A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider

Ishmael and his companions suffer from starvation symptoms and are unable to find small animals to hunt. One night, they steal corn from a five-year-old boy. Later, the boy’s mother gives them more corn.

As the boys walk through grassland, the rebels take them by surprise, accosting and capturing them. The rebels march the boys to a nearby village at gunpoint and place them in a circle with other villagers. The boys watch as the rebels beat and question an old man, threatening him with a bayonet. The man tells them he was searching for his family; the rebels sadistically mock him by pretending to shoot him in the head.

Announcing that they want “strong recruits, not weak ones” (34), the captors pick some of the villagers to join their cause. Fortunately, as they force the group across the river, shots are fired from the village. The boys and some of the villagers escape into the forest, but Ishmael is briefly separated from the group. Relieved to be reunited, the  boys head back toward Mattru Jong. 

Although traveling in a group of six makes them undesirably conspicuous, the boys decide that their chances of survival are increased by numbers. Sadly, terrorized villagers are afraid of young boys due to their history with the RUF, so the group bypasses settled areas.