Adjustment Into Society

Each element we’ve analyzed contributed to how children were able to commit such atrocities during the Sierra Leone Civil War. It’s easy to categorize these child militants as perpetrators, but they’re just as much of a victim as they are a perpetrator. The transition of child soldiers back into society has been an uphill battle for most, as they are now held responsible for mutilating the people in their own communities, and faced with that each and every day. Not only are they responsible, but they have experienced trauma to the highest degree and have to manage functioning in a society that is responsible for the trauma in the first place. War-related exposures and unsuccessful transitions into civilian life place former child soldiers at an increased risk of mental health problems, re-recruitment, and many other forms of exploitation (Betancourt, 1079). Another obstacle to consider is the fact that Sierra Leone only has one mental care facility in the whole country, Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital, previously named  “Kissy Mental Hospital” in Freetown, Sierra Leone (Gesler/Nahim). Even in more progressive areas, take the United States for example, mental health often takes a backseat to other issues on the agenda. In the case of Sierra Leone though, majority of the nation underwent some form of trauma during the war, and even advocates of mental health have a hard time imagining ways in which a nation can come back from something so mentally and physically destructive. 

With that being said, there have been efforts to help those in need of these services. According to a press release in 1999 from the United Nations, action to assist war-affected children in Sierra Leone was proposed by a special representative for children and armed conflict, Olara A. Otunnu. This proposal was composed of these 15 points: 

  1. National Commission for Children of Sierra Leone
  2. Child protection and the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) mandate
  3. Rehabilitation of amputees
  4. Sexually abused children
  5. Access to release of abducted children
  6. Demobilization of child combatants 
  7. Demobilizing and reintegrating ex-child combatants 
  8. Displaced children
  9. Rehabilitation of basic educational and medical services 
  10. Reinforcing traditional norms
  11. Neighborhood Initiative 
  12. Voice of Children project for Sierra Leone
  13. Parliamentary Caucus for Children
  14. Providing training for the new national army
  15. Special Fund for War Victims 

Mr. Otunu described the scene following the war was horrendous, and after observing, felt as though implementing these changes would help traumatized  population of Sierra Leone. Other initiatives have taken place since the Lomé Peace Agreement, such as rehabilitation camps for former child soldiers, and some child soldiers have even benefitted from telling their story. Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier of Sierra Leone has now published two books and has one on the way. For Sierra Leone, not all was lost, but it was most certainly close. 




Here I have included some tables from a study of child soldiers experiences in readjusting back into society for reference :) 

Works Cited

Betancourt, Theresa Stichick, et al. “Sierra Leone's Former Child Soldiers: A Follow-Up Study of Psychosocial Adjustment and Community Reintegration.” Child Development, vol. 81, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1077–1095.

Gesler, W M, and E A Nahim. “Client Characteristics at Kissy Mental Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone.” Social Science & Medicine (1982), U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1984.

United Nations. “ACTION TO ASSIST WAR-AFFECTED CHILDREN IN SIERRA LEONE PROPOSED BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases.” United Nations, United Nations.

Adjustment Into Society