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www.galaxyimrj.comGalaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research JournalISSN 2278-9529Human Rights as Inspiration and Empowerment: The Life and Times of a Boy SoldierA Reading of Ishmael Beah’s autobiography ‘A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier’Sherry MathewsLecturerDepartment of EnglishSt: Mary’s College, ManarcadKottayam KeralaPin-686019Human Rights are the rights people have simply because he/she is a human being. It isthe basic standard without which one cannot live with dignity. Human Rights are held by allpersons equally, universally and eternally. We have ample examples from literature that upholdsthe theme of blatant violation, ardent protection and strict maintenance of human rights.Ishmael Beach’s autobiography epitomizes the above mentioned themes and also amplifies thetheme of how Human Right is an empowerment and inspiration for a boy soldier from war tornSierra Leone. Beach work is a mirror held against one of the callous forms of Human RightsViolation against children – Child Soldiers. Beah, being one among them was lucky enough toescape this mental and physical slavery, with the help of UNCIEF and NGOs. Later he addressedthe UN, on behalf of the Child Soldiers. The Rights under the convention on the Rights of Childis an inspiration and empowerment to Beach, who currently works as the UNICEF’s advocate forChildren Affected by War.Introduction:Rights (Noun) means things to which we are entitled or allowed: freedom that areguaranteed. Human Rights thus mean the rights we have, simply because we are human. In otherwords, they are Rights to which we are entitled based on the assumption that every individual isa rational-cum-moral being, and that he/she deserves to have a level of dignity, below whichhe/she ceases to exist as human being. Though the concept of human rights found widespreadacceptance only after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its history can be traced backto 6th century B.C. In the year 539 B.C, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the city of Babylon.To, every one’s surprise, he freed the slaves and declared that everyone has his/her right/freedomto choose his/her religion and thus established racial equality. This decree was recorded on aBaked clay Cylinder (henceforth known as Cyrus Cylinder) in the Akkadian language inCuneiform Script. Cyrus Cylinder is considered as “World’s first charter of Human Rights”.Later in history we had Magna Carta (1215), English Bills of Rights (1669), French Declarationof Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), US Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791) and UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights (1948).Broadly speaking, Human Rights and Literature comes under the umbrella of Humanities.Both are directly concerned with ‘human’. World Literature comprises of countless human rightStories. There are ample examples from literature, which upholds the themes of blatant violation,ardent protection and strict maintenance of Human rights. Ishmael Beah’s autobiography ‘ALong Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 1’ is a shocking narration of violation of Human1Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone ,Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New Delhi: HarperCollins , 2007.Vol. II Issue IV1July 2013

www.galaxyimrj.comGalaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research JournalISSN 2278-9529Rights, efforts to protect and maintain it. The paper also covers the theme of; How HumanRights are indeed an inspiration and empowerment to the narrator, in his post-conflict life.Stripping of innocence: from Boy to Boy SoldierIshmael Beah was from Bonthe district of Sierra Leone .Sierra Leon is infamous for itscivil wars fought between rebel armies and government troops for the control of Diamond mines.During the month of March 1991, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel group, under theleadership of a former corporal Foday Sankoh, stared attacking different villages and districtHead Quarters in the mining areas of Sierra Leone. Their ultimate aim was to bring down, whatthey call, the corrupt All People’s Congress (APG) government, in Free Town, capital of SierraLeone. RUF gained control over many mines, pushing the Sierra Leone army back to its capitalcity. In the ensuing war Beah’s village also came under severe attack. Beah escaped the rebelraid as he had gone to participate in a HIP-HOP competition to the district Head Quarters inMattur Jong. Dense rebel presence prevented Beah and his friends to return to their village. Theydecided to stay in Mature Jong. Rebel raids started to spread beyond the mining areas. Soon,Mattur Jong also came under heavy attack. They took some children as child soldiers. Beach andhis friends escape from the rebel raid. They took refuge in the forest, aimlessly wandered in theforest for many months and finally, ended up in a government military camp. Here, Beach andhis friend are initiated into the unexpected role of child soldiers. Beah, in this work provides ahaunting first person narration of how the innocence of childhood is stripped out and how; he isconverted to a cruel blood thirsty soldier.Young recruits were injected with false patriotism and hatred. The army general alwaysreminded the “soldiers” that:“They [RUF’s rebel soldiers] have lost everything that makes them human. Theydo not deserve to live. That is why we must kill every single of them. Think of itas destroying a great evil. It s the highest service you can perform for your country”(108)In the first army ambush, Beah participated, he could not fire a single shot from his AK-47.Hewas totally terrified and numbed He saw his friend Josiah fatally wounded by a Rocket PropelledGrenade (RPG). Following night, disturbed by nightmares, Beah, shot 30 magazines at the sametime using his AK-47, thus overcoming his reluctance to shoot.Soon, Beah became an addict to Marijuana, sniffed amphetamines and ‘brown-brown’ (amix of Cocaine and Gunpowder) – brainwashing him of his violence. Escape became nearlyimpossible. “If you left, it was as good as being dead” says Beach. Instigate by false patriotism,high dose of drugs and war movies, Beah continued raids and ambush on rebel camps.Rambo films mesmerized the child soldier’s .War for Beah and rest of the child soldiers becamea blind imitation of Rambo in real setting. Beach recollects “ .wanted to be like Rambo. Wecouldn’t wait to implement these techniques’. ‘ .killing had become like drinking water”(121).Sanity intact: From Boy soldier to Human rights ActivistIn January 1996, UNICF rescued Beah. He was taken to rehabilitation centre calledBenin Home. Initially, Beah resisted any attempt for normalization. He continued to search fordrugs. Rehabilitation center continued with the de-addiction process. The agony of de-addictionshattered Beah, mentally and physically. Vomiting, collapsing and also haunting dreamsVol. II Issue IV2July 2013

www.galaxyimrj.comGalaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research JournalISSN 2278-9529continued. Slowly, Beach showed signs of progress. He is highly indebted to a nurse named,Esther. She made his path to recovery much more smooth and quick. Her emotional support wasof great help for him. Beah was soon reinstated into normal society. He started to live with hisuncle.In the winter of 1996, Beah came to the United States to attend a conference organized byUNICEF and Norwegian People’s Aid on the effect of the war on children. On the second day,Beah addressed the gathering ‘I had a speech that had been written in Freetown, I decided tospeak from my heart, instead” (199). In his speech, he pleads to adults to stop all the wars, sothat; children will not be recruited for war.Beah returned to Sierra Leone and later moved back to New York. He is now under theprotection and care of the Scheuer Family, especially Marge Scheuer .He graduated from OberlinCollege (2004) in Politics. He is the member of Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights DivisionAdvisory Committee, Co-founder of the network for Young People affected by War andPresident of Ishmael Beah Foundation.Beah’s autobiography documents every possible form of Human Rights violation. Civil,Economic, Social, Cultural, Political rights of young and old are threatened and abused .All theserights are essential and equally important for humanity to exist with dignity. Our paramountconcern is with violation of Child rights in such a pitiless manner. Child Soldiers like IshmaelBeah are living examples of this distressing condition. History shows that child soldiers are notat all a new tendency. David M Rosen, the author of Armies of the Young: Child Soldiers in Warand Terrorism Observes ““Children have served as Soldiers throughout History. They foughtin the American Revolution, American Civil War and in both the World Wars. They served asUniformed Soldiers, Camouflaged insurgents, and even suicide bombers. Indeed, the first USsoldier to be killed by hostile fire in the Afghanistan war was shot in ambush by a14 year boy”It is now almost impossible to accurately calculate the number of children involved inarmed forces. Amnesty International’s official website, claims, 300,000 child soldiers, hopped upon drugs fight the war in more than 50 conflicts in our World. Child Soldiers: Global Report(April 2004 – October 2007) claims, children are involved in 19 countries in armed conflicts.Children are part of Government Armed Forces (as in the case of Ishmael Beah), Non-StateArmed Groups like Revolutionary armed forces of Columbia. Child Soldiers: Global Report alsomentions about increase in the number of girl soldiers in Non-state armed groups in Nepal andPhilippinesRights of Children became a core issue in the International forums with the Declarationof Human Rights of Children (20th November 1959) .On the 30th anniversary of the declarationof the Rights of Children, UN organized Convention on the Rights of Children (20th November1989). In September 1997, Former UN secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Olarra Otunnu,former Foreign Minister of Uganda, as special representative for Children and Armed Conflicts.This decision was influenced by the report of Graca Machel entitled Impact of Armed conflict onChildren. This report also influenced to include the First Protocol on 25th May 2000, whichrestricts the use of children in Military conflicts: “ .parts to conflicts take every feasible step toensure that children under the age of 18 years do not take part in the hostilities”The speech by Ishmael Beah on the occasion of the 20th year of the Convention on Rightsof Children, is testimony of how, Rights under CRC and First Protocol was an inspiration andVol. II Issue IV3July 2013