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  • A Dirty War in West Africa: The Ruf and the Destruction of Sierra Leone
  • Zoë Marriage
Gberie, Lansana . 2005. A Dirty War in West Africa: The Ruf and the Destruction of Sierra Leone. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. 224 pp. $24.95.

Lansana Gberie's A Dirty War in West Africa is a welcome contribution to the literature on Sierra Leone. Written from the perspective of a Sierra Leonean who was working as a journalist during the war, it provides deep and courageous testimony to the background and foreground of more than a decade of violence. For those familiar with the history, geography, and politics of Sierra Leone, Gberie's writing offers an authoritative narrative, much of the strength of which derives from the detail that he provides. For those unfamiliar with Sierra Leone, this book is an invaluable introduction to and examination of the war.

It is unnecessary to dwell on the title of the book, but it is reasonable to note some uneasiness. The use of the word dirty to describe this war is more disparaging than enlightening, and it is unclear what function the word is deemed or desired to play: what more is conveyed than would be conveyed by the phrase a war in West Africa? This question merits asking because other evocative adjectives are sprinkled through the writing, often signaling illegitimacy, but not doing justice to the analysis elsewhere in the book. Through this terminology, the reader is made aware of Gberie's biases in presenting people or events.

The approach varies through the book, but the writing is at all times engaging, informed, and accessible. The first part of the book is largely descriptive. Gberie does not flinch from the minutiae of his story, and usefully draws distinctions between the episodes of the war and scrutinizes how it affected people (including how it was resisted) and the interests or character of those involved. The background to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the history of Sierra Leone from independence, and the decline of the state are thoroughly researched. The flow of the text is admirable, but the impact of the first half of the book would be greater if it were organized within an explicit theoretical structure.

Thereafter, the book becomes more analytical, and Gberie refers in a sustained manner to the literature on the recent history of Sierra Leone. One discussion is worthy of note: Gberie's contribution to the debate on the functions and functionality of violence—a topic that has gained notoriety in the last ten years, particularly with regard to the economic returns from violent behavior. Gberie guides readers through an extensive consideration of the RUF's campaign and the commentary that has been made on it. He is meticulous in discussing Paul Richards's work and its position vis-à-vis the influence of Robert Kaplan and the work of others, such as Yusuf Bangura and Stephen Ellis, but he is less careful with the work of David Keen, and while evidently not in agreement with him, his critique is less convincing, and rather brief and dismissive.

Gberie's investigation is strengthened by his ability to recognize paradoxes and moments of political contradiction. His chapter on "Operation [End Page 153] No Living Thing"—the campaign announced in 1998, which culminated in attacks on Freetown in January 1999—provides valuable data. His forthrightness in detecting the appeal contrasts with many mainstream assumptions that violence is a means of last resort. He draws the implication that forms of violence that are appealing may be repeatable under certain circumstances. This stance supports his other agenda: demonstrating that maximizing the victim's suffering—rather than killing victims to force an agenda—is not a peculiarly African phenomenon, and that much of the violence practiced in Sierra Leone bears striking similarities to forms of abuse and torture witnessed elsewhere (he uses the example of Colombia).

A chapter is dedicated to the role of diamonds in the war, but it is problematic, both in the claims made and in its relation to the rest of the book. Gberie credits the report entitled The Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Human Security (of...

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