What reasons does Beah give for joining the army?Chapter 20

On the last day of the conference, a child from each country speaks at the UN Economic and Social Council chamber about their experiences. Beah talks about the sense of security that joining the army gave boys like him who were homeless and hungry. Beah decides to eschew the speech written for him in Freetown in favor of speaking from his heart. He relates his trials and travails and ends by rejecting his identity as a soldier and insisting that taking revenge only perpetuates the cycle of violence.