Teenager in the Chad Civil War: A Memoir of Survival, 1982-1986
by Esaie Toingar
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Recent years have found much of Africa to be a land of turmoil and revolution. Distress in the Sudan and countries such as Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia have made Africa the site of a variety of atrocities from displacement to torture to genocide. The country of Chad, which theoretically gained its independence from France in 1960, is one of many that have been fighting a series of particularly brutal wars, internal and external. In 1982, Hissene Habre wrested power from show more Chad's UN-recognized government, igniting a vicious civil war. Thousands of innocent citizens were kidnapped, tortured and killed to quash political unrest. Covering 1982 to 1986, this memoir tells the story of Esaie Toingar, a native of southern Chad and miraculous survivor of Chad's darkest days, many of which came during different Septembers. This work contains Toingar's first-hand description of growing up, coming of age and waging the ultimate struggle for survival in the war-torn country. It gives a graphic account of what transpired in Chad during the rule of Habre and the ways in which the author managed to survive, fleeing his home village and seeking safety among the CODOs, a rebel movement of the south. Derived primarily from Toingar's memories, this work also utilizes information garnered from other first-hand testimonials and a 1991 documentary filmed by post-Habre Chad Television. Photographs from the author's collection are included. show lessTags
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I wouldn't call this the best book I've ever read, but it isn't that bad, and there are so few books available by Chadian authors that I'll take what I can get.
I normally don't like it when I see a ghost-writer's byline in a book, but this is one of those that I think would have benefited from a professional writer's input. I thought the book would be a memoir about life as a child soldier, a la Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone or Ahmadou Kourouma's novel Allah Is Not Obliged. And it was, kind of, but Toingar focused as much on other people (sometimes people he didn't even know) as much as himself, and wrote in a very dry, emotionless tone that didn't suit the drama of the story he was trying to tell.
Toingar joined the army at the age of show more 14. He didn't want to, but neither was he forced to; it's just that the two different armies of the civil war were constantly raiding villages, raping, pillaging, burning and killing people, and he figured it was safer to have his own gun, have military training and be among other armed people. A military career was never his goal; he wanted to get an education and get some decent job.
He writes a fair-ish account of what was going on and what he and the Chadian population experienced, but it would have been better if I had had more background knowledge of the civil war (I had none). A foreword, written by a scholar on the subject, would have helped. I would also have liked to know the details of how Toingar escaped to Algeria and ultimately to the United States, where he lives in Iowa and works an engineer.
I don't mean to be too harsh on the book -- it's about the same level as others written by people with little experience in writing. I'm just saying it could have been better, is all. show less
I normally don't like it when I see a ghost-writer's byline in a book, but this is one of those that I think would have benefited from a professional writer's input. I thought the book would be a memoir about life as a child soldier, a la Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone or Ahmadou Kourouma's novel Allah Is Not Obliged. And it was, kind of, but Toingar focused as much on other people (sometimes people he didn't even know) as much as himself, and wrote in a very dry, emotionless tone that didn't suit the drama of the story he was trying to tell.
Toingar joined the army at the age of show more 14. He didn't want to, but neither was he forced to; it's just that the two different armies of the civil war were constantly raiding villages, raping, pillaging, burning and killing people, and he figured it was safer to have his own gun, have military training and be among other armed people. A military career was never his goal; he wanted to get an education and get some decent job.
He writes a fair-ish account of what was going on and what he and the Chadian population experienced, but it would have been better if I had had more background knowledge of the civil war (I had none). A foreword, written by a scholar on the subject, would have helped. I would also have liked to know the details of how Toingar escaped to Algeria and ultimately to the United States, where he lives in Iowa and works an engineer.
I don't mean to be too harsh on the book -- it's about the same level as others written by people with little experience in writing. I'm just saying it could have been better, is all. show less
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- 967.4304 — History & geography History of Africa Central Africa and offshore islands Chad & Central African Republic Chad
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- DT546.48 .T65 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Africa History of Africa West Africa. West Coast French West Africa. French Sahara. West Sahara. French-speaking Equatorial Africa Congo (Brazzaville). Middle Congo History
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