Restoring a Stolen Childhood: The Child Soldiers of Sierra Leone and DDR Programmes
Hello and a very warm Happy New Year’s to you all!
I hope you all entered the year safely and more importantly, I hope that 2021 provides each of us with the tools to navigate this next year and our new norm during a pandemic.
So, two weeks ago, I introduced you all to the Sierra Leone civil war (1991–2002) which sparked as a result of the armed invasion by rebels coming from and supported by one of the contending factions in neighbouring Liberia. I hope that I have provided you all with enough historical context to better understand how this decade-long war was augmented by poor governance, rampant corruption, denial of human rights, as well as a disregard for democracy and the rule of law. This final point was further strengthened by both the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2004) and in the Sierra Leone’s National Recovery Strategy Assessment; with the latter highlighting economic deterioration and subregional instability as additional causes. Today, January 6th, marks the anniversary of J6 in 1999. The civil war officially arrived on the doorsteps of Freetown, Sierra Leone, on this date (it had initially been occurring in the rural areas of the country).
In their efforts to nation-build the country after the war, the government of Sierra Leone introduced Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes. Today’s article should be received as an extension to my previous piece, which contextualised the war; centering on psychosocial discussions surrounding the recovery of former child soldiers as they overcame the loss of their childhood and innocence. Children in Sierra Leone were recruited, either forcibly or as volunteers into the civil war, they served in both combat and non-combat capacities. It wasn’t until the final years of the war before the disarmament and demobilisation process of child soldiers began, finally followed by the reintegration of the child soldiers into society. However, reintegration of families and communities of origin was not always an option for a multitude of reasons. When viewed in the historical context that the RUF forced these children to violently sever ties with their families and communities, this response to the former soldiers’ return to society makes perfect sense. At least to some extent, there’s just one issue with this narrative: these soldiers at the time, were literally children who had been manipulated by armed forces. In the grand scheme of things, did they even have a choice? As I explore the psychosocial reality of recovering in the post war period as a former child soldier, I briefly dissect the process of DDR programmes and their success rate.
DDR programmes refer to the procedure by which soldiers are returned to civilian life as conflict ends. This article highlights the DDR programmes that are specifically targeted at child soldiers, such was the case in Sierra Leone. It wasn’t until the final years of the war before the disarmament and demobilisation process of child soldiers began, finally followed by the reintegration of the child soldiers into society.
In my previous article, I mention the violent acts that child soldiers would have to partake in, in order to prove their loyalty to the RUF. Understandably, such harrowing experiences that ultimately robbed these children of their childhood would also shape how they navigate back into society and more importantly, how their former families and communities would receive them.
One of the key questions of interest in this discourse is, how do these kids get on over time? If we’re really being honest here, there are two questions that scholars, locals and just any curious human being alike are wondering within that. These being: are the former child soldiers now a “lost generation” who have been crafted into “disturbed” and “violent” individuals, who are ultimately unable to function productively as a result of the war? Or, do these kids now represent a subgroup of resilient individuals? That is to suggest that they are now the type of resilient individuals that would come to draw personal strengths and external support to survive an agonising experience.
The latter perspective (on resilience) rests on the complex, yet integrated conceptual framework that considers the post traumatic adaptation in former child soldiers over time. Rutter (2006) concedes that resilience is regarded as an interactive concept that refers to a “relative resistance to environmental risk experiences, or the overcoming of stress or adversity.” While I will refrain from delving into depth on the psychosocial outcomes of the civil war, what I will say is that understanding the traumatic stress literature provides us with an integrative perspective on resilience and adaptation. At length, understanding this perspective is helpful for gaining a better knowledge about the mental health of young people who have been exposed to acute traumatic events, such as the Sierra Leone civil war.
To avoid using a blanket statement to explain the post-war experiences of each former child soldier, it is paramount that I highlight the ways in which former child soldiers may differ from other youths. For this, I shall only focus on two specific contexts. Firstly, young people associated with fighting forces may differ because of the frequency duration, and severity of their war experience(s). This is in addition to the accumulation of war-related stressors that they experienced. In other cases, some former child soldiers may have differing post-war situations such as the family and community supports or merely the resources available to them may be limited. Hence, Betancourt concedes that it is important to consider the accumulation and combination of both risk and protective factors in the former child soldiers’ lives, in order for us to better understand their long-term psychosocial adjustment.
This also applies to child soldiers from other countries such as Uganda. Betancourt emphasises that war-related exposure and unsuccessful transitions into civilian life are thought to place former child-soldiers at increased risk of mental health problems. Similarly, studies conducted in 2006 by Allen and Schomerus demonstrate that, former child soldiers (aged 18 and under) in Uganda had recently reintegrated into their communities. The data collected indicate that high levels of psychological trauma and social difficulties were reported. What more, high levels of symptoms of PTSD (97%) were reported in 71 former child soldiers in northern Uganda. So, children who were former child soldiers in countries such as Sierra Leone, Uganda and even Democratic Republic of Congo needed psychological assistance too, not just a DDR programme.
For many scholars and politicians, the Disarmament and Demobilisation of combatants of all warring parties in January 2002 “marked the official end of the civil war in Sierra Leone”. Such was the opinion of Bradley, Maughan and Fusato. Just to be clear, D&D was part of the larger disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme, implemented by the government of Sierra Leone. D&D as a subset programme was supported by the World Bank, together with other international bodies and NGOs.
In 1997, 50% of the Salone population had been displaced, with rebels now controlling more than half of the territory. Sierra Leone was also placed last in the UNDP Human Development Index. The DDR programme was compartmentalised into three different phases, Phase II in particular saw the government receive support from international bodies. In October 1999, Phase II of the programme was launched, as per the regulations set out by the Lomé peace agreement (which had been supported by the World Bank and the British Department for International Development). Meanwhile, Phase III launched between May 2001 — January 2002. Thereby bringing an end to the long DDR programme and in turn, restoring safe access to the entire country to resume peace development in 2002.
Thus, over the 3 phases (in the space of 4 years), 72,500 combatants were disarmed and demobilised, meanwhile 42,330 weapons and 1.2 million pieces of ammunition were collected and destroyed. With backing from the World Bank, the government of Sierra Leone was able to be provided with financial, technical and capacity-building support.
Contrary to Bradley, Maughan and Fusato’s assertions, we need not romanticise the financial support from international bodies, a multi-donor trust fund or emergency recovery credits — all of which committed $31.5million to the Salone government. What Bradley, Maughan and Fusato failed to mention is that the DDR programme that had been envisioned in the Lomé Peace Agreement had a bumpy start. Granted, this is often the case when launching new programmes, nonetheless there were a series of factors that contributed to the delay of the disarmament.
Said delays were no thanks to half-hearted donor support (in spite of boastful multi-donor trust funds), administrative shortcomings, delays in the deployment of peacekeepers, and the RUF’s disinterest in abiding by the terms of the agreement. Consequently, disarmament officially began on October 20 1999, which is when the first disarmament site was declared open. Since the Lungi had already existed before the peace agreement was signed, the programme didn’t truly come underway until 4 new centres were opened. There were two at Port Loko, one at Daru and one at Kenema on November 4th 1999. Finally, on April 17 2000, 4 more sites were opened in Bo, Magburaka, Makeni and Moyamba.
It is notable that the success of the DDR process is considerably measured by the institutional frameworks, rather than the social frameworks. Which, in that case, it faltered greatly.
Rest in Peace to all the angels who were taken on January 6th, 1999.
Key Words
Lungi: a small coastal town in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.
Lomé Peace Agreement: This peace agreement was between the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF.
Recommended Readings
Rutter, M. (2006). The Promotion of Resilience in the Face of Adversity.
Sean Bradley, Philippe Maughan and Massimo Fusato. (2002) Sierra Leone: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)
