How de Body? One Man's Terrifying Journey Through an African War

by Teun Voeten

In 1998, acclaimed photojournalist Teun Voeten headed to Sierra Leone for what he thought would be a standard assignment on the child soldiers there. But the cease-fire ended just as he arrived, and the clash between the military junta and the West African peace-keeping troops forced him to hide in the bush from rebels who were intent on killing him.

How de Body? ("how are you?" in Sierra Leone's Creole English) is a dramatic account of the conflict that has been raging in the country for nearly a decade-and how Voeten nearly became a casualty of it. Accessible and conversational, it's a look into the dangerous diamond trade that fuels the conflict, the legacy of war practices such as forced amputations, the tragic use of child soldiers, and more. The book is also a tribute to the people who never make the headlines: Eddy Smith, a BBC correspondent who eventually helps Voeten escape; Alfred Kanu, a school principal who risks his life to keep his students and teachers going amidst the bullets and raids; and Padre Victor, who runs a safe haven for ex-child soldiers; among others.

Featuring Voeten's stunning black-and-white photos from his multiple trips to the conflict area, How de Body? is a crucial testament to a relatively unknown tragedy.

Genres: Africa, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Teun Voeten is een Nederlands fotograaf en antropoloog. Voeten studeerde culturele antropologie en filosofie aan de Universiteit Leiden en studeerde aan de School of Visual Arts in New York City. Na zijn afstuderen verhuisde Voeten in 1992 naar Brussel, van waaruit hij internationale conflicten volgde voor de Nederlandse, Belgische, Duitse, Britse en Amerikaanse pers. In 1994 schreef hij het boek Tunnelmensen, waarvoor hij vijf maanden bij een groep daklozen in een ongebruikte spoorwegtunnel in Manhattan woonde. Vanaf 1996 concentreerde Voeten zich op “vergeten oorlogen” en maakte hij reportages in Colombia, Afghanistan, Soedan en Sierra Leone. In dat laatste land verborg Voeten zich op de vlucht voor muitende soldaten twee weken in het bos, een ervaring die zou leiden tot zijn boek How de body? Hoop en horror in Sierra Leone. In de jaren die volgden, richtte hij zich onder meer op de schending van de mensenrechten in Colombia, de “Bloeddiamanten” in Angola, de oorlog in Afghanistan, vrouwenhandel vanuit de Balkanlanden en in 2003 de oorlog in Irak. Zijn meest recente werk (2007) is een fotoreportage over het dagelijkse leven in Noord-Korea.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins in 1998 in Sierra Leone which by then is a ravaged and destroyed country having gone through a nearly 10-year senseless war. The author is a photojournalist who is given an assignment to do some work there. It's an old, pitiful story of how humans become savages - survival artists. In a contemplative moment, a native doctor, who was on the run at some point in the story with a small group that includes the author, turns and says: "You know... kids here grow up in the bush in symbiosis with the wild animals. That's why we are all crazy." But doc is an optimist and dismisses the disastrous situation his country is in as a transient phase. "We are going through dark times. Look at you people in Europe. Where were you in the Middle Ages and where are you now? Just watch us. The deeper you go, the further you jump."
"How de Body" makes the reader think more deeply than the words which are printed on the pages in the book. There are enough anecdotes that provide a powerful portrait of the people of Sierra Leone, who are both strong and forgiving - the resilience of the human spirit. In addition, the author explains shows how the world has once again failed a poor African nation - a place that first world residents would likely and dismissively call "those people over there." In a poignant analysis, the author shares his realizations: "The less people have, the more willing they are to share. When a village is flattened, somehow the destitute inhabitants always manage to rally around. They cultivate the only things they have left: courtesy and pride. Try to find these qualities in other countries, even ones bordering crisis zones. Rest assured, "These bordering nations don't have much of anything there either, but always just that little bit more than their brothers across the border, whom they scoff at and call barbarians. They hang on like grim death to what they do have because it's that little bit more that distinguishes them from the barbarians."
These various conflicts around the world are the evil workings of men with the ultimate goal of a complete collapse of the nation-state. The vacuums that come rushing in to fill the void provide an oasis of lawlessness and corruption. Chaos festers and continues. Local warlords can only thrive when disrupters exist and soon shady international alliances form. In the case of Sierra Leone it is the illegal diamond trade that is both the cause and fuel of its war. Look for the trilateral relationships and the players behind the curtain: money laundering, diamond trading, and arms smuggling. The Russian mafia, Eastern European arms traders, British and Israeli secret service, South African mercenaries, Lebanese militia - all licking their fingers with the spoils.

[Christian Schwalbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the translation was a bit choppy at times,this book was very valuable to me as there are few accounts of this particular conflict that dont come from either Military, NGO , or Political Figures. The first half of this account is certainly full of tense moments, as Mr. Voeten recalls his escapes from rebels through towns and bush of what is a comparatively small country. The human element of this account stands out as endearing, relatible, and terrifying at the same time. As in all wars, chaos reigns supreme, but African civil wars stand out in way, for their extreme regional focus, sometimes even village by village, being pillaged and ransacked back and forth by multiple sides through the course of a conflict. In this book, safety was geographical and vague, as radio and word of mouth reports were valuable beyond reckoning, for one never quite knew where the "friendly" forces were at any one time. For those that have an interest in Journalism, Conflict, and Human Survival in the face of chaos, this would be a compelling read.

[Mike Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went to Sierra Lone just as this war started. I had no idea that a nation could have so many who harboured such evil. Sierra Leone was wonderful to me.
The books comes to grips with some of those feelings. What a great place? Where did these evil who placed such horror on their own home come from?