Warm Up: Persuasive Writing Practice

1. Warm Up: Persuasive Writing Practice • In your writer’s notebook: Brainstorm and think of a thesis for the prompt below. Your thesis must include your stance and a because statement with your two reasons for your stance. • Ex. Although betrayal is often a negative element in our lives, often it can have a positive outcome because it is necessary for justice and it can benefit society as a whole. • Read the following quotation. “What I like about cities is that everything is king-size, the beauty and the ugliness.”—Joseph Brodsky • Although large cities are exciting places to live, small towns have their own special characteristics. Think carefully about this idea. • Write an essay stating your position on whether it is better to live in a large city or in a small town.

2. A Long Way Gone: Sierra Leone Background

3. Sierra Leone Profile • Full Name: Republic of Sierra Leone • Population: 5.7 million (2009) • Capital: Freetown • Major Languages: English, Krio, and various African languages. • Major Religions: Islam and Christianity • Monetary Unit: Leone • Major Exports: Diamonds, Rutile, Cocoa, Coffee, and Fish

4. History of Sierra Leone  Sierra Leone: Name means “Lion Mountains” • 1462: Portuguese explorers arrive in Sierra Leone, which was also already occupied by several African tribes that had migrated to the area. • 1500s-1700s: Traders stopped in Sierra Leone to exchange cloth and metal goods for ivory, timber, and slaves. *Abolitionists later help slaves return to Africa in what is now the “Province of Freedom” or Freetown in Sierra Leone. They came to be called Krio.

5. Civil War in Sierra Leone • March 1991: The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) began attacking villages in eastern Sierra Leone. *Goal: To rid the country of the APC government * Rebel leader: FodaySankoh • April 1992: The National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) was established, but it proved to be as ineffective as the APC at repelling the RUF. • 1995: The RUF held much of the countryside in their control.

6. Civil War in Sierra Leone • 1996-2000: Sierra Leone tries various campaigns to stop the RUF, including signing a peace deal in 1996 that unraveled in 1997. • 1999: The United Nations finally became involved in the effort to disarm the rebels • 2001: A second peace agreement was signed that allowed disarmament to begin as the government regained authority in rebel-held areas. • January 2002: President Ahmad TejanKabbah (elected in 1996) declared the civil war officially over.

7. Recovery in Sierra Leone • 2002: British troops left Sierra Leone and President Kabbah is reelected.  Summer 2002: A Sierra Leone Special Court begins holding a series of war crimes trials that lasted until 2006. • 2003: Rebel leader FodaySankoh died. • Many child soldiers, like Ishmael Beah, also had to begin a personal healing process to restore their sense of humanity and to forgive themselves.

8. Ishmael Beah • At 15, UNICEF removed Beah from fighting and helped him begin rehabilitating. • In 1998 he moved to the U.S. and finished high school. He graduated from Oberlin College in 2004. • He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and speaks on behalf of children affected by war. • He began the Ishmael Beah Foundation to help former child soldiers.

9. Interview with the author:

10. Writer’s Notebook: Reading Reflection with Heavy D & the Boys Chapter One: • What did the old man in Kabati mean when he said, “We must strive to be like the moon”? Is this advice that could apply to you? Why or why not?