...children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance.
Interpretation
Children can overcome hardship and pain if they are given the opportunity to heal and grow.
This quote by Ishmael Beah emphasizes the innate resilience of children, suggesting that despite the adversities and sufferings they may face, they possess an incredible capacity to recover and thrive. It highlights the importance of providing support and opportunities for children to overcome their hardships, fostering an environment in which they can heal and ultimately flourish.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech on child advocacy and the importance of supporting vulnerable youth.
How many more times do we have to come to terms with death before we find safety?" he asked. He waited a few minutes, but the three of us didn't say anything. He continued: "Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you. It will be quieter than I am.
When I was young, my father used to say, βIf you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.β I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didnβt know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive.
This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy.
Some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their family and communities...This was one of the consequences of civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and every stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely careful about how they related or spoke to you.
I don't see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defeat them.
We rarely get to prepare ourselves in meadows or on graveled walks; we do it on short notice in places without windows, hospital corridors, rooms like this lounge with its cracked plastic sofa and Cinzano ashtrays, where the cafe curtains cover blank concrete. In rooms like this, with so little time, we prepare our gestures, get them by heart so we can do them when we're frightened in the face of Doom.
Let me ask you, sir, when is the time for brave men to exert themselves in the cause of liberty and their country, if this is not?
I'm tired of being treated like a second-class citizen.
Thus fear of danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than danger itself when apparent to the eyes ; and we find the burden of anxiety greater, by much, than the evil which we are anxious about.
I inherited depression from my mother's side of the family. Her father committed suicide. She committed suicide the year before I went to the moon.
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