Delcourt with Tamba, the child soldier offers us a poignant testimony on a phenomenon unfortunately still too present.
A political subject
Today, 300,000 children are involved in conflict worldwide, including 200,000 in Africa. The authors illustrate this trauma through the journey of a child. The screenplay is by Marion Achard, a circus artist and children's author. From her 6-month stay in West Africa to give shows in refugee camps, she returns with this poignant and sensitive book. Although she was inspired by Sierra Leone, Guinea and Congo, she chose not to name countries to make the subject universal. This novel project became a B.D and we are very happy.
Many boxes are silent reinforcing the pain of the child and the reader. The drawings are by Yann Degruel (Sans Famille, L'enfant éléphant) who was more specialized in children's books. His style is technically original. We see the texture of the canvas while it all seems digital. One wonders if some boxes are not inspired by photos. The faces by Yann Degruel are very precise while he chooses to leave the rest of the drawings very little developed. He chooses a simplification like a tag. This creates a blurred pattern, a murky like Tamba's confused memories.
Magic and Kalashnikov
It all starts with a hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where 16-year-old Tamba comes to tell his story. The audience of the court rises for this exceptional moment. The narrative will follow the chaotic journey in flashbacks of this child in the midst of adult problems that constantly exceed him. It all starts with his kidnapping and then we will follow some of the atrocities of a civil war (the attack on a barrage of blue helmets, violence against civilians) but without ever falling into gore.
Tamba is not involved in a political group but these soldiers are more bandits than soldiers: they attack villages when there is no more food. These red-eyed adults are force-fed drugs and also use it to anesthetize children's emotions, making them violent and docile. Achard also plunges us into a mystical continent. Tamba uses an African tale to avoid being killed, a friend collects trophies and lucky charms.
A touching story
The judges are waiting for a confession to do justice while and the public is looking for revenge but Tamba will unseat them. He hesitates to speak. Is he afraid or, constantly neglected, is he not used to being brought to light? He refuses to be a culprit but wants to tell the suffering of a victim of adults. At night, he and his friend have nightmares and become children again as they play hard when the day returns.
Tamba describes a life journey and not just the life of a child soldier. He keeps his love for himself in the evening when he tells us about his whole life. Before the Commission, he testified about the atrocities. This shy child reserves the truth of his flight for the reader. So we follow Tamba once he has freed himself from the war in a refugee camp. However, he is unable to integrate or resume a child's life (playing football, going to school). He is constantly afraid of an attack on the camp by the rebels.
The reader sometimes drops out of the story because the lexicon too complicated for a child soldier sometimes makes the story less credible. Delcourt offers the reader in addition to this B.D., a complete documentary file by Laure Borgomano at the end of the volume to understand everything.
Tamba is a poignant tale of a broken life that seeks to rebuild itself and has an original graphic choice. It is a strong work about childhoods ravaged by profits. Once the book is closed, the face on the cover of this child victim of war will mark you.
