Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth & Resources in Sierra LeonePaul Richards argues that the war in Sierra Leone and other small wars in Africa do not manifest a new barbarism. What appears as random, anarchic violence is no such thing. The terrifying military methods of Sierra Leone's soldiers may not fit Western models of warfare, but they are rational and effective. The war must be understood partly as performance, in which techniques of terror compensate for lack of equipment.Richards points out that Sierra Leone's war is a crisis of modernity. Sierra Leone's youth belongs to a modern, trans-Atlantic culture. In remote diamond-digging camps, young people watch Rambo videos and listen to BBC news. These are part of the cultural resources with which the war is fought. The frustrations of these young people underlie the crisis. Not only the soldiers but most of the commanders are teenagers. Their aspirations are for schools and jobs. Financial stringency and the decay of the patrimonial state led directly to the government's surrender of much of the countryside.The rain forest is also central to the war. The war is fought in the rain forest and can only be understood in the context of old traditions of social and technical management of the forest. There is no evidence that a crisis of deforestation or overpopulation has contributed to the war.Rebuilding the state -- and giving young Sierra Leoneans confidence in it -- is essential for peace. But in the meantime, many people are learning to live with war and building limited peace locally. Richards argues that aid agencies must learn from these initiatives to avoid becoming part of the economy of conflict. |
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Page 18
... Siaka Stevens as Foday Sankoh . Released from jail in 1982 Massallay later worked for the National Diamond Mining Corporation . Described as RUF Chief - of - Staff and head of RUF arms and ammunition procurement , he appears to have ...
... Siaka Stevens as Foday Sankoh . Released from jail in 1982 Massallay later worked for the National Diamond Mining Corporation . Described as RUF Chief - of - Staff and head of RUF arms and ammunition procurement , he appears to have ...
Page 25
... Siaka Stevens ( 1968-85 ) . Living as exiles in Liberia when the civil war started , several preferred to accept the chance to fight their way back home than remain in Liberia as refugees . The War Council in 1995 represents the rump of ...
... Siaka Stevens ( 1968-85 ) . Living as exiles in Liberia when the civil war started , several preferred to accept the chance to fight their way back home than remain in Liberia as refugees . The War Council in 1995 represents the rump of ...
Page 40
... Siaka Stevens , who had spent time at the trade union college in Oxford , Ruskin College . Breaking with the SLPP Stevens formed a new party , the APC , drawing upon this union background for some of its socialist rhetoric ( Stevens ...
... Siaka Stevens , who had spent time at the trade union college in Oxford , Ruskin College . Breaking with the SLPP Stevens formed a new party , the APC , drawing upon this union background for some of its socialist rhetoric ( Stevens ...
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African agriculture areas army attack Barbarism Bopolu bush camp Cape Mount cent Chapter chiefdom civil civilians coast conflict Côte d'Ivoire creolization cultural diamond mining ECOMOG economic elephant elite environmental Executive Outcomes farmers farming fighters fighting films Foday Sankoh forest conversion Forest Reserve forest society Freetown global Gola Forest Gola North government troops Guinea hostages ideas initiation insurgency intellectual interviewees Kailahun District Kambia Kenema Kono Krio Lalehun language leader Liberia Liberia and Sierra Liberian border London Mende military modern Momoh Monrovia movement NPFL NPRC Pandebu patrimonial peace Pendembu perhaps political population Pujehun District radio rain forest Rambo rebels recruited refugees regime rice Richards RSLMF RUF leadership RUF/SL rural savanna Shining Path Siaka Stevens Sierra Leonean slaves strangers Taylor Toffler town trade tributors ULIMO Upper Guinean forest villages violence West Africa women young Sierra Leoneans youth zone