Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth & Resources in Sierra Leone"What appears as random, anarchic violence is no such thing. The terrifying military methods of Sierra Leone's soldiers may not fit conventional western models of warfare, but they are rational and effective nonetheless. The war must be understood partly as a 'performance', in which techniques of terror compensate for lack of equipment." "Sierra Leone's youth belong to a modern, trans-Atlantic culture. In remote diamond-digging camps, young people watch Rambo videos and have a sophisticated understanding of world affairs from the BBC. These are part of the cultural resources with which the war is fought." "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. Aid agencies must learn from these initiatives if relief is to contribute to peace and not become part of the economy of conflict."--BOOK JACKET. |
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Page xiv
... conflict independently of sovereign states and without reference to international opinion ( van Creveld 1992 ) . Third , culture clash , resource competition and environmental break- down provoke a rash of small , localized and ...
... conflict independently of sovereign states and without reference to international opinion ( van Creveld 1992 ) . Third , culture clash , resource competition and environmental break- down provoke a rash of small , localized and ...
Page xvii
... conflict . The war in Sierra Leone drags on essentially because there are social factors feeding the conflict , and because the main rebel group feels it has not yet had a chance to get its political point of view across , and that it ...
... conflict . The war in Sierra Leone drags on essentially because there are social factors feeding the conflict , and because the main rebel group feels it has not yet had a chance to get its political point of view across , and that it ...
Page xxvi
... conflict started by the Revolutionary United Front ( RUF ) , a small group of Sierra Leonean dissidents encouraged by Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi , and armed by the Liberian faction leader Charles Taylor . The chapter summarizes ...
... conflict started by the Revolutionary United Front ( RUF ) , a small group of Sierra Leonean dissidents encouraged by Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi , and armed by the Liberian faction leader Charles Taylor . The chapter summarizes ...
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Common terms and phrases
African agriculture areas army attack Bopolu bush camp Cape Mount cent Chapter chief chiefdom civil civilians coast conflict creolization cultural diamond diggers 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 Kenema District Kono Krio Lalehun language leader Liberia Liberia and Sierra Liberian border Mende military modern Momoh Monrovia movement NPFL NPRC Pandebu patrimonial peace Pendembu perhaps political population Pujehun District radio rain forest Rambo rebellion rebels recruited regime rice Richards RSLMF RUF leadership RUF/SL rural sample savanna Siaka Stevens Sierra Leonean slaves strangers supplies Taylor town trade tributors ULIMO Upper Guinean forest villages violence West Africa women young Sierra Leoneans youth zone