A LONG WAY GONE

Virtual Field TripByCarmen NatrinCourse: 87T02 Designing and Creating a Virtual Field Tripcarmen78nicole@yahoo.com

A journey to Sierra Leone We are in Western Africa in a

country called Sierra Leone After a decade of Civil War,

in 2002, where tens and thousands of people died, the country is trying to heal.

Let’s find out more how it all started:

Sierra Leone ("The forgotten war:," 2007)

Blood Diamonds Have you ever wondered where

diamonds come from? Have you ever heard the term “Blood Diamond?” Let’s go in some diamond mines in Sierra Leone.

Blood Diamonds are diamond mined in a war zone;

This phenomenon existed particularly in Africa.

Read some facts about Sierra Leone civil ("Blood diamonds -," 2008) war and the connection with blood diamonds

Let’s meet the child soldiersHere is a former

child soldier talking about his experience: Ishmael Beah

Ex-child-soldier: 'Shooting became just like drinking a glass of water‘(Barnett, 2012)

In 2000, the news that rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone was forcing children, including demobilized child soldiers, to join its ranks and engage in combat , was rapidly spread all around the world.

Revolutionary United Front (RUF) Let’s introspect even more on Sierra

Leone and how the child soldiers were recruited. An important role in this process was played by RUF.

RUF ("Revolutionary united front," )were an organized force that tried to control the lucrative diamond-producing regions of the country

Between 1991 to 2000, they used: guerrilla, criminal, and terror tactics,

such as murder, torture, and mutilation, to fight the government, intimidate civilians

Sierra Leone today… Sierra Leone's Diamon

ds Still A Source Of Contention ("Sierra leone's diamonds," )

The civil war has been over for more than a decade. The diamonds are not a source of conflict anymore, yet still a sensitive subject. Poverty is still marking the place: no electricity, no roads.

Workers in mines are paid approximately 25 cents per day.

Ishmael Beah… a former child soldier Let’s meet a special guest:

Ishmael Beah ("A long way," )

was born in Sierra Leone in 1980 and in 33 years of life he had more experiences than many of us

Ishmael Beah is a vivid witness of all the atrocities. A former child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah ("Ishmael beah --," 2007) tells the story himself…

At the end of this experience, he says… war isn’t child play

Ishmael Beah on CNN

("A long way," )

Ishmael Beah sharing to the world…

As a result of his experiences, Ishamel Beah decides to share it to the world in interviews and in the book “A Long Way Gone

Here he is sharing how it all started

Click on the dark rectangles

("A long way," )

Discovering Hip Hop Ishmael recounts

how he discovered hip hop.

("A long way," ) Music proves to

have an important role in his life, a shelter, a way of survival.

Some of his favorite songs were:

Three Little Birds by Bob Marley ("Bob marley three," 2009)

I need love by L.L. Cool J.("Ll cool j-," )

O.P.P by Naughty by Nature ("Opp - naughty," )

An Ambassador for UNICEF What is Ishmael Beah

doing nowadays?

Let’s ask him. Watch him talk on the UNICEF television ("Unicef: Ambassador ishmael," 2007)

Ishmael supports the idea that children should be kept away from the war. Involving children in wars kidnaps their childhood and destroys them psychologically forever.

("Advocate for children," )

More questions for Ishmael Beah? Take a piece of

paper and write him a letter. He is only a couple of hours away, in NYC. Ask him any additional questions that were not answered during your lengthy journey in Sierra Leone.

References Advocate for children affected by war. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.unicef.org/people/people_47890.html A long way gone [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.alongwaygone.com/cnnvideo.html A long way gone. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.alongwaygone.com/ishmael_beah.html A long way gone [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.alongwaygone.com/media.html Barnett, E. (2012). Ex-child-soldier: 'shooting became just like drinking a glass of water' [Web].

Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/africa/ishmael-beah-child-soldier Blood diamonds - sierra leone [Web]. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Zdtt1WWuMBM Blood diamond. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8 Ishmael beah -- child soldier [Web]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=5K4yhPSQEzo Ll cool j- i need love with lyrics! [Web]. Retrieved from LL Cool J- I Need Love With Lyrics! Opp - naughty by nature [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmuFlaFYdgE Pen-pal c. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://marzipanmelloo.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/pen-pal-c/ Revolutionary united front (ruf). (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/ruf.htm Sierra leone's diamonds still a source of contention. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/23/165271466/sierra-leone-holds-a-vote-not-a-war-on-diamonds The forgotten war: The sierra leone civil war - youtube [Theater]. (2007). Available from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiqHKFMPhHw Unicef: Ambassador ishmael beah on child soldiering [Web]. (2007). Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmpOA9RKfVU