When Elephants Fight: The Lives of Children in Conflict in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda (Orca Books)

By: Eric Walters and Adrian Bradbury

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Synopsis: Based on the eyewitness accounts of five children experiencing wars around the world, each chapter in this powerful volume tells one victim’s personal story in detail, followed by a long discussion of the history and politics of the conflict. The narratives are in the third person, accompanied by occasional moving photos of the child before the war, of his or her home under fire, and a brief final “follow-up” note about where the child is now. Some young people are direct targets in cases of genocide, with child soldiers trained to dehumanize others. Some children bear the brunt of an attack, as so-called collateral damage, and suffer starvation, disease, and loss of shelter. They also lose out when there are no resources for health and education. Some are in refugee camps and army barracks. A few lucky ones are immigrants who escaped. One, Toma in Chad, remains an ongoing victim of war. The harrowing individual accounts humanize today’s news reports and statistics.

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