Showing posts with label ishmael beah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ishmael beah. Show all posts

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Why Do Those With So Little Prize Democracy So Much?

As I am sure is the case with most passionate political observers, our increasingly dismal turnout at electoral polls is a source of great personal dismay. While our political 'leaders' are busy taking us down an increasingly dark path that promotes the corporate agenda at the expense of the people and the environment, more and more people seem to be opting out of the political process entirely, justifying their non-choices with feeble excuses that include "All politicians lie" and "I'm just not interested in politics."

Perhaps they should take a lesson from the people of Sierra Leone, who recognize that however faint, the hope for a better society can come only from democratic participation.

After enduring a devastating civil war that took place from 1991–2002 at a cost of over 50,000 lives and the recruitment of untold numbers of child soldiers, the country has gradually been resurrecting itself. A good part of that resurrection is attributable to its return to democracy; although the road ahead is still fraught with obstacles, it seems that the the people's faith and participation in that democracy is playing a crucial role.

The Star reports a large turnout in yesterday's election, where people lined up as early as 2 a.m. to ensure that they get the opportunity to vote, the choice being between an incumbent president who has expanded health care and paved roads or an opposition candidate to lead this war-scarred nation still recovering a decade later despite its mineral riches.

Despite the fact that they have so little, the people of Sierra Leone are compelling examples of the richness of a society that takes its politics seriously and holds its representatives to account.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Realities Of The Child Soldier

I suppose I might feel differently about Omar Khadr if I hadn't read a particular book, A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah. It provided indelible insights into both the realities of the child soldier's world and the possibilities of redemption and rehabilitation. It should be read by everyone who is quick to judge and condemn Khadr.

Now 31 years old, Beah, a very bright, articulate and talented writer effectively conveyed in his memoir the horror of his experiences as a child soldier, conscripted into the army at the age of 13 to fight the rebels in Sierra Leone, although the bloody, inhumane behaviour of each side made them virtually impossible to distinguish.

I suspect it is the kind of world that Kadhr is very familiar with, uprooted as he was from Canada by his fanatical father at a young age and moved to Pakistan and Afghanistan to become part of Al Qaeda’s jihad against the West.

There is a story in today's Star about the ongoing efforts of a group of professors from Edmonton who developed a curriculum of study for Khadr, still languishing in Guantanamo Bay’s Camp Echo thanks to the reluctance of the Harper government to repatriate him. It is a story that goes beyond the stereotypes and the sensational headlines one usually associates with the Khadr name, a story suggesting that maybe, just maybe, there is something very salvageable about this former child soldier.

Of course, we have a chance of recognizing that something only if we are willing to relinquish our preconceived notions about the sole remaining Western inmate languishing in America's Cuban prison.