Ishamel Beah on the Power of Stories

By Caitlin H. ’21

The January 27th Global Initiatives Program (GIP) assembly featuring Ishmael Beah pooled the forces of the Associated Student Body; Student Leadership in Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (SLIDE); and multiple other community groups. 

Born in the small West African country of Sierra Leone, Ishamel is now based in Los Angeles and works as an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and UNICEF ambassador. Ishamel’s childhood was a tumultuous one: when he was ten years old, Sierra Leone erupted into a violent civil war, and Ishamel was later pulled into the conflict as a child soldier. During the assembly “The Ripple Effect of Empathy Building,” Ishamel recounted the process of forging his fear, love, anger, and hope into a life of creating empathy through stories. 

Empathy works as a transformative force, and stories illuminate shared humanity. These principles guide the work of Narrative4 (N4), a nonprofit organization founded by Ishamel and other authors. Cultural beliefs passed down to Ishamel by his grandmother taught him that stories are medicine, lifeblood that heals the world. With that idea in mind, N4 strives to connect people and build networks of compassion through story exchange, sharing the tenet that every story is essential. Senior Talulla S. ’21 participated in a story exchange while training to become an N4 facilitator, recalling initial nervousness about the process that ultimately gave way to gratitude at having “seen such a detailed window into one of [her] peer’s lives.”

Ishamel’s work embodies this year’s GIP theme, “The Ripple Effect,” perfectly; his writing and activism have changed the lives of many, particularly children affected by violent conflicts around the globe. Ishamel began to write as a means of challenging others’ one-dimensional conceptions of him, and he continued the sometimes painful process of recording his life in order to inspire youth who have faced similar traumatic experiences and remind them that there is “intelligence and strength” in simply surviving. Global scholar and now trained Narrative4 facilitator Laila W. ’21 described leading this assembly and participating in a story exchange as encounters with “radical” empathy, saying “the world needs empathy now more than ever.”

For the full recording, click here.
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