Victims of War Children are the biggest victims of war, whether they are forced to become soldiers or whether they are wounded and maimed. Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, and Mariatu Kamara, author of The Bite of the Mango, both faced unspeakable horrors and loss and were equally victimized during the war. The two authors were subject to immense trauma; at an incredibly young age they went from enjoying their childhoods to witnessing death and being faced with extreme brutality and suffering. Both authors witnessed the murder and torture of friends and family members they had known since birth. While Ishmael was a soldier during the war, he had no choice or control in the matter just as Mariatu had no control in the moments when
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Both authors lost their homes, and the lives they lived before the war. Their villages were destroyed and they had to move far away to unknown and unfriendly places. Furthermore, they both experienced the loss of their family and friends. Ishmael lost his entire family, and had to witness the death of many of his childhood friends. Mariatu also lost friends and neighbors during the war and for a great amount of time believed her entire family to be dead. Through the deaths of family and friends, as well as the destruction of their homes, the lives they had known before the war were forever lost. Ishmael and Mariatu also lost their childhoods, something that can never be regained, because of all the trauma and terrible acts that were forced upon …show more content…
Both Mariatu and Ishmael went from playing with friends and enjoying life in their villages to having to face death and pain every day. They both experienced violence and cruelty that no person should have to ever experience, let alone young children. At a tragically young age they witnessed the brutal and twisted murders of innocent people, including people they had known all their lives. Mariatu describes the rebels forcing her to sit and watch as they set fire to a house that her friend Mariatu, her family, and other members of her village were in. She was forced to see and hear them be burned alive (Kamara 31). Ishmael saw two of his childhood friends get killed during his first battle of the war. He describes seeing a seven year old named Josiah who shared a tent with him get launched and killed from an explosion and his friend Musa whom he had known from school get shot in the head (Beah 118-119). At only twelve years old Ishmael saw his closest friends get killed in battle. Ishmael being forced to fight and kill when he was only twelve years old was a terrible tragedy of the war and a further victimization of him, not something that reversed or undid his status as a victim. Both authors experienced unimaginable trauma and Ishmael’s victimhood cannot be negated as he had no choice but to fight in the war and partake in the
Both authors lost their homes, and the lives they lived before the war. Their villages were destroyed and they had to move far away to unknown and unfriendly places. Furthermore, they both experienced the loss of their family and friends. Ishmael lost his entire family, and had to witness the death of many of his childhood friends. Mariatu also lost friends and neighbors during the war and for a great amount of time believed her entire family to be dead. Through the deaths of family and friends, as well as the destruction of their homes, the lives they had known before the war were forever lost. Ishmael and Mariatu also lost their childhoods, something that can never be regained, because of all the trauma and terrible acts that were forced upon …show more content…
Both Mariatu and Ishmael went from playing with friends and enjoying life in their villages to having to face death and pain every day. They both experienced violence and cruelty that no person should have to ever experience, let alone young children. At a tragically young age they witnessed the brutal and twisted murders of innocent people, including people they had known all their lives. Mariatu describes the rebels forcing her to sit and watch as they set fire to a house that her friend Mariatu, her family, and other members of her village were in. She was forced to see and hear them be burned alive (Kamara 31). Ishmael saw two of his childhood friends get killed during his first battle of the war. He describes seeing a seven year old named Josiah who shared a tent with him get launched and killed from an explosion and his friend Musa whom he had known from school get shot in the head (Beah 118-119). At only twelve years old Ishmael saw his closest friends get killed in battle. Ishmael being forced to fight and kill when he was only twelve years old was a terrible tragedy of the war and a further victimization of him, not something that reversed or undid his status as a victim. Both authors experienced unimaginable trauma and Ishmael’s victimhood cannot be negated as he had no choice but to fight in the war and partake in the