The Emergency Bouzouki Player cover art

The Emergency Bouzouki Player

Conscription in the SADF

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About this listen

The Emergency Bouzouki Player is the true story of a teenage conscript railroaded into the South African army for two years of national service at the height of the Apartheid War. A saga that begins in the small Cretan village of Sfakia, continues through leafy Johannesburg, visits dusty Kimberley, Boer War graves in Wynberg, 3 Military Hospital Psychiatric Ward in Bloemfontein, detention barracks in Voortrekkergoogte, 32 Battalion’s base in Rundu; Chetto, Omega, and Bagani front line border camps on the Caprivi Strip; and ends on a rainy morning at Heathrow arrivals.

The cruelty, the absurdity, and the mindlessness of life in the South African army are candidly described in this firsthand account by an unwilling and resentful conscript who, to escape the infamous Diskobolos Infantry Training Camp and its murderous instructors, claimed he could play the bouzouki in a subterfuge that was to have unforeseen, sometimes comical, and sometimes life-threatening consequences. Most of all, The Emergency Bouzouki Player depicts the way in which hope can carry a young person through the worst of times.

©2013 Andrew Brel (P)2022 Andrew Brel Africa Military & War War Military
All stars
Most relevant
The more I listened to his story, the more I was reminded of my own experiences in the SADF, as a 17 year old. The brutal awakening to another world… we were all so naïve!

I enjoyed hearing about his experiences and his determination to overcome the many challenges.

There were many victims of conscription, few share their story.

Brel narrates his own script, drawing one into the story. His story also shares some interesting historical facts.

A compelling read

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A thought provoking, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, always entertaining book.
A young man, determined to spread kindness and happiness, has his life hijacked by an evil military regime. He is the reluctant round peg that they insist on hammering into the square hole.
Andrew Brel is a special musical talent and someone we can all learn something from.

If you know what’s good for you, you will read this book

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