I did it to save my life : love and survival in Sierra Leone / Catherine E. Bolten.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bolten, Catherine E. (Catherine Elizabeth), 1976-

Series:

California series in public anthropology ; 24.

California series in public anthropology ; 24

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and society--Sierra Leone.

War and society.

Sierra Leone--History--Civil War, 1991-2002--Personal narratives.

Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone--History--Civil War, 1991-2002--Psychological aspects.

Sierra Leone--History--Civil War, 1991-2002--Social aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (293 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Utilizing narratives of seven different people-soldier, rebel, student, trader, evangelist, father, and politician-I Did it To Save My Life provides fresh insight into how ordinary Sierra Leoneans survived the war that devastated their country for a decade. Individuals in the town of Makeni narrate survival through the rubric of love, and by telling their stories and bringing memory into the present, create for themselves a powerful basis on which to reaffirm the rightness of their choices and orient themselves to a livable everyday. The book illuminates a social world based on love, a deep, compassionate relationship based on material exchange and nurturing, that transcends romance and binds people together across space and through time. In situating their wartime lives firmly in this social world, they call into question the government's own narrative that Makeni residents openly collaborated with the rebel RUF during its three-year occupation of the town. Residents argue instead that it was the government's disloyalty to its people, rather than rebel invasion and occupation, which destroyed the town and forced uneasy co-existence between civilians and militants.

Contents:

Introduction: Sierra Leonean emotions, Sierra Leonean war

Understanding Makeni and nested loyalties: marginality and collaboration in the northern capital

"I must be grateful to them for freeing me": the soldier

"They said nobody would hide from this war": the rebel

"I held a gun but I did not fire it": the student

The government brought death, the rebels allowed us to live": the trader

"It was the Lord who wanted me to stay": the evangelist

"They really damaged me": the father

"The RUF thought I was on their side": the politician

Epilogue and conclusions: Makeni, May 2010.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613806772

9781282134195

1282134191

9780520953536

0520953533

OCLC:

801363594