A Long Way Gone-- Chapters 15-16

These chapters I think have been the roughest thus far. There was some happiness when the younger soldiers were saved by UNICEF agents but these young soldiers didn't feel that way. They were very angry and were mad that they were leaving the front line. I thought this was weird because they had dreaded it so much before they entered the army and now that they had they didn't want to leave. It really shows how much this lifestyle affected their lives and brainwashed them. I was thankful though that someone was trying to do something but I still wondered why they hadn't earlier. If they had tried to rescue some of these young children earlier the recovery for them wouldn't have been nearly as bad. Reading about what their recovery has bee like thus far has been very hard. I cannot believe the way they act towards the people that are trying to help them. Also, their drug withdrawals are awful. Reading about the first night in the camp was hard because a fight, almost like those in the forest, began between some of the rebels and the army boys. It was sad to see how much their prior lifestyle has had an impact on their lives. It seems like there is nothing of their old lives and they have completely become soldiers. They view everything as a possible threat and act as if it is dangerous to them. They acted like animals when they were fighting, and I dont blame them because they were taught to hunt and kill like animals do. After the big fight between the rebel and the army boys, Ishmael and his group were taken to another camp. Here, they completely gained control of the whole area through violence, threats and power. They were even alone at the camp for a couple of days because they had scared all of the faculty. It is strange to think that these young children are more powerful than adults. That really says something because that says that they have been trained to be crazy powerful and have more strength, although it is all violent strength, than adults. It also says that violence overpowers logic, wisdom, and normal social customs in this society during this time of war. I really couldn't believe what I was reading. It was differnet in battle and didn't affect me nearly as much but now that they're off of the battlefield it is mind-baffling to me how they can be more powerful than adults in normal situations. While on the battlefield, age doesn't matter as much as long as you have a weapon and you know how to use it. If you meet that criteria then you will be just as even as your opponents until something else is added to the equation such as size of group, personal superior excellence, etc. Now that they are off the battlefield they are still acting as soldiers and definitely exercising their skills against anybody, no matter the age. But I guess they are still on the battlefield in their hearts and memories... This war and lifestyle has affected these children in inimaginable ways and I can't even begin to feel what these children are feeling. They must be extremely confused, power-hungy, and eager for violence, not to mention their want/need for drugs. The people who trained these children for war definitely knew what they were doing because they made it almost impossible for these children to beat it, even with the help of professional people. After reading these chapters, I feel like things are just going to become even more crazy for us the reader and for the characters. While reading these chapters, I didn't even want to put the book down because the characters were acting very violent and it was one of those things that even though it was horrible I couldn't look away, much like this whole book is. Another disturibing aspect of this section was all of Ishmael's memories from his life as a soldier. One extra disturbing memory was the one about Ishmael's squad making the people bury their own graves and then burying them alive. He displayed so many strong descriptions and emotions about the event that made it even worse to read. I think the following chapters are going to be filled with even more of these disturbing memories as Ishmael and the others fight to gain themselves back.