The Sacrificed Generation: Youth, History, and the Colonized Mind in Madagascar (review)

Sharp's well-researched book is a powerful account of the lives and experiences of rural/urban immigrant youths on the island of Madagascar. The so-called sacrificed generation comprises the "forgotten" and "neglected" youths of Madagascar's flawed political experiment of the period immediately after independence in 1960. Their lives differ from those of elders who experienced colonialism.

Sharp argues that adult readings of social affairs have framed the perception of children in Madagascar, and Africa in general, as suffering myriad sociopolitical and economic crises. But the author of the book sets out to critique the dominant paradigm of the assumed helplessness of young people in postcolonial Madagascar. She does not subscribe to the view that they are mere victims or even a particularly hapless lot. The youths themselves are her main informants, not adults.

Sharp analyzes the period falling between the second and third republics of presidents Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy (1975-1996). Understanding Madagascar's postcolonial history requires an investigation of four postcolonial regimes—the first republic under President Philbert Tsiranana, the second under President Ratsiraka, the third under President Zafy, and the return of Ratsiraka during the fourth republic. Sharp argues that the ideological shifts in the political management of Madagascar had far-reaching implications for the lives of the young. While socialism nurtured the ideal of "malagasization," capitalism encouraged democratization and free enterprise. These ideologies would generally impact Madagascans' perceptions of nationhood.

Focusing on Madagascan coastal youths, Sharp ably elicits their readings and interpretations of the colonial history and how the past has generally shaped sociopolitical and economic relations. She argues throughout the book that students' political education has largely contributed to their critical interpretation of the past as it has affected them. Be that as it may, the way political leaders inculcated nationalist ideas generally shaped their perception of what it means to be Madagascan.

Sharp maintains that the architects of malagasization "forged strident critiques of colonial occupation and of subsequent neocolonial policies following the island's independence in 1960" (5). Drawing on indigenous institutions, they aimed to create a free country and national identity devoid of foreign domination. They sought to establish Malagasy as the official lingua franca among the more than twenty ethnic groups speaking different languages. Yet this policy was flawed, given that the majority of the country's youth were not interested in mastering the official Malagasy language. Paradoxically, the children born in elite families or those aspiring to elite status as middle-class Madagascans have reverted to learning French and assimilating social habits and manners from other cultures to enhance their status.

A pertinent issue that the author raises is that a large number of youths who live under the watchful eye of adult kin experience a suspended phase of childhood (hence, the sacrificed generation). In this vein, Sharp has attempted to tap the power of collective memory, as embodied in the storytelling techniques that she employs, in defining Madagascan national identity.

This study demonstrates the role that anthropology could play in explaining experiences of Africans in their own societies. Even though the author does not provide ample information about how the political leadership in Madagascar attempted to take into account the interests ofits youth, it stimulates an interest in new research about the place of young people in nation-building efforts.