A Long Way Gone Pt 1

     Ishmeal was just a normal kid. He, his brother, Junior, and two friends used to watch TV at a local pool, when they saw a few young men speaking very fast to a beat. They found out that it was called Rap and they fell in love. They wanted to spread their love for rap by traveling to a town a few miles away called Mattru Jong. They packed their pockets with cassettes of rap music and set off to Mattru Jong. Upon their arrival, they met up with two more friends who had lived in this town, They soon heard of an attack by Rebels on their hometown, Mogbwemo. The boys were in shock and all they could think about was going home to find their families. They set out immediately to head back towards home. On their way through one of the neighboring towns, they ran into several injured people coming from their hometown. One man even pulled up in a van full of his dead family members who were shot during their escape. That was when they boys knew they couldn't return home and that their families weren't still at home. They set back to Mattru Jong. While there, they got notified that the rebels were coming for them. When the rebels came, the boys escaped, but not for long. They eventually became so hungry that they needed to go back to Mattru Jong to find their hidden money. This turned out to be a not so good idea because this got them caught by the rebels. They were going through their captures and deciding who would be recruited and who would be killed when they heard gun shots, which allowed the boys to escape. After escaping, they ran into a town that thought they were rebels. They tied them up and were ready to kill them until a boy from their hometown told the leader that they weren't rebels. At this town is where Ishmeal, Junior, and his friends settled for the night. Ishmeal really wished he knew what his brother was thinking. Ishmeal thought, "I wanted him to ask me if I was fine." (p40)
     If I were Ishmeal I would not have survived this long. I would have been caught and killed by rebels so long ago, Reading his memoir makes me so happy to hear he was able to escape death so many times. I would also pull Junior aside and ask how hes feeling and talk to him if I were Ishmeal. Since Junior was the only family he had left at this point, I think it is really important for Ishmeal to connect with him so they can get through this together. Should Ishmeal stay quiet or talk to Junior?