CHAPTER 11Cristian observed the row of new recruits while waiting for the moment of their entry into action. As that the majority of them spoke only Arabic or Chadian dialects, the young man would be in charge of the magazine of uniforms, weapons control and shooting practices where he could make understood only with signs.
The majority of selected refugees were very young, following an old and sad African tradition of children-soldiers. Few had any military training since they had been shepherds of goats, but they were superb horsemen and knew better than Cristian how to guide a camel. A detail that impressed him was their absent gaze, their lost expressions, possibly still under the weight of experienced hardships, something like the post-traumatic shock of certain war wounded. It didn'
