Journal 6 Nick

Esther meant the most to me secondly to Ishmael. Esther was the beacon of light in the darkness for Ishmael. She was there to break him free of his chains that bound him and to set him free from the prison of his past. When Ishmael had made it to the Benin Home for rehabilitation he was not well. Esther would return smiles to him even when he had done something that was not socially acceptable. She was the spear head that perceived through the darkness and let Ishmael free himself. She did not do all the work however, she opened him up enough to trust someone and to become friends with someone and learn to love again.

I found Ishmael's recovery and rehabilitation a miracle. To be so broken and traumatized by war at such a young age is tragic. The severity of some of the problems such as PTSD that arouse because of of the war were caused mostly due to his age. I completely believe that it was possible for him to be rehabilitated. With enough time and the proper help I feel that any problems can be conquered.

If Ishmael were to be going through rehabilitation and he was to move into my neighborhood I would at first be hesitant for the safety of those around me but would be completely be supportive. I would first want to know how stable he was doing the in recent weeks and his improvements to ensure the safety of those in the community but I would be there to support him when he came to my neighborhood. I would be welcoming to him if the opportunity would arise and I would dedicate a lot of time to helping him with his recovery and coming back into social life.

The most important message that I took from the book was the will to strive forward and to clench on to hope in bad times. Ishmael's dad told him once, " If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen" (Beah 54). This line really spoke to me and lets us know that there is still light at the end of the tunnel, all you have to do is keep walking to get to the other side. Ishmael's struggles to stay alive and to keep the desire to keep going shows us just how difficult it can be to keep hope in situations like that. To compare it to our lives it seems as if we have it easy but even we loose hope and that's why I connected with this lesson the most because it apply to all people. He taught us to never loose hope even in times of great disparity.

Ishmael taught me many things. Just to say one, he opened my eyes to the world outside of my own. He let me briefly capture the horrors of war inside of another country. He left me with a need to know more about where they are today and their past. To see if they were able to recover properly form the chaos that was caused by the RUF and the civil war.

Sierra Leone has great potential as a country with the valuable minerals such as gold and diamonds and iron. As well as the possibility to agriculturally prosperous. Their economy could be very diverse and become very profitable however with the lack of education and markets prevents their growth. The possibility is there however expansion will not happen for quite some time. The gross national income per capita is $737 and most are extremely poor. The current president is Ernest Bai Koroma. Who is in his second term serving eight of his ten total years.

Ernest Bai Koroma, current president.