“And now our final guest, someone who has been through everything, someone who has truly seen the darkest parts of the world. Please give a warm welcome to our guest from Yemen, Naji Damari.” This wasn’t the first time I had felt like this. Like my stomach was slowly working its way up through my throat. However, this time it was different, it wasn’t as nearly as bad as before. I have to get on to the panel now. I never really wanted this much attention from the book, however my life has changed since it was released. Everybody wants to hear about the boy that could. I sat down on the couch, next thing I hear is the host “your story is incredible Naji, all though quite depressing”
I respond “well, thanks”. I know he doesn’t really care. I hate all of these Hollywood people, they all seem so fake and only care about their ratings. The host starts asking about what it was like coming where I am from, and having a history as dark as mine.
I respond however he seems underwhelmed with my answer. Some time has passed and he’s starting to lose me, he finally asks me to tell my story, this is why I am here. My name is Naji and this is my story.
...
The sound of gunshot at the break of dawn is probably the most frightening sound someone could hear, it is the sound of war, and death and can not be mistaken for another sound. This is how my story starts with my home town, with everything I have ever loved, gone in a matter of minutes. The door slams open with my mother rushing in to me and lifting me up. I have never seen her so terrified before. Once I was picked up she started to make a run for the tree line behind the house. Then she falls. The pain that I felt was not as great as the pain I felt for my mother who had broken her leg. My mother screamed at me to run, to run as fast as I could away from the people that had come. I run, but not before I am seen. I don't know if I am being chased, but I can feel it, it feels like three grown tearing through the woods to find me, I really have no chance to escape. I trip, like my mother, however this time I was now unconscious and I had no way of not letting them find me.
I awake in what looks like a prison cell, with nobody around. A man walks in. He begins to speak in a raspy voice, “you're a lucky kid you know, everyone in that town wasn’t so lucky, but I can see you’re a fighter, unlike those other kids”.
Before I can reply he exits the room. I am alone again. Some time has passed since the strange man walked in. The sun has fallen and it is now unnervingly dark. The door where the man came slams open. A giant walks in, taps on the bars then throws an almost pure like food on the floor. “Eat up, you’re gonna need it for tomorrow” he utters. I don’t touch it, I have lost all appetite at this point.
After the longest night I have ever experienced I get dragged out of my cell and brought outside. There are around 15 other kids with me who all look like they have seen a ghost. The man that first entered the room lined us up in a single file line with the giant behind him. The man speaks “you should all consider yourselves lucky, we have freed you from the iron chains of the government and you will now be fighting for other people's freedom. You will be assigned a number, this will be your new identity. Your old life is gone, your families are gone, there is no one here for you now.”
As soon I heard him say that I knew that I had to get out of here and I’m sure that other people felt the same. We were all forced back into our cells which we now shared with each other. There were around 5-10 kids in each cell. I started talking about an escape to the others. The best idea was to all run at the same time. We had all seen the gate at the front which could be moved just enough to get out. It was dusk again and we all brought out into the yard. The plan was as soon as the man turned his back we all sprinted for the gate. He turned. I was the first to start running only to realise that only 2 others started running as well. That didn’t matter though, I still ran, ran faster then I did when I was being chased before. I make it, the gate opens just enough for me to get through. The other two don’t, they are shot dead on the spot. These people are monsters, they have no remorse.
Once I was outside the gate it was like nothing I had ever seen before, it was miles and miles of barren wasteland, just sand. I had no option but to keep running. There was a main road, which I ran down. I can see why the man said that this is my new place. There is nothing out here except for the occasional dead animal. But I had to keep running, away from those monsters. I couldn’t go back, I couldn’t become a child soldier. I needed to find help to get those other kids out of there. I just kept running, feeling increasingly dehydrated. I pass out on the side of the road.
I wake up to water being squirted into my face, I look at the person doing it, they are wearing a sand coloured outfit. I realise that it is the US military. I told the man what happened, and he took me back to their base. I get looked after but I haven't heard anything about what happened to the other kids. About a week has passed and a big truck of kids pull up, I realise that it is the same kids that were at the camp. I am thanked for my tip to the mysterious man that woke me up. But without him and the others at the base I wouldn’t be here.
RATIONALE
My creative piece ‘Run’ describes the events of a child who has been taken forcefully from his family who are then murdered in cold blood, taken to a child soldier camp in Yemen, then escapes to find an American soldier who then, with the help of the US army, saves the rest of the children from the camp. The piece is aimed at people who are not aware of the issues surrounding child soldiers and it aims to bring people to a common agreement around this issue as it is quite prominent in third world countries currently in a war. However, the piece's targeted audience is young adults and no younger as there are a couple of graphic scenes in the story.
The way the issue was brought to light was through the eyes of a child, named Naji, who, after his family was murdered, is forced into becoming a child soldier. “you're a lucky kid you know, everyone in that town wasn’t so lucky, but I can see you’re a fighter, unlike those other kids”. This quote depicts how little the people who are fighting care for the children that they force into becoming soldiers. However Naji then escapes not too long after being brought into the facility with the help of two other children who are shot dead for trying to escape “The other two don’t, they are shot dead on the spot. These people are monsters, they have no remorse”. Similar to the other quote the people portrayed are heartless murders who don’t care about the children. The way these two quotes influence the reader is through shock, it is almost as if it is impossible to think someone would do something like that and when they experience it in the story they feel a sense of hatred towards the people who do this. With this hatred that is supposed to be imposed on the reader, they should feel a passion regarding the issue.
The story starts with Naji going onto a talk show where the interviewer asks him about his life. He then tells his story about his experiences with the soldiers and leaders of the child prison. The reason that the story starts like this is to let the reader know that the main character does make it out alive, and is able to tell his story to the rest of the world. “And now our final guest, someone who has been through everything, someone who has truly seen the darkest parts of the world.”. The way that Naji is introduced to the people watching lets the reader know, to begin with, that he has had an incredibly bad experience with something. This then creates an interest for the reader because they want to know what has happened, and it is never explicitly stated until near the end what has actually happened. It is up to the reader to figure out what is happening.
The style of writing that was used as the first person as it allows the reader to feel more compassion for the main character as it is like someone that they have met is telling them their story. It also aids the reader to pay attention and make them want to know more. As mentioned before the story features a kind of ambiguity, it is not explicitly stated that it is a story about a child soldier until near the end. It is up to the reader to figure out what they are reading. The reason this was implemented was that there could be similar issues that relate to child soldiers that the reader could feel empowered about.
The piece is designed to provoke an emotional response from the reader towards the issue of child soldiers, through the use of shock and horror. The way the story uses the non-linear structure is to let the reader know the outcome before the story is actually told. And is intended to draw awareness to not only the issue of child soldiers but other issues regarding third world countries currently in a war.