What does Ishmael tells us was the “most difficult part of being in the forest” (p. 52)? And who are the six boys Ishmael encounters after wandering and surviving in the forest on his own for more than a month? Where does he know some of these boys from?
From the text:
The most difficult part of being in the forest was the loneliness.
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There were six boys, and three of them, Alhaji, Musa, and Kanei, had attended Centennial Secondary School with me in Mattru Jong. They weren’t close friends, but the four of us had been flogged once for talking back to the senior prefect. We had nodded at one another after that punishment, which we all agreed was unnecessary. I shook hands with the boys.
I could tell who was from what tribe by the marks on their cheeks and their features. Alhaji and Saidu were Temne, and Kanei, Jumah, Musa, and Moriba were Mende. They told me they were heading for a village called Yele in Bonthe district that they had heard was safe because it was occupied by the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.
A Long Way Gone
