Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone and the Problems of Demobilization

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as an explanatory framework in social work education, particularly ‘in identifying

individual social work education modules’ relevance to immigrant-and-migrant

related problems in social work practice’ (p. 247). He argues that this paradigm could

be utilised in locating dual skills elements in social work training and practice. In

what follows, I analyse how Tonnies’ paradigmatic framework can be used in

informing social work education and training for those working with former child

combatants in the civil war in the West African country of Sierra Leone.

Theorising Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft

In analysing Tonnies’ principles of social organisation, Kornbeck argues that

‘Gemeinschaft’ (community) skills underpin the traditional organic, non-statutory

forms of organisation. These come within the rubric of civil society, including such

institutions as the family (local and extended), and local communities. He notes that

these are useful skills for communication between people who share a commonculture. Thus he observes:

… skills concerned with unwritten conventions and inter-personal communica-tion, with half- or irrational appreciation of relationships and problems within andbetween groups (and as such) they are effective in communication between peoplewho share the same culture. (Kornbeck, 2001, p. 248)

In contrast Gesellschaft (society) skills are perceived as scientific, juridical and

administrative. Whilst they work ‘efficiently independent of cultures’, nonetheless,

‘they create problems of another kind as they do not take cultural values into

account’ (p. 248). As Asante (1988) argues, human action cannot be understoodapart from the emotional aptitudes and cultural definitions of a given context.

Furthermore, Gesellschaft is typified by ‘a global, but more impersonal society’, often

referred to as diversity (Kornbeck, 2001, p. 248), unlike the cultural, linguistic and

religious solidarity associated with Gemeinschaft. Kornbeck argues that social science

pedagogical skills are premised on Gesellschaft, ‘leaving the study of Gemeinschaft to

practice-oriented in-service training’. In short, Gesellschaft at the epistemological

level is Eurocentricity; thus Kornbeck notes: ‘There is an appalling disharmony

between the high rating which the West gives to its own educational structures and

what it thinks of those found in other parts of the world’ (p. 255). Eurocentricity,though a Western Weltanschauung , has transformed itself into a hegemonic universal

paradigm, leaving no room for other worldviews or diversity of perspectives (Keto,

1989).

This prevalence of Eurocentricity raises questions about the role of social workers

in non-Western societies in challenging ethnocentricity, as well as their potential role

as advocates for the oppressed. This is particularly so in countries where International

Monetary Fund and World Bank supported structural adjustment programmes have

institutionalised poverty and marginalised the mass of the population. Indeed,

Kornbeck warns that whilst, globally, religious, cultural and linguistic identities

(Gemeinschaft) are on the increase, and political, legal and rational ones are

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diminishing, social work ignores Gemeinschaft skills at its peril. Furthermore, the

application of Gemeinschaft to social work education can no longer be an option: it

must be an integral part of the social work curriculum.

The theme of cultural relativity and diversity is also raised by Laird (2004),

pointing to the failure of conventional social work tasks and practice to address the

critical socio-economic needs of communities living in sub-Saharan Africa. She

writes: ‘… academia in sub-Saharan Africa continues to find itself on the receiving

end of American and European paradigms … (which) the development of

indigenous approaches’ (p. 706). In her view, conflict management strategies are

bound to fail if they are simply replicas of the Euro-America genre. Williams et al .

(2001) commenting on a similar situation in social work education in the Caribbean,

describe it as ‘the most critical and urgent challenge that confronts us (Caribbean

scholars and practitioners) as we move into the 21st century’ (p. 68). They condemn

the practice of appropriating ‘theoretical shelf social work theories from abroad and

apply(ing) them uncritically to the context of the Caribbean’ (p. 68). I shall return tothese questions, including that of culturally relevant therapy for ex-child combatants

in Sierra Leone. However, before addressing these concerns I need to discuss

some ethical issues in the process of studying vulnerable children, who have been

‘over-researched’.

Ethics and Methods of Researching Child Soldiers

This study is the result of three short fieldwork visits to Sierra Leone in August–

September 2001, December 2001 and December 2002. Prior to these visits I hadconducted fieldwork in Sierra Leone as well as authored manuscripts and articles on

the political economy of underdevelopment in that country. However, by the time I

arrived in the field after the civil war in August 2001, I found that many of the former

child soldiers had started showing signs of ‘research interrogation fatigue’—tired of

being interrogated about their experiences in the bush by researchers and journalists.

A number of them claimed that the researchers’ interest was to further their careers.

One former child combatant observed: ‘We feel like animals in the zoo, people come

to talk to us, but our plight remains the same’. These concerns raised an added moral

dilemma relating not just to the issue of value interference, but to the responsibility

of the researcher to the respondents, particularly minors and young people who had

experienced both physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the state (and its

agents) as well as adjuncts of civil society. There was no vetting of people who wished

to interview the youngsters; under what conditions; with or without parental or

guardian consent, issues which are all fundamental to the rights of the child in the

developed capitalist societies. Child protection legislations have remained weak in

Sierra Leone, based on the ideological premise of the following maxims:

N ‘There is no success without hardship’ (Bledsoe, 1990); implying that hardship is an

inherent part of child rearing.

N ‘A child should be seen and not heard.’

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former combatants, as well as with library research. I was able to gain information

without subjecting any ex-combatant to any form of interviewing or questioning.

Whilst in Sierra Leone, I visited a number of child protection agencies, local and

international NGOs and government departments including: Child Advocacy and

Rehabilitation (CAR) of the Sierra Leone Red Cross; Children Affected by the War;

National Committee for Distribution, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR);

Handicap International; UNICEF; CARITAS Freetown; Children Associated with

War (CAW); Conciliation Resources; UNAMSIL; The International Red Cross; the

Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare; Adventist Development and Relief Agency

(ADRA); Family Home Movement; Christian Brothers; Christian Children’s Fund;

Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE); and the Commission for the

Consolidation of Peace. I spoke to many officials and read many policy documents.

In the Child Advocacy and Rehabilitation Project in Waterloo village on the outskirts

of the capital, I met many of the ex-combatants who were going through a

community sensitisation process. The security alert following the invasions of thecapital after 1997 and 1999, as well as the attempt by the RUF leadership to take over

the government of the country in a putsch in May 2000, led to extra security concerns,

further constraining the work of researchers. In many of these agencies, there were no

clear policies regarding their relationship with researchers and in many cases it was

simply a question of the idiosyncrasy of the person in charge.

Family Transformation, Children’s Vulnerability and the RUF

Studies of former child soldiers highlight the effects of a rupture in the

intergenerational bargain (Zack-Williams, 2001), the ambiguity of the current

generation, the state and global capitalism. This can lead to anomie in the

socialisation process and to alienation of a significant section of the population,

leading to bellicose contestation of the state.

The incorporation of ‘invisible soldiers’ (Brett & McCallan, 1998) into social

movements contesting state hegemony in African states is partly a consequence of the

technological and ergonomic developments in gun manufacturing which have

drastically reduced the size and weight of assault rifles, as well as the sense of

alienation felt by children. It has been estimated that in Sierra Leone some 10,000

child combatants fought on either side of the civil war (Sesay, 2003). Furthermore,Peters & Richards (1998) estimate that large numbers of children were killed,

injured and mutilated, with half of the RUF combatants being between 8 and 14 years

old.

In earlier works I drew attention to the events leading to the civil war in Sierra

Leone, as well as the causal factors including: economic mismanagement; the impact

of Structural Adjustment Programmes; the absence of political and economic

transparency; corruption; the social exclusion of young people and the crisis of the

Sierra Leonean youth (Zack-Williams, 1999; Zack-Williams et al., 2002). Next, I

focus on how family transformation has left the Sierra Leonean child very vulnerable

and exposed to propaganda of social movements.



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The transition to peripheral capitalism over the past four decades and the effects of

structural adjustment programmes in the last two decades have impacted on the

traditional Sierra Leonean family, leading to its atomisation. To understand why

African children, brought up in an essentially Gemeinschaft environment, with strong

reciprocal bonds of sentiment and kinship, are now being pulled towards social

movements challenging the existing order, one has to question this assertion of a

‘static’ extended family and its elasticity to cope (Zack-Williams, 2001).

The emergence of peripheral capitalism not only leads to the proletarianisation of

sections of the working population by destroying pre-existing modes, but by

conserving some of the latter to serve the needs of accumulation, peripheral

capitalism denies the proletarianised masses the welfare provisions which are taken

for granted in capitalism of the centre (Zack-Williams, 1995). The super-exploitative

nature of imperialism, imposed upon local kleptocratic political and economic

structures, has led to capital flight, uneven development and the inability of local

social institutions such as the family to cope with the exigencies of life withinperipheral capitalist formations. The result is additional burdens on the family, in

contrast to capitalism of the centre where the traditional functions of the family have

been eroded by state-sponsored institutions. One way families have tried to cope with

such crises in the past is through the wardship (mehn pikin ) system. This system,

designed to promote the child’s future prospects, involves fostering him/her to more

affluent families, friends or relations; it is potentially exploitative (Bledsoe, 1990).

These children often are deprived of education, whilst having to do chores for

children of their foster parents, in order to free the latter to study. Bledsoe points out

that whilst modern education is highly valued, it creates ambivalence, as modern

knowledge and the way it is taught disrupt ‘the ideal relationship of debt and

recompense linking master and student’ (Bledsoe, 1990, p. 81). In short, fostering and

the wardship system tend to produce a mass of alienated young people in the country.

Many of them quit these exploitative networks, heading straight for the large towns. In

the era of intensive structural adjustment programmes, which have witnessed the

introduction of cost recovery policies in welfare provision, many children have been

squeezed out of the educational system, swelling the ranks of street children.

Children and young people in Sierra Leone are exposed to high levels of

vulnerability as economic stagnation prevents the transition from Gemeinschaft

livelihood to Gesellschaft existence. The law neither provides the security orprotection taken for granted by Gesellschaft political and administrative structures

(UNICEF, 1989). From a very early age, children in Sierra Leone cease to be a

liability, dependent on the family, instead they soon become an asset as a source of

income to the family.

Class and gender statuses play overarching roles in child labour and child

soldiering: ‘in any relatively poor Sierra Leonean family … especially those below the

poverty line … children are introduced to the concept of work as early as the age of

three years’ (UNICEF, 1989, p. 40). Not only can rich parents send their offspring

away from the areas of conflict, but also, ‘recruiters prefer to concentrate on those

who can resist least effectively’ (Ibid .).



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A major recruiting ground for child soldiers has been the group usually referred to

as ‘street children’. Whilst this phenomenon is often associated with the favellas of

Latin America and the shantytowns of Southeast Asia, this is a reflection of the

transmogrification of the Sierra Leonean family form. This group consists of a diverse

collection of young deracinated boys who live on their wits, stealing, undertaking

casual jobs as labourers, hangers-on, as ‘bras ’ (haulers of fishing boats to their

moorings), pushers of barrows (Omolankes ). To the young street children (the

Greens ) these ‘bras ’ (‘big brothers’) represent parent substitutes: they protect them

from other street children as well as other ‘bras ’. They may also provide them with

night shelter; in return their protégés would work for them, steal and hand over

the loot to their ‘bras ’, as well as soliciting prostitutes (koros ) for them. Life on the

street can be extremely hazardous for these children, especially the Greens . For many

deracinated children, military life provided a surrogate family relationship, pro-

tection from abuse as well as empowerment. Both government and rebel forces

abducted many children, who were socialised into violence shortly after theircapture to prevent them returning to their villages. Furthermore, youthful

combatants with ruptured support systems make loyal fighters with no social

responsibilities and their size renders them invaluable for espionage work (Peters &

Richards, 1998).

Demobilisation and Rehabilitation

The complex political emergencies triggered off by the conflict and the large number

of children involved led to concerns among child protection agencies about the

trauma experienced by children and the immense work needed to address their

needs. These concerns culminated in the project Children Associated with War

(CAW), which led the military government in 1993 to demobilise some 370 child

combatants (Wisman, 1994). Many of these children showed symptoms of war

trauma, malnutrition and numerous skin infections as well as sexually transmitted

diseases. The project, led by UNICEF and funded by the British and Canadian

Governments and the Catholic Mission, involved advocacy work, education and

community sensitisation (Wisman, 1994). The rehabilitation programme consisted of

psychosocial counselling (de-traumatisation), health screening, provision of food and

other basic necessities, education and skills training (Dridi, 2004). The major agency for demobilisation was UNAMSIL.

Under the scheme, cohorts of ex-child combatants were brought to the centre and

the aims of the 12-week programme included monitoring their health status and

coping ability for life away from the centre. Other activities included counselling,

literacy classes, sports, singing and recreation. In preparing children for reintegration

into society, attempts were made to reconcile them with parents. Those who

completed the sensitisation process were then attached to tradespeople to be trained

as tailors, masons, carpenters, mechanics and at the end of the training small grants,

loans and tool kits were made available to trainees to facilitate their social and

economic reintegration into the local community (Dridi, 2004).



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Gemeinschaft vs Gesellschaft Skills

The philosophy behind this process of reintegration has been criticised by Osman

Gbla as Eurocentric and devoid of local cultural thinking:

… the treatment is overwhelmingly based on Western psychological approaches in

an African environment that is drastically different from those in Europe orAmerica. In these parts of the world, the definition and understanding of distressand trauma, its diagnosis and healing processes are totally different from those inAfrica … Western psychological healing methods locate the causes of psychologicaldistress within the individual, and therefore devise responses, which are primarily based on individual therapy …. (Gbla, 2003, pp. 185–186).

Gbla’s argument is very similar to Tonnies’ dichotomy of Gemeinschaft

(community) and Gesellschaft (society). For Gbla, African spirituality and belief

(Gemeinschaft skills) in relation to the ancestors are not taken into consideration,

particularly the belief that the dead have a role to play in the daily affairs of the living.

Thus the African belief that the actors in war, and in particular those who killed, have

been cursed by the dead because they have displeased and angered the spirit, who

must now avenge this transgression, is negated. Unlike individualistic, modern

Western psychology (Gesellschaft skills), ‘the traditional African post-war trauma

healers locate the confused mental health state and confusion in both the perpetrator

and the community as a whole’ (Gbla, 2003, p. 187). Thus the appeasement of the

spirits of the dead is an imperative if the perpetrators of violence and brutality are to

be cleansed of their transgression.

As noted earlier, many of these young people were unable to return to their

communities and there was a dearth of trained counsellors with only one psychiatristin the country to undertake any psychosocial work (Gbla, 2003). The local university

had no social or community work section and had one been in existence, it is

doubtful if indigenous approaches would have been utilised (Laird, 2004). Given the

need to return former child combatants to their families and communities,

forgiveness was a sine qua non for acceptance. This situation of a shortage of trained

counsellors (largely because of the neglect of Gemeinschaft skills), created an

imperative for: ‘… alternative means for developing the human resources necessary

to carrying out psychological support programmes and giving communities the

assistance they need so that community members will accept returning child soldiers…’ (Dridi, 2004, p. 216). The exigencies of post-war reconstruction and the

imperative for forgiveness for prodigal children included a bigger role for the

traditional rulers, who were assembled for consultation in search of forgiveness; as

keepers of the traditions and land on behalf of the community, they were also the

routes to the ancestors.

As part of the process of personal renewal and forgiveness, the former combatant

would be taken to his/her village or town to be cleansed of the evil he/she perpetuated

during the war and he would then beg for forgiveness from the dead and the living.

He/she would be taken to a ‘sacred bush’, where he/she would be stripped of the

clothes that were symbols of the former life style. The clothes would then be set alight



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with the aid of some straws, signifying the transition from the old sinful life in

exchange for the new one. A chicken or goat would be slaughtered as sacrifice to

appease the ancestors, supervised by traditional rulers.

Conclusion

This paper focuses on the vulnerability of children and young people in war-torn

Sierra Leone, pointing to the collapse of social coping mechanisms such as the

wardship system, which resulted in the rise of the phenomenon of street children,

from which many child combatants were recruited. I have also taken up the challenge

posed by Kornbeck’s article on the efficacy of Tonnies’ dichotomy: Gemeinschaft and

Gesellschaft skills in social work practice and education. Indeed, the inability to

deliver the Western approach of skilled psychiatrists and psychotherapists has

impelled child protection agencies to turn to Gemeinschaft skills to meet this

shortage. However, for the transition to civilian life to be smooth and successful, wewill have to move beyond the culturally relevant therapeutic approach, which may

tend to strengthen gerontocracy at the expense of the young fighters. It is imperative

that the views of ex-child combatants should be incorporated within discussion of

national planning and for this group to be provided with opportunities and skills to

enable them to contribute to national development. As Dridi argues:

To ignore the special needs of the young fighters emerging from war is a suretechnique to backslide rapidly into renewed warfare. Untreated and neglected,many war-traumatised youthful ex-combatants will readily take up arms when the

conditions around them are ripe or their perceived needs are inadequately or tooslowly met. (Dridi, 2004, p. 127)

While the analyses of issues for child soldiers in Sierra Leone may read like a

project in exotica, it is important to note that many of the issues raised in this paper

are also relevant to social work practice in the West; children of refugees and asylum

seekers from war-torn societies are now part of the caseload of many social workers

in Western countries. This has major implications not just for social work practice,

but more importantly, social work education. Social work curricula will now have to

take diversity seriously to incorporate the study of Gemeinschaft skills, and the policy

of ‘leaving the study of Gemeinschaft to practice-oriented in-service training’(Kornbeck, 2001, p. 251) will have to be abandoned. Social work curricula will have

to be ‘globalised’ to incorporate ‘other cultures’ in order to incorporate diversity.

Social work education ignores these global trends at its peril.

Acknowledgements

The field trip for this study was made possible by a grant obtained from the British

Academy. I want to thank the Academy for its generosity. My sincere thanks also go

to my colleague, Pat Cox, Department of Social Work, University of Central

Lancashire, for reading and making valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper.



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Sweden.Dridi, B. A. L. (2004) ‘Child-soldier rehabilitation and reintegration programmes: effectiveantidotes to war’, in The Quest for Peace in Africa , ed. A. G. Nhema, International Books,Addis Ababa.

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