Ishmael Beah

On December 7, the Perspective Project was pleased to welcome author and human rights activist Ishmael Beah to a virtual dinner conversation. Moderated by Waynflete students Sylvette Dupé-Vété-Congolo ‘21 and Bessy Dushime ‘23, Beah began by talking about his early love of writing and how writing helped with his transition into America. He reflected on his time as a high school student in New York City after being a child in the Sierra Leonean civil war and how he used writing to illustrate his experiences to others. 

After his opening remarks Beah, the author of A Long Way Gone, Little Family, and other books, dove into his career as an author and a key figure in the social justice reform movement. Coming to the United States, he felt no need to talk about his previous experiences, but as he began to gain his voice, he told his story more and changed the way he told it with every new stage of his life. Beah used his artistic abilities as therapy for his traumatic childhood. He mentioned how he found it therapeutic to create fictional characters as a way of coping. He began his journey of justice for children abused by war through writing which eventually led to working  with the United Nations and UNICEF. He worked with UNICEF to create real opportunities and find real solutions for children with childhood trauma. 

Beah works closely with Narrative 4, a story exchange organization he co-founded; during our conversation he talked about his strong belief in listening to others opinions and not holding onto your own too closely. He believes that it is very valuable to hear from many different perspectives, even if you do not agree. 

Beah mentioned the idea of anti-blackness many times. As a black man, Beah encounters racial injustice in his everyday life. He cited many examples, from comments on the strength of his English to people running away when he was trying to help them. Beah also made it clear that the racism that the United States suffers from is also a global issue. When asked about the origin of the violence and racism, Beah responded with the belief that these issues are formed through our capitalist system. He commented about how, with our capitalist system, you can “dehumanize somebody without having to see them physically”. He questioned the freedom in capitalism and mentioned how there are too many people who do not question the system. Beah believes strongly in using one's voice to tackle global issues. He encouraged us as the youth to take charge from a young age and use our social media platforms to speak about what we are passionate about.

 When asked about global aid, Beah explained how countries giving aid are not asking the other country what they need, making it not as useful. He strongly believes in three policies when it comes to what policies there are for aid and resources in Africa. He thinks that military aid should no longer be to dictators in Africa, that there should be new policies for how resources can be extracted, and also new policies for where the money from the resources  goes to. He hopes that if those new policies are implemented, there would be a drastic change for the better. Finally, when asked how to join the country together again, Beah strongly believes that we need to have honest conversations, especially with ourselves.