The reintegration of Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

Thèmes abordés

enfants soldats, child soldiers, Sierra Leone

Résumé du document

The use of child soldiers during the civil war in Sierra Leone.
Their difficult reintegration to civil life.
The different process of reintegration including the help of the regional and international organizations.
The special case of girl soldiers.
The measures still forgotten.

Extraits

[...] The UN and NGOs conducted a reintegration, psychological assistance and programs such as “Family Homes Movement”. Housing centers - as Caritas - offered educational standards to the children. Thanks to UNICEF's funds, children had the possibility to learn a job. In Sierra Leone, they essentially learnt manufacturing soap, welding, needle work, carpentry or weaving. However, these activities were criticized because they created a finished-product which offer is higher than the demand and represents a large investment in raw materials. Some former child soldiers took personal initiative and created educational centers. [...]

[...] The difficult reintegration of girls to civil life could be explained by their role during the war. Unlike the boys who were fighting, girls usually stayed at the camp and were rapped. However, rape and pregnancy outside wedding were unacceptable to the community. They were considered as spoiled and unclean. For a girl the first step for reintegration is to be respected and married. The camps did not help them. Unfortunately, it is very hard for pregnant girls or single mothers to start again a new life. [...]

[...] The reintegration of child soldiers in Sierra Leone Introduction Civil populations are often the first victims of modern armed conflicts. During the last decade, two millions of children were killed because of wars and six millions were mutilated. Approximately children live through wars as child soldier. According to the Cape Town Principles adopted by the UNICEF, a child soldier is under 18 years old. He is also a member of governmental armed forces or an armed group either regular, irregular or associated to these forces, whether there is a conflict or not. [...]

[...] It was also to proove them that living without weapons and violence was possible. However, what was really considered as a reintegration? Was it going back to their former life or was there a place for a new kind of model? The quotation of Doctor TUMBA Tutu-De-Mukose will conclude very well the situation: “Children are our future. Allowing their exploitation in armed conflicts harms them in an irreparable way and limit future prospects for everybody. It destroys the new generation the people needs to restore justice when conflits end”. [...]

[...] One of the significant characteristic of the civil war was the recurrent use of children by armed forces as well as by governmental forces. The main question was: what influences could the traumas have on the process of reintegration of Sierra Leonese child soldiers? The first chapter will explain how important is the period of the post conflict and the second one will point out the problems still faced by the country. I. The post conflict, an important period for child soldiers A. Traumas explained by a painful past The explanation of traumas usually came from the recruitment reasons of child soldiers. [...]