Greetings,
I just thought I'd mention, for those who saw the Sierra Leone
documentary, a very interesting book called "Fighting for the Rainforest:
War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone" by Paul Richards.  It makes an
attempt to explain (not excuse) some of the atrocities committed during
the conflict in Salone and to dispell the notion of African conflicts as
"new barbarism" simply rooted in overpopulation and resource competition.

The abstract states:

"'Do small wars in Africa 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 conventional Western
methods of warfare, but they are rational and effective nonetheless.  The
war must be understood partly as 'performance,' in which techniques of
terror compensate for lack of equipment.

Sierra Leone's war is a crisis of modernity.  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 rain forest is central to the war.  The war is fought in the
rainforest, 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.

Peace needs to be worked for with dedication and ingenuity.  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."

Whether you agree with Richards' analysis or not it is a fascinating
account of a historical moment that unfortunately could repeat itself in
other times and places.

Best, Ylva Hernlund

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