An African Odessey

A review of Chasing the Devil - A Journey Through Sub-Saharan Africa in the Footsteps of Graham Greene by Tim Butcher, Atlas and Company, NY, 2010.

The sub-title says it all. This is a travelogue of an expedition across Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea accomplished in 2009 but tracing a similar journey by Graham Greene and his cousin Barbara Greene in 1935.  It says much about rural Africa that during the seventy year time span between the two adventures  not  much has changed, especially if you walk! 

The book has three themes that combine nicely. First is the fact that famous novelist Graham Greene made the trek.  His motives were money with an overlay of politics. Greene got a book out of it and faithfully reported back to an anti-slavery society that sponsored him - as well as to the Foreign Office.  Additionally Greene needed to do something new to refurbish his literary credentials and sate his thirst for adventure.  Author Butcher delved through all of Greene’s journals (and his cousin’s as well), writings and papers to sort out references to the walk. He then juxtaposes the Greenes’ views to his own when in this or that village.   

Secondly the book permits the author to recapitulate the histories of the three nations involved - Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.  This provides wonderful context to the journey. Butcher recalls early British rule in Freetown and segues forward to the terrible blood diamond financed civil war.  In Liberia he traces the ineffective arrogant rule of the Americo-Liberians and their disdain for the “country” people of the interior, a shortcoming that led to their violent overthrow in 1980 only to usher in decades of misrule and conflict.  Against the historical backdrop, Butcher and his companions confront the residue of war in the fragile nations in the form of suspicion, tribalism and corruption, which are somewhat offset by generous hospitality as citizens strive to get on with life.

The third theme is Butcher’s walk itself. Accompanied by David, a fellow Englishman, Johnson and Mr. Omaru, Sierra Leoneans enlisted as guides, the group covered up to thirty miles daily in the sweltering heat and humidity.  They tried to stick to the jungle paths used by Greene and encountered trials, tribulations and joys as they trekked along. Ever observant, Butcher was fascinated by bush societies - mystery riven secret organizations that initiate youths into tribal adulthood - and their control over contemporary rural life. 

This book has great appeal to adventure travelers, but  even more it is a unique nonacademic guide to contemporary life in West Africa’s back country.  It is essential reading for persons interested in Sierra Leone and Liberia.  The walk took place in 2009, five years before Ebola wreaked havoc on the regions traversed.  One can only imagine the additional devastation that disease inflicted upon the people Butcher and his companions met along the way.   

A refugee plead for understanding

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After, by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil, Penguin Random House, NY, 2018

This is the story of Clemantine, who fled genocide in Rwanda as a six year old, spent the next six years as a refugee in various eastern and southern African countries, and ultimately found safety in America.  It is a troubling recitation of the horrors of helpless folks buffeted by ignominy of statelessness subjected to the whims and rules of uncaring superiors as well as their own bad decisions.  As a child and thus by definition not capable of controlling her own destiny, Clemantine was especially vulnerable.  She was formed and damaged by her experiences, which are so well articulated in this book.  Yet those experiences ultimately gave her the strength of character not just to persevere but to reflect and to advocate for similar victims. 

The book is structured as a series of chronological reflections - one set beginning in Rwanda and moving forward through flight to Burundi, then various refugee camps and displacements throughout Africa. The second set interspersed among the first begins in America.  Taken together the structure of the book gives a back and forth view of what Clemantine experienced and how as a teenager and adult she came to terms with it.

As a six year old Clemantine was led by Claire, her nine-years elder sister, to a refugee camp. There she  had to stay alive, trade her childhood for one of scrapping for food, firewood or water.  Subsequently she became the care taker for an infant niece.  Seeking stability Claire then led the family to Zaire, Malawi, South Africa, Congo again and Zambia. Yet everywhere they went, they were poverty stricken refugees, powerless unwanted outsiders who hovered on the fringes of the law.     By a stroke of luck Claire obtained permission to immigrate to America.

The opulence of Illinois coupled with the generous, but uncomprehending support of sponsors was stunning.  Twelve year old Clemantine retreated into a shell of defensive solitude and only began to emerge from that as she adjusted and grew.  Ultimately Clemantine is a great success story. She became a spokesperson for African victims of conflict and graduated from Yale.  Yet she was angry (and still is) that no one could understand her pain.  Undoubtedly that is the reason for this book - let the world know the consequences of genocide, the reality of refugee life, and the aching need for those without voices to be heard.     

What is Rwanda like today?

A review of Rwanda - From Genocide to Precarious Peace, by Susan Thomson. Yale University Press, New haven, 2018.

This book updates the situation in Rwanda today - some 24 years after the genocide.  Author Thomson details the changes and continuities since that terrible time. She describes how the current rulers of Rwanda have crafted a society of rules and regulations enforced by societal norms, peer pressures engineered by the regime and outright authoritarian control.  She sees much precedent for the strict codes and enforcement thereof arising in Rwanda’s pre-colonial history and carried forward to modern times.  Rwandans are used to being ordered about and coerced into conformity by whomever the ruling elites are.   Thomson delves into the self centered state and society now in place where although ethnic identity is squashed, Hutu citizens remain implicated and collectively guilty of genocide against Tutsi.  The charge of genocide denial or participation is an effective deterrent to political activism. Consequently, the state is firmly controlled by a small ruling Tutsi elite, who intend for the nation to evolve into a progressive entity dispensing economic and social progress for all.  For now however, it is only the ruling elites and a growing middle class that reap such benefits.  The poverty stricken masses see few paths out of their circumstances. But that is where Rwanda is - trying to move ahead, but enacting counterproductive policies - with greater social and political openness stymied by the impact of genocide. 

Thomson’s critique is pretty harsh and probably justified in looking at Rwanda through western eyes.  Her judgment of “precarious peace” is an accurate depiction of Rwanda today.  Western criticisms aside, Rwandans are inextricably bound together in their society and polity and they are going to have to work this out by themselves. Class rather than ethnicity will probably shape political divisions in years to come and the authoritarian state is unlikely to disappear.  Whether or not this might lead to violence is speculative, but another genocide as properly defined is unlikely.

Readers interested in Rwanda and/or the recovery of societies traumatized by violence will find this an interesting read.

Embassy Nairobi Bombings Disected!

Terrorism, Betrayal and Resilience - My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings by Prudence Bushnell, Potomac Books, 2018.

This is an impressive book. It is well written, quite readable and tells a fascinating story.   No one but the ambassador on the scene could have written this book. It is comprehensive in its depiction of events during, after and leading up to the embassy Nairobi bombing. It provides a unique perspective on what happened and how people reacted and coped.  But that is not all, the author also dissects the Department of State’s response to the security situation and the bombing with a critical eye.  Before and after the bombing there are many lessons that ought to have been learned; however, many weren’t. Additionally, the book outlines overall global planning by al-Qaeda, reporting what the USG knew and when and all the snafus involved in interagency turf issues.  Ambassador Bushnell paints a compelling case of negligence as the worst case or ignorance or ineptitude as the best regarding Washington’s response to security concerns and the threat of the al-Qaeda network. Topping all this off is Ambassador Bushnell’s observations on leadership and her practice of leadership during her entire career.  Finally, notable are discussions of hurdles that she as a woman had to overcome in asserting herself as an effective leader. 

 The book appeals to popular audiences that are curious about terrorism, and want a real life diplomatic thriller.  Indeed this is one. It is a compelling recitation of what happened and how embassy personnel and the government of Kenya responded to the crisis.   Even though a reader probably knows the overall outcome, the story of how the bombing and the aftermath is suspenseful and gripping.  It certainly will be read by the diplomatic community and by scholars, researchers and others who track terrorism and how it manifests itself.

 The book contributes to a fresh and certainly for most a more comprehensive understanding of what transpired in Nairobi. That in itself is meritorious, but the critical dissection of how the US intelligence community was divided on the al-Qaeda threat provides a new perspective that contrasts with the self-satisfied performance conveyed by Washington oriented writers. 

This is a very good book that needs to be read by anyone interested in Kenya, terrorism and the global diplomatic response to the crises of our times.

Horrors from the Lord's Resistance Army

Thirty Girls by Susan Minot, Alfred Knopf, New York, 2014

This is kind of an odd book. It is a fictional treatment of the true story of the abduction and abuse of thirty girls from St. Mary’s school in northern Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army. That part of the book is vivid and compelling in describing what happened to the girls; how they were beaten, raped and forced to comply with the weird practices of Joseph Kony’s cult.  Through reminisces of girls who escaped, the book also provides insight into how they handled the trauma psychologically.  Some cooped, others did not.  Similarly with their families, some viewed the girls as irreparably damaged. Others welcomed them home. But life could never be the same.

The other part of the book tracks the vague quest of a thirty something American journalist Jane who pitches up in East Africa with the hazy idea of writing about the girls. She falls in with a company of Kenya cowboys and world vagabonds and their sybarite lifestyle.  Jane hasn’t much of a back-story, but she lives for the moment even as she wonders about her place in life. Later she is struck by the realization of the unpredictability of violence. 

The plot of the story unfolds as the jaundiced westerners travel to Uganda to detail the girls’ stories. So finally the two parts of the book begin to jive.  Author Minot throws an unexpected twist into the plot at the last minute, but one which serves to underscore the theme of random violence. 
 

Readers cannot help but feel sympathy for the abducted girls and the horrors they endured.  At the same time the western sybarites garner only disgust. Yet folks on both sides reveal universal truths - relationships matter and you have to deal with what confronts you.  

For readers interested in Uganda and the impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army on the Acholi people, this is a useful book.