A long way gone

Just finished reading Ishmael Beah's haunting and poignant memoir about his experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. I saw part of an interview with him on PBS and decided to check out the book. I was impressed by his intelligence and his eloquent description of the situation in Sierra Leone. His book is a compelling argument for the world to intervene on behalf of children conscripted into armies across the globe.
Some of my favorite passages included his first experience with an elevator and his first taste of a New York City winter. I also found the following passage very interesting:
"My conception of New York City came from rap music. I envisioned it as a place where people shot each other on the street and got away with it; no one walked the streets, rather people drove in their sports cars looking for nightclubs and for violence. I really wasn't looking forward to being somewhere this crazy. I had had enough of this back home."
It amazes me that this boy, who had experienced a bloody civil war and had been involved in the killing of many people would think of NYC as such a dangerous place. What message is our media giving the rest of the world about us?