Growing up, family is always there for each other with unconditional love. They will do anything for each other, and throughout their lives they will look to their family for support and guidance. This is not said for Ishmael Beah in A Long Way Gone. He was never part of an idealistic "perfect" family because his parents lived in different villages for most of his life. The feeling of solitude and independence was not new to him. Unlike Beah, A Bite of the Mango's Mariatu Kamara has a very healthy and intimate relationship with everyone in her village. “It was common in my country for children in rural areas to be raised by people other than their biological parents” (Kamara 13). They all act like they're part of her immediate family, and what's more, she's extremely dependent on them. Both Beah and Mariatu were children heavily involved in the war, forced to deal with problems in their country that were not theirs to begin with. “The war in Sierra Leone has its roots in a long history of corrupt and predatory civilian and military governments that set the stage for a decade-long insurgency, destroyed state institutions and left the country vulnerable to external manipulation” (Rice 1). While fighting emotional and physical struggles throughout the war, Mariatu is firmly attached to her family for an indefinite period of time, while Beah has the advantage of independence; it is more likely to survive. While it's a relief that Mariatu was lucky enough to have her family with her for most of her journey, she was far too dependent on them. It seemed like every time they left, his emotions became extremely unstable. She trusted people she shouldn't have, because that was the nature of family and the way people were middle of paper...... Works Cited Kamara, Mariatu and Susan McClelland. A bite of mango. Tornoto: Annick. 2008. Print. Rice, Susan. “Prospects for Peace in Sierra Leone.” Prospects for peace in Sierra Leone. March 23, 1999: np SIRS Government Reporter. Internet. November 14, 2013. “2005 Conclusions of the Ministry of Labor... Preface and introduction. » 2005 conclusions of the Ministry of Labor on the worst forms of child labor. 2006: 7-40. SIRS Government Reporter. Internet. November 14 2013.