May be I am getting old! But, over the past 40 years of my "daily" observations of the "Inter-AfriKan peoples" conflicts, amongst each other, I often ended-up witnessing a "Mutual Loss". Mothers and Grand-Mothers of those young fighters, in the so-called "Post-colonial" AfriKa, have been shading tears like river. Inter-nation-to nation, inter-ethnic, and inter-clan wars and fighting are very sad, real, and serious, for both opposition parties of the different states of the Continent, no matter what "CONTEXT" each party magnifies. I never want to use the Euro-centric & Colonial word "TRIBE", because that was how they divided & attempted to dispersed us. I never heard the Word TRIBE being used in Europe. Historically, since the beginning of the "Enslavement of Afrikans by Europeans & Arabs/Asians, wars have been artificially manufactured in AfriKa, and let us kill each other, non-stop. As a shoe-less peasant kid, from the rural village, until I bought my own made-in China, and very cheap running shoes, at the age of 15, I never doubted about the future down fall of the the Feudo-Aristocratic rule. In my own little mind, I always felt that, those of us, members of the 99% of the MASSes, will eventually come together, and stop providing the "FREE SERVICE" to the 1% members of the RULING ELITE. As many of us from the poor backgrounds, started to critically read and write, and de-mystify the secrets of the authority, in the 1960s and early 1970s, something begun to happen. Instead of letting us work collectively, and "disobey/resist" the very small forces of the 1%, we begun experiencing divisions and dis-unity, amongst and between ourselves. Our own very brothers, who were working as police and military (majority of them were/are there, because of poverty), somehow became/become conditioned to be enemies of their own family members, communities, friends, and associates. As Capitalism, as a socio-political and economic system, was given, under the Feudo-Aristocratic systems for thousands of years old, some how, Socialism and Communism were introduced to a very small literate persons, and to those, who were supposed to be armed protectors of the Fuedo-Aristocratic Private Properties, and also alleged to be the public defenders: the police and the Army. Whether it was/is the Western European (Capitalists/christians/Jewish), the Eastern European (Communists/atheists), or those from diverse Asian background systems (Capitalists/Communists/Socialists/Muslims/ Buddhists/ Jewish/ Hindus... ) agents, begun agitating our armed forces and Ethno-national groups, to wage a "REAL" war, with imported guns and bullets, against their own peoples! Such wars against the 80% of the AfriKan peoples, who depend on their farm land, domesticated animals, forests, streams of rivers, easily available minerals, trading and practicing diverse exchange/Bartering systems, turned the whole continent into the killing fields and the famine exhibition in The Sudan, Somalia, and The Congo, while many people are writing War stories . Even under the Feudal System, in Kambaattaa/Ethiopian, where I was born, there were very respectful Social Norms, that were more cooperative than Competitive. Members of diverse CLANs, make/made sure that, they were inter-connected through "Inter-marriages", so that they will minimize un-needed "Conflict/antagonism", because, it would be very impossible to kill your own extended family members. And, it also prevents/prevented "Inter-breeding" amongst and between close blood relatives/Clan members. I still could not "Understand", why and who, is/was responsible for breaking such a very strong "SOCIAL NORM" in Somalia and elsewhere in AfriKa. As far as I understand and remember, Somali People, like Japanese, are/were one of the very few peoples of the countries of the world, where almost 99% of the population speaks the same language, and practice similar Belief/Spiritual/ Religious systems. Yet, for some reasons, such an AfriKan-based-Sacred system of CLAN relationships, have been so broken down since 1991. As a result, there are many Somali People who are dispersed throughout the world, and hurt/kill each other, more or less everyday. From what I used to know about Somali people, they were well known for their POETRY and beautiful SONGS. In Ethiopia, even though we may not know the meanings of the words of the song, many of us attempt to imitate and sing along, when ever the radio station plays the Sudanese & Somali music. Now a days, what I hear and see frequently, even here in Toronto, Canada, is that, Somali Mothers and Grand-Mothers are weeping, because of loss of many young ones. I hope and wish, in the near future, those mothers and grand-mothers would smile, with their most beautiful faces, instead of carrying their beautiful faces, with so explicit expressions of sorrow and sadness. Having shared such a long sad story, about the overall status of our Continent, and in particular about Sudan and Somalia, as a parent of two young daughters, I wish and hope that, some times in the near future, we, the parents and grand-parents of the AfriKan Children would have a chance to read about the progress of our children. I hope and wish, all peoples of AfriKan ancestry would come together and call for PEACEFUL resolutions of diverse conflicts. The so-called "Ruling Elites", from North to South, and from East to West of the Continent, would spend their $s in spreading Railway lines, that would have it's CENTRAL STATION IN THE CONGO. That was our dreams, while the Colonial Masters were being forced to leave our Continent, by the actions of COLLECTIVE forces, since 1950s. In the 21st Century, my dream for AfriKa was to eliminate hunger, disease, illiteracy, and POVERTY.
Unfortunately, developments to which I have been a witness, for over the past 40-50 years, have been taking away the the lives of those youth, who were/are the potential future scientists, engineers, doctors, social workers, child care workers, nurses, lawyers, teachers, agriculturalist, construction workers, environmentalists, pharmacists, farmers, traders, shop-keepers, carpenters, painters, artists, actors, writers, and many more "CREATIVE" minds. We can not afford to let such potentials taken out of the pocket of the Continent. Wishing and Hoping for Peace in AfriKa, Teferi Adem, Toronto, Canad
Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:01:07 +0200 : Subject: [TheBlackList] Study war no more by Abdullahi El-Thom
Study war No More:
Military Tactics of a Sudanese Rebel Movement
The Case of JEM
Abdullahi El-Tom
This book offers a fascinating study of certain aspects of asymmetrical warfare in Africa, an angle rarely covered in literature on armed uprisings. In particular, it focuses on warfare strategies and military tactics deployed in combat. Engaging high profile commanders of the formidable rebel group, the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the author proceeds to investigate a reality he finds most perplexing. Drawing on their culture and heritage, the rebels have managed to evolve new tactics and combat techniques that enable them to out-manoeuvre Khartoum army generals despite the latter’s training in Sudan’s National Military Academy, reputed to be among Africa’s best military establishments. This is a clear affirmation of the old dictum that neither army size nor its weapons win battles. Soldiers do, if they are well trained, motivated and driven by a worthwhile cause to fight for.
Biographies of the commanders interviewed in the book show clearly that rebels are not born. They are a product of injustice, coupled by a firm conviction that such a system cannot be removed through peaceful means.
This book comes at time when supporters of non-violent political transformation are riding high on the waves of the so-called Arab Spring. The author argues that the successful toppling of a handful of dictators in the region was a result of unique and unpredictable reverberations of external factors – via social media – on already volatile internal dynamics. The fluke conditions that have led to successful uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen can neither be stage-managed nor replicated. Cognizant of the bare fact that one simply cannot reason with the likes of Al-Bashir, Mugabe, Ghadafi and Al-Assad, taking arms against these dictators remains the only viable option for their aggrieved populations.
The author concedes that armed insurrections come with colossal human and non-human costs. Nonetheless, that high price tag is dwarfed by the cost of “structural violence”, a term that aptly connotes despotic regimes subjecting citizens to untold death through famine, disease, corruption, extra-judicial killing and lack of development. Although anthropologically anchored, this book will be of interest in many other disciplines that are driven by the need to create a better world. These disciplines include sociology, politics, development studies, peace and human rights studies, military sciences, etc. Oddly enough, dictators too might find this book of exceptional value, but only if they are able to muster their meagre common sense and vacate their palaces before it is too late.
“This book offers breathtaking insights into the structure and strategy of the movement. High ranking field commanders of JEM speak frankly about their personal backgrounds, their way into JEM, the military tactics in their battles and - among others - the battle of Omdurman in 2007. This book will certainly spark controversy!”
—Prof. Dr. Kurt Beck, LS Ethnologie, University of Bayreuth, Germany
“A most interesting book on the conflict in Darfur! Lively written, it is a brilliant example of a truly engaged anthropology!”
—Prof. Dr. Thomas Fillitz, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria.
“This is a perceptive analysis of JEM’s military strategy, together with remarkable and sobering profiles of senior JEM commanders, bringing home the reality of war and the injustices of the Sudanese state.”
—Dr. Séamás Ó’Síocháin, NUI, Maynooth, Ireland
Abdullahi Osman El-Tom, Ph.D. is Head of the Department of Anthropology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland. He was born in Darfur, Sudan but has been living in Ireland for the last two decades. His publications include Growing up in Darfur, Sudan, SSC, Cairo (2007); Proverbs of Western Sudan, Jointly with A. Adam, SSC, Cairo (2002); and Darfur, JEM and the Khalil Ibrahim Story, RSP, USA (2011).
ISBNs: 978-1-56902-374-7 (HB) $99.95? ---- 978-1-56902-375-4 (PB) $29.95?
5 ½ X 8 ½ 196 pp est.
History, Anthropology/AFRICA
- RE: [TheBlackList] Study war no more by Abdullahi El-Thom, Teferi Adem, 12/21/2012
https://theblacklist.net/
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