Outstanding look at the "inside story" of the internal war in Uganda. Its genesis and continuance are in the search for power and the lack of concern for victims of violence. The perpetrators (on all sides) are aided by a culture of resignation to fate and lack of weapons among the people victimized by the war. Foreign aid designed to help the victims is subject to the law of unintended but predictable consequences; money and goods are diverted both to the distributors' personal gain, and to the rebels through theft, very little reaching its intended destination. Media coverage illustrates the selective conscience of the intelligentsia and politicians of all countries. Excellent for discussion: why do people do such evil to each other? Fear is a powerful motivator. Calling something "Christian" doesn't make it so. Ex-rebel on p.101: "When you are with [Kony], you cannot see the bad thing that is being done." Other groups have a vested interest in continuing to fight even when they claim to want peace. The rebel groups give cover to other gangs of robber-killers; the army also perpetrates atrocities. ( )

While much attention has been given to the situations in Darfur and Rwanda, the 20-year-long war in Uganda has gone on unacknowledged. In 'First Kill Your Family', journalist Peter Eichstaedt's goal was to bring to light the suffering of the people living in war-torn Northern Uganda. With each chapter dedicated to a different topic, Eichstaedt interviewed former child soldiers and child brides, former LRA commandants, high ranking officials, etc. to create a first-hand account of the situation. Eichstaedt also explored the beliefs of Ugandans, such as witchcraft, worship of spirits and dead relatives and so on that contribute to the killings and the success of the LRA.

Knowing nothing about Uganda or the war there, I've learned quite a bit from Eichstaedt's account and have kept reading other books on the subject. I think he provides a well-rounded picture of what is going on in the country, the roots of the problem, and the causes contributing to its longevity. That said, I found the title to be misleading since the book does not solely focus on child soldiers. In fact, child soldiers are discussed very sparsely, with other topics given precedence. This book would have much better off being marketed as a general account of the war in Uganda, and not a focus on child soldiers. ( )

For two decades, a bizarre guerrilla movement called the "Lord's Resistance Army" - part Christian-animist cult, part ethnic uprising, part simple banditry - has plagued northern Uganda and the adjoining areas of Sudan and the Congo. Its chieftain, Joseph Kony, is a former witch doctor who claims to be "fighting for the Ten Commandments". Its principal method of recruitment is the abduction of pre-teenagers, who are compelled to serve as porters, concubines and soldiers. Its trademark atrocity is cutting off the lips and noses of captives who are not pressed into service. Though its numbers have never been large, it has disrupted life throughout its area of operations. Casualties are estimated at 100,000 dead and nearly two million displaced into refugee camps.

Journalist Peter Eichstaedt's account of this long conflict is disjointed, pedestrian and overloaded with platitudes, but not ineffective. Interviews with memorable figures, ranging from former boy soldiers to Catholic missionaries to rebel and government leaders, are interspersed with the author's travelogue through a desperate land. The montage manages to convey the horror and hardship suffered by the war's victims, both those killed, maimed or abducted by the LRA and those forced into overcrowded, unhealthy and ill-defended camps by the dubiously competent Ugandan government. (Many refugees believe that the southern-dominated regime welcomes the excuse to debilitate traditionally hostile northern tribes, a view whose merits the author has trouble evaluating.)

As the book proceeds, the prospect nears of a happy ending. Community militias organize an effective resistance to the LRA. It loses the tacit backing of the Sudanese junta and is forced back to an enclave in the Congo. Peace talks begin. They never quite reach fruition, however. Again and again, the sides reach ostensible agreement, Kony announces that he will appear to sign the final accords, and then he reneges at the last minute. (Another round of this fandango took place after the book went to press, leading to a joint Ugandan-Sudanese-Congolese offensive that may (emphasize "may") be on the verge of dismantling the LRA at long last.)

A couple of morals are quite plain, though the author not only doesn't see, but actively denies, them: First, in dealing with enemies on the fringes of rationality, an ounce of military effort is worth many pounds of peace-making initiatives overseen by cosmopolitan do-gooders. Second, the International Criminal Court, which has brought formal charges against Kony and several of his top lieutenants (its very first indictments, in fact), can accomplish nothing. In this case, it may be hindering the attainment of peace, since the LRA's commanders are, not too surprisingly, unwilling to give themselves up for trial and have demanded the quashing of the indictments as a condition for signing peace terms. Useless at best and counterproductive at worst, the ICC nonetheless has Mr. Eichstaedt's whole-hearted support, perhaps because, as he reveals in a throwaway paragraph, he hopes to see American leaders someday facing "justice" before it.

Americans pay far too little attention to Africa. Therefore, books like this one can be commended to the importance of their subject and the excellence of their intentions, if not for the quality of their execution. ( )

Africa is a mess of civil wars, dictators, genocides, corruption. How often we hear on the news of trouble in East Congo, Darfur, Rwanda. One little reported conflict is in the northern part of Uganda, where for the past 25 year or so rebel leader Joseph Kony has committed some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. He is ranked number one on the International Criminal Court's most wanted list, it is estimated over 1000 people die a week from the conflict. Kony started life as a poor illiterate village witch doctor, but soon became leader of the "Lord's Resistance Army", considered by his followers a prophet of God who will one day rule the earth with the help of the Ten Commandments - and machine guns. Through a perverse mixture of Christian and pagan African spirituality, he has created a self-perpetuating band of ruthless killers (mostly child soldiers) who terrorize the region of northern Uganda, southern Sudan and eastern Congo. Byzantine politics and extreme geography has allowed the conflict to go on seemingly with no end to the benefit of a few and the misery of millions.

Peter Eichstaedt is an American journalist who learned about the war while working in Uganda on other business. He decided to investigate further and spent years traveling and interviewing people from both sides, including a trip into the bush to meet the senior leadership of the LRA. Like most conflicts in Africa, it is complex and multifaceted. By reading this account - which is wide ranging from history to travel journal to witness stories - one is able to more fully understand not only this particular war, but other wars in Africa. Tribal loyalties, racial tensions, historical forces, poverty and corruption, child soldiers, remote and difficult geography, witch doctors -- are all part of the mix.

Eichstaedt does an admirable job in this journalistic report. The ending is not very satisfying for ones sense of justice. Kony is still out there in the bush, operating beyond the pale.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd ( )