(Written by a former resident of Eritrea)

War in Africa war is unique.  Though it is waged differently in the various countries, there are also similarities.  This is a story about how the cruelty and wretchedness of war took away the childhoods of Emmanuel and Ishmael.  War left a mark on them as they lost their innocence while serving as child soldiers and  discovered that it’s almost impossible to be peaceful while mysterious wars are underway.    

Emmanuel’s childhood was a little different from Ishmael’s, as he told me recently, “There was peace in Sudan for the first three years of my life, but unfortunately I have no memory of it.”  That was because there had been war in his country ever since.

Ishmael was almost twelve when the civil war that he became involved in began.  Before that he had been a student, had enjoyed talent shows and doing fun things with his brother and other friends

Because participating in war had taken away the possibility of having a normal childhood, both young men are now looking for someone who will write up  their life stories.  

Wars in Africa frequently amount to just a lot of foolishness.  Emmanuel lived during the civil war between the south and the north in Sudan.  It involved ethnic differences about equality and justice, and the whole country became involved in the dispute.

Ishmael suffered through a civil war in Sierra Leone that lasted for years.  The clash was between the government’s army and rebels who wanted change.  Both sides, however, became victims.  Deaths of whole families were witnessed and the many others who died included innumerable men, women, children, and the newborn.  There were many incidents of rape and murder.

Both boys had no way to avoid being affected by the different wars. They considered running away but even the most remote part of their countries wouldn’t be safe.  There was no time to think of what to do; they had no alternatives.  Both of their lives were guided by civil war incidents.

After Emmanuel lost his family, a rebel took him to a camp near the Sudan-Ethiopian border where he was taught how to be a soldier even though he was still a child.  Later, he was forced to join the rebel forces.  He thought he was too young to use a gun, but remembers an older rebel telling him, “A gun doesn’t know who is old or young.”

During his first battle, he fought against soldiers from the government of Sudan.  The second battle was a murderous raid against people living in an Ethiopian village. 

Emmanuel was fortunate that after he fought with the rebels for some time he was rescued by an aid worker.  Subsequently sent to England, he became a successful musician, so his story ends well.

Ishmael’s war experience was quite different.  When he was still a child, the army of the government made him sign up, and he subsequently found himself in many dangerous situations.  It was so frightening that he began taking drugs, and his personality changed to the point where the brutal killing of rebels became a daily and enjoyable activity. 

People who had known him before felt that he was no longer the Ishmael that they had known, but fortunately, a friend convinced him to enter rehabilitation and he regained his normal way of behaving.

After enduring all those obstacles, which took incredible effort, he was able to emigrate to the U.S. so he, too, survived the ravages of war.

Both Emmanuel and Ishmael are happy that they are no longer involved in war, and now that they are living in safe countries, they enjoy telling stories of what it was like to be a child soldier.