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"I had to leave, because if I stayed in Freetown any longer, I was going to end up being a soldier again or my former army friends would kill me if I refused" (Ch 21 pg 209).

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"I joined the army really because of the loss of my family and starvation. I wanted to avenge the deaths of my family" (Ch 20 199).

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"People are always lying to others with such promises. Don't let them get your hopes up" (Ch 19 pg 189).

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"I loved the walks with my uncle,because they gave me a chance to talk about my childhood, about growing up with my father and older brother" (Ch 18 pg 175).

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"I wished that my journey had been meaningful and as full of merriment as theirs" (Ch 17 pg 164).

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"We would fight for hours between meals, for no reason at all" (Ch 16 pg 139).

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"Your work here is done, and I must send you off. There men will put you in school and find you another life" (Ch 15 pg 129).

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"We all wanted to be like Rambo; we couldn't wait to implement his techniques" (Ch 14 pg 121).

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"We went out two more times that week and I had no problem shooting my gun" (Ch 13 pg 120).

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"Visualize the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, your family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened to you" (Ch 12 pg 112).

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"We were all quiet and angry in the ruins of the village, where it seemed our journey had ended" (Ch 11 pg 96).

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"One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn't sure when or where it was going to end" (Ch 10 pg 69).

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As we walked, we examined the rope marks on our wrists and laughed about what had happened to avoid crying" (Ch 9 pg 68).

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"If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die" (Ch 8 pg 54).

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"I felt as if I was waiting for death to come to me, so I decided to go somewhere where at least there was some peace" (Ch 7 pg 46).

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"We needed to stay together because we had a better chance of escaping the day-to-day troubles we faced" (Ch 6 pg 37).

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That night's journey was very quiet. None of us spoke. I knew we were walking, but I couldn't feel my feet touching the ground" (Ch 5 pg 36).

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"After all the trouble and risks we undertook to get the money, it became useless" (Ch 4 pg 29).

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"That night for the first time in my life I realized that it is the physical presence of people and their spirits that gives a town life" (Ch 3 pg 22).

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There days I live in three words: my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which trigger memories from the past" (Ch 2 pg 20).

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"There were all kinds of stories told about that made it sound as if was happening in a faraway and different land" (Ch 1 pg 5).

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Ishmael returns back home to his uncle and starts school. Other students fear him as they know that he used to be a child solider. In May 1997, the war has started in the capital destroying many homes as it came. Ishmael's uncle falls extremely ill, unable to reach any market place or hospitals due to mobs of protestants and "Sobels" they are unable to help him, yet his uncle would decline any further help even if it was possible. Later on he passed away in Ismael's arms. Unable to take this and in fear of war, Ismael contacts Laura and asks for help, he manages to escape the country and is taken in as a refugee in a shelter.

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Ismael finally arrives in New York, astonished by the city and it's people. At the conference he meets other children with stories similar to his. They childhood also stolen from them.

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Ishmael is starting to say goodbye to his friends as he prepares to be relocated to live with his uncle. When arriving there he is greeted by his new family who seems to be truly happy and sincere. He is then told that he will be given an opportunity to fly to the US for an interview.

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Workers from the UNICEF organization and several other similar to such came to see how the boys were coming along. The boys had put up a talent show and manage to impress their visitors. Ishmael is told that his uncle was found and he will get the chance to meet him. This was he got to learn a lot more about his father from his uncle's stories.

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A nurse by the name of Esther was kind enough to give Ishmael a Walkman and some Rap cassets after finding out he enjoyed them. This took Ismael's mind off of some things making him more open and allowing him to share some stories with the nurse. He enjoys talking to Esther now and is starting to look forward to seeing her.

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Once in the rehabilitation center the boys lose control of their behavior. They attack staff members and even fight among themselves. The staff members would be kind to the boys and try their best to make them feel welcomed, this stopping the attacks from happening as often. Sooner the boys are sent to school in which they set their supplied on fire and later on sell the ones that were replaced.

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At this point Ishmael lived by the rule of kill or be killed. His only protector was his gun and he became dependent on drugs. When Ismael turns 15, UNICEF men had arrived to the village taking all the younger boy soldiers to give them an opportunity at a new life. Ishmael was enraged at this and didn't want to go. He and a few other boys were taken to rehabilitation.

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Now the child soldiers all rely on drugs to fight in battles. Not only this, but he began smoking marijuana when taking energy pills. They become violent and would occasionally attack locals in villages.

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They boys are being exposed to drugs that are supposed to "boost their energy". They are given those white pills to help them fight in upcoming battles. They are given guns and ammunition and sent out to fight in the woods.

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After many days of endless walking, Ishmael and his group are captured by a group of soldiers. They are taken back to the soldier's village at gunpoint. Once there they are relieved to find out that nothing was going to happen to them and they ended up staying there and helping around the place. After a few weeks the village is being surrounded by rebels. This forcing all the young boys to become soldiers in order to avoid defeat.

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Ishmael and his friends heard about a village in where their relatives can be found. On the way into the village they help out a farmer yet as they get there they can hear loud gunshots and screams. Ishmael runs into the village hoping to find his family to only find everyone in it dead and barely recognizable. He attacks the farmer blaming him for what has happened only to realize that what he was doing is wrong.

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As his journey continues, Ishmael expresses his concerns of how he feels like a part of him dies whenever his in near death experiences. He worries that sooner or later all of him will die if he keeps having to await death. As the boys travel from village to village they keep on their way. Sadly, Saidu, a boy from their group, has passed away. After honoring him they move on.

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Ishmael and the rest of the boys keep traveling until they find an ocean with a village nearby. They are offered shelter by a local man and stay there for 2 weeks. Other locals had found out about them and brought them forth to the chief. After being interrogated they are allowed to leave the village.

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Ishmael keeps walking on passing by villages all filled with dead bodies and total destruction. He enters and forest where he wonders on finding an unusual fruit, considering his was starving he took the risks of eating it and letting time pass to see whether it was poisonous. While waiting he remembered an important lesson his grandfather would tell him about herbal medicines. He later on stumbles upon a group of boys with whom he travels and finds another village where they are first detained but then let free when proven innocent.

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Ishmael's current location is at the village Kamator. Yet unexpectedly the village was raided by rebels at night. Many were killed or captured, but Ishmael managed to escape. Only he got separated from his friends and brother. While on the run, Ishmael finds Kalko, a friend, and they stay with a family for two weeks. Yet he then set out on his own being afraid of rebels attacking again.

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Due to the constant rebel attacks consisting of young boys, people are now afraid when they see groups of young boys walking around. This caused Ishmael many troubles as he was suspected of being a rebel, he had dealt with being accused of being one and had a hard time being trusted by other locals in villages he passed.

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Ishmael's journey is getting harder and more dangerous. He and his friends have ran out of food forcing them to chance down a boy who was eating corn.

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Ishmael runs away from rebels. A boy is left around in the process. Ishmael also continues to see the fatalities that happen in the war.

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After having his village raided, Ishmael decided to stay at Mattru Jong. He has not heard any word of his parents. Five days later the rebels had attacked the village.

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Ishmael pushes a wheelbarrow and discovers the casualties that happen in war. He sees dead people littering the streets.

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Ishmael was a child who was astonished with Rap music. He and his friends would spend their days practicing Rap lyrics and dancing.