Mariatu kamara biography of george

Retrieved 2 November Christian Science Monitor. ISSN Chatelaine Magazine. Toronto: Rogers Publishing Limited. Annick Press. Biography Book Review. JSTOR The Bite of the Mango". School Library Journal Book review. Authority control databases. For an author tackling this subject, the first challenge would be to get a handle on the extreme violence that could make the book completely unsuitable for a Canadian school audience.

Without a doubt, some readers will feel it is too much, too hard. Most, I hope, will see the overall value of enlightening and informing our kids, of extending their compassion and understanding. That said, any astute reader with even a cursory knowledge of Africa would know that much of the actual violence has been edited out. The second challenge to the author is that the action in the book is front-loaded — it all happens within the first 40 pages.

After the attack, the story is no longer a tale of assault, of physical survival, of child soldiers lurking in the bush. Instead, it becomes a personal journey of a girl finding her voice, trusting that voice and making her way in the world. Ultimately Mariatu is simply a teenage girl with teenaged hopes, dreams and demands. She lands in England at considerable expense and effort then demands to go home because she doesn't like the weather.

Teenage angst and stubbornness comes into play. Mariatu loves getting her hair done and buying clothes. Somehow or other she puts on her own make-up. It's almost possible to forget that she has no hands. One can't say, "I love this book. I said might. I found I had to put the book down a few times, take a breath, and start again.

Mariatu kamara biography of george

And yet, the hope and the challenges Mariatu overcomes, the dogged belief that her life is not over and has value, trumps the violence ten times over. As for the writing style and quality, we have seen adult fiction writers, journalists of all stripes, and movie stars tackle children's writing with the assumption that anyone can do it. Most fail miserably.

Journalist Susan McClelland bursts out of the gate as a sensitive, articulate young adult writer who can separate emotional tripe from story telling. She gets it. After Mariatu was set free and was safe in Freetown, she was forced to beg for money so she could buy food and water for her and her family. Overall though, the war affected Mariatus life positively.

She was eventually moved to Canada because of the war, where she would later get an education, and be safe, in a friendly and accepting country. There are a few reasons why I think that. Firstly, the child soldiers were very likely recruited by the rebels by force. Secondly, the child soldiers were brainwashed and threatened into doing things that no child should do.

It was there life, or the life of someone else. Child soldiers were mistreated, abused and exploited. I think if they were captured or found, the child soldiers should not be persecuted, but rehabilitated, and helped with the issues they had to face. The right thing to do would be to help them. She is such an inspiration to young people because she didn't give up.

She stayed strong through everything. She had her hands cut off, she was separated from her family, she had a child and he died, and she had so many issues in her life. She fought through all the issues, and worked hard and stayed positive through the negative. Now she has a good life, and is healthy and safe. She is such an inspiration because she fought through the negativity and stayed strong through everything.

Theme 1. The war affected Mariatu is a very significant way. During the story, she loses her hands, which limits her abilities to feed, wash, and write. She get placed in a refugee camp, and then flies over KM to two different countries that she never thought she would visit in her life. Kamara continues making public appearances as often as possible while continuing her activist work, promoting revolution for transformative change in problematic communities who suffer the harsh effects of political instability.

Today, Mariatu Kamara is considered one of the leading voices in worldwide human rights activism and an inspiration to many people around the world. Show More. Write that first line with ease.