COIN case: LRA Lords Resistance Army

[davidbfpo]

A long review by Professor Stephen Chan, an expert on Africa, of a book 'When the Walking Defeats You' by Ledio Cakaj, as he explains:

It’s narrated by a young Ugandan student, pseudonym “George”, who was expelled from school and sent by his own family to join and fight with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). He became a bodyguard to the group’s infamous leader, Joseph Kony, who admired him for his learning.

...that as a very young soldier in Uganda, he also had his reasons and reflections, fears and hopes, pride and premonitions.

(Ends with) George’s telling is very much a narration of an encounter, not a psychological or intellectual inquiry. But it isn’t cheap or glib, and the book as a whole raises profund questions. Perhaps there are reasons why children fight – and perhaps even why madmen fight.

Link:https://theconversation.com/in-one-of-2016s-best-books-a-former-lords-resistance-army-child-soldier-reveals-the-reason-behind-the-mayhem-70027?