Issues of Family and Freedom

“My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed. . . . and it seemed as if my heart had frozen” (p. 126). As humans we need to feel cared for. We will always try and instill some sense of family, some sense of association. The idea of family is re-configured in this book. These children that are ripped from their actual families are challenged to try and re-establish their sense of place. Their squad, the militia they’re in, etc. often comes to aid this need for association. They replace what would be a family. Child soldiers become attached to other members, leaders, their weapons, and the dogma they are fed. The fact that people will go to such extremes, re-affirms how strongly we need a sense of family.

“High we exalt thee, realm of the free, great is the love we have for thee…” Based on the atrocities seen in the novel, A Long Way Gone, Sierra Leone does not seem like a free country. People’s personal freedoms and rights are violated countless times. Even the most fundamental right humans have, their right to life, is taken away. But as we see from this line in their national anthem, they do consider themselves to be a free country. How can they do this? What does it mean be free or live in a free country? This is deeply troubling. Sierra Leone considers themselves to be a constitutional republic, perhaps this is why they consider themselves to be free. But, the theoretical implications of their government type are far from reality. Under these conditions the U.S. is considered free. But the U.S. and Sierra Leone are drastically different. A country may call themselves free based on how their government is set up. But, how their government actually runs and the reality of the country is the actual indicator to whether it is free or not.