Ishmael Beah

Thursday, May 29 ~ 10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Open to All Registrants

Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. When he was 11, Ishmael's life, along with the lives of millions of other Sierra Leoneans, was derailed by the outbreak of a brutal civil war. After his parents and two brothers were killed, Ishmael was recruited to fight as a child soldier at age 13.

Beah fought for over two years before he was removed from the army by UNICEF and placed in a rehabilitation home in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. After completing rehabilitation in late 1996, Ishmael won a competition to attend a conference at the United Nations to talk about the devastating effects of war on children in his country. It was there that he met his new mother, Laura Simms, a professional storyteller who lives in New York. Ishmael returned to Sierra Leone and continued speaking about his experiences to help bring international attention to the issue of child soldiering and war-affected children.

In 1998 Ishmael Beah came to live with his American family in New York City. He completed high school at the United Nations International School and subsequently went on to Oberlin College in Ohio.

Throughout his high school and undergraduate education, Ishmael continued his advocacy work to bring attention to the plight of child soldiers and children affected by war around the world, speaking on numerous occasions on behalf of UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Secretary General's Office for Children and Armed Conflict, at the United Nations General Assembly, serving on a UN panel with Secretary General Kofi Annan and discussing the issue with dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children's Rights Division Committee. In his book, A Long Way Gone, Beah tells his riveting story. Beah will sign copies of his book at the NAFSA conference.

This plenary is sponsored by IELTS International.