This is one of the most influental books ever!

  • thanks Beah for writing this Book. We love u so much!

  • mr beah is extraordinarily articulate.

  • I've read his book. Its fantastic (in a horrible way) i felt with the boy the whole story. Im glad he survived and got thru' everything. He deserved it.

    Peace

  • nvm he says it

  • what kind of drugs did they give the kids ??

  • cocain and brown brown

  • marijuana, cocaine and brown brown (cocaine and gun powder mixture)

  • 2:40 is it a child head at the bottom in the middle ?

  • his book is beautiful. one of our centuries literary marvels.

  • also there are a Pirate Children, 90 % of Somalian Pirates are Children

  • I can't believe some people commenting on this video are judging Ishmael....seriously, how deranged have Americans become? His siblings were hacked to death and he was FORCED and manipulated into becoming a soldier ...a CHILD soldier. He's not some idiot who suddenly decides to open fire in his school to get back to his bullies or even worse a rich and resourceful president who decides to invade another country out of greed. Your sacred troops are guilty of murder, not Ishmael.

  • That guy should be president

  • @trojanhorse1994 i think he is

    

  • Reading this for my bookclub for my english class and I'm like, "I thought my life sucked."

  • @anno2345 I also watched this in English class. My life sucks, indeed. FML

  • very touching book americans cnat judge shit he was forced at 13 to war. so dint comment stupid nonesense.

  • I've just finished reading his book three days ago......

    I'll give it 8 out of 10.........great book

  • i read his book, it was amazing

  • You don't get the whole point of it..

  • he's no hero, what he did was horrible, he fought and killed many people...Its somethign we should learn from

  • he had no choice... he was only 13 and he was forced to or he would die..

  • he was forced to you dumby

  • Brennan isnt saying hes a bad person, hes saying hes not a hero

    why the thumbs down?

    you think Ishmael wants you to refer to him as a hero? no he does not he just wants people to know what happened and how it should not happen again

    but i will say he is very brave

  • what an ignorant statement.

  • i know

  • read the fucking book, this guy slit people's throats and shot many groups of rebels

  • then again, he has no choice.

  • Yes he did fight, he was liberated when he was 15, please dont make comments on things you dont even know about

  • you are very ignorant, maybe if you took the time to read his book you would realize that he did fight he saw horrible things and has lived a very aweful life.

  • ur absolutely retarded he was a child soldier read his book called a long way gone you moron

  • american soldiers in iraq gang raped and a 12 year old virgin girl, then killed her whole family b4 her and then burnt and shot her in the head. They had been sexually harrassinng her for weeks. I think the liberian kids learnt about it when they got to america.

  • eh... americans have raped wemon in iraq, but they didnt go that far.

  • I dont have time to argue with u please read and research b4 u start talking, google "Spc. James P. Barker " or "Mahmudiyah killings" and read take care. They are commiting al sorts of crimes there mr.

  • dont get me wrong, i dont want 2 argue eather. its just that i have read about this situation. yes there are many reports of Americans doing such things. but... you cant just read somthing THAT dromatic and just suspect that its true.

  • it was all over the news and they plead guilty. But that was a high profile one due to the fact that they rape and burnt the girl alive and killed her family b4 her very eyes. The girl had complained that many soldiers have been groping her ass etc.

  • ok. you proved your point, Well done.

    Peace

    -RuMafia

  • Thanks for wisening up ur welcome.

  • Love to debate, hate to hate.

    :P

  • yes that is the truth. I like u for saying the truth.

  • his book a long way gone was interestingand i think he had alot of courage to write it.

  • i love ishmeal beah! he is my hero!

  • is racism really the issue of this video....?

  • It is thanks to me :)

  • This is ridiculous. If you guys are seriously racist, then you need to go back to the 1800's where you belong, with you're incest and such. Deal? White people cause more problems than any black person ever did. Look at George Bush for God's sake. Here's a list of white people failures: -George Bush -Hitler -effectiam -losing the war on slavery [to better, smarter white people] -being scared of everything [ie. black people] grow the fck up. honestly.
  • uneducated bastard , perfect quote for him or her .

  • your a fool an uneducated fool for a european person i would think u would no better than 2 make such a stupid comment ur the animal the uneducated bastard go die some where quietly you wouuld be doing the world a favor

  • lmao effectiam successful troll is successful "I love The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" hey /b/ro

  • what do you mean "domesticate" im not black but really, we are all people just because we look different on the outside, open your skin and you will see your blood its the same color as everyone else.

  • you know you are nothing but a faggot

    maybe you should get a rock and shovit up your ass

    i would kick your ass if i knew where you were

  • i'd rip your filthy balls and rape your mother with them in front of you dirty racist punk, die!!

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  • It's unfortunate someone who deserved a college education who was unable to go couldn't take yours; because clearly you didn't deserve it if you came out of university still this close minded and ignorant.

  • Are u white? Coz u seem to be refuting your own theories about whites being more intelligent than blacks with your mindless comments.

  • I am in awe of this young man and the atrocities he endured. His book is very well written and a wonderful window into the dark side of the human race in other parts of our world. I hope to someday meet with him and become his friend. I feel like I already am his friend and pray for his continued recovery from the horrors of the war he lived through.

  • A Long Way Gone has to be one of the best books I`ve ever read, not only is it inspiring but its truthful and its surprising that a child that went through so much can pour out so much emotion and truth, bless the children in Africa that are consumed and become child soldiers.

  • Ishmael is the best speaker ever. Talk about an amazing story and speaker. This is truly amazing that this is going on in the world!

  • I found myself at times having to put the book down and not being able to read it for a while. It was very hard to finish. and yet very inspiring. I think it's important for everyone to read his story so that they can know about the things that go on in the world today.

  • I know what you mean gerterkey, that this book was hard to finish. When the first violent part came up in the book, I felt so depressed. But after reading this I felt my heart changed and I became wiser. I wish I could help these children.

  • This is a great book and very easy to read- so anyone who isn't a big fan of reading....check it out, it's compelling (yet a bit gruesome) and it goes by very fast. Beah is amazing....I'm so glad he made it out of his situation and became stronger, and healed.

  • we should send those teenage assholes who play xbox to iraq. God damn, those teenagers have big problems when it comes to guns bullets like Ak vs. m16 what assholes.

  • Thats a movie. This is reality, he was a real child soldier, not an actor.

  • i recently read "Long Way Gone" for an english assignment for school. It's not the easiest book to read, as it is very deep and very strong. The amount of things this man has been through is amazing, and the fact that he pushed himself through rehabilitation, is absolutely inspiring.

  • it's also very very sad too..!!! :(

  • yeah i had to too, it is a very good book, i couldn't belive it almost

  • His book is a very shaking experience. Not exactly easy reading. We read it at my school and he came and spoke to us and signed our books. It's a surreal experience to think of things like this happening in other countries. It's easy to feel removed when you have a bed to go to every night and food to eat during the day and nothing more troubling to think about that school or work.

  • This book is seriously some brutal shit. I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, some of the things he does would make Rambo look like a pussy, and he only saw combat from ages 13-15

  • hahahah lmao. its really inspiring too though

  • This book is awesome

  • Please An estimated 300,000 children in the world RIGHT NOW are fighting in armed conflicts. Help us show just how many children that is by contributing stickers to our memorial wall.

    Donate stickers to Hawthorne Scholastic Academy : my teacher Alexa Prutch Room 205 3319 N. Clifton Ave Chicago, IL 60657

  • what did he say?

  • Ishmael Beah is my hero :]

  • how can i meet him please send me a message

  • ur such a jerk. ur the one that really needs help.

  • is all the arguing necessary? get off of youtube if you're hear to do that crap.

  • you probably haven't even read his book, strikerchamp. educate yourself before you give your opinion. you sound like a fool.

  • its very good book

    read it in dutch

  • I just met him for the second time today.

    Very inspirational.

  • WOW REALLY! WHERE?

  • you down with OPP?

  • YEAA U KNOW ME!

  • I read this book in German -

    it is really captivating allthough the beginning is very sad (first 110 pages).

    Makes you wonder how anyone could go on after being through so much. But that is even before he was recruited.

    One of the best books I ever had. Puts many things in perspective and leads you to new conclusions.