Chapter Four:

At first, when the war ended, we didn’t know where to go or how to begin. We couldn’t find our families or our villages and we were afraid to return. We didn’t want to look back at what we had lost. We didn’t want to see the future.

Going home
Many of us were brought to camps for displaced people, and we also suffered there. We had nothing. Our desperation was used as a tool by some of those who were supposed to take care of us. We were exploited for sex and trafficked to other countries. Some of us died of neglect, violence and sexually transmitted infections.The demobilization programme started in 1998. Soon after, Freetown was attacked by AFRC and RUF forces. It is estimated that more than 4,000 children were abducted during the attack on Freetown, some for the second time. We tried to escape but there was no safe place for us.

Finally, in January 2002, the war came to an end. There were thousands of us, without any hope of finding our families. The National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration that was set up in 1998 began to work at full strength. The first step was to disarm the fighters. A total of 72,490 combatants were registered. Of that number, 6,774 were children. Children who did not have weapons but were members of the fighting forces were also included in the programme.

The second step was to transfer those of us who were registered as former child soldiers to civilian care or Interim Care Centres. That was called demobilization. Then the Family Tracing and Reintegration programme began. Every effort was made to reunite children in the demobilization programme with families and communities. If no family member could be found, then a foster family was chosen to care for each child. In addition, education and skills training were provided to help us find a place again in society. That is the process of reintegration. Family tracing, reunification and reintegration take time. The reintegration will continue for many years.

Health and recovery
The war was over but inside our hearts and minds the war still raged. We were afraid, and our memories came to haunt us. Some of us couldn’t sleep. We had nightmares and were unable to speak. We fought, we felt anxious and we couldn’t concentrate. Slowly these problems began to go away. Child Protection Advisers spoke to us and helped as. They searched for our families and relatives. When we met again with our loved ones we were overwhelmed with emotion. We asked for forgiveness and we tried to forgive ourselves and each other.

Going back to school
We wanted to go back to school. That was our wish, our dream and our prayer. Children all over the world go to school and learn and play and dream of the future. The war took that way from us.This desire to go to school still burns in our hearts. It is our hope for the future.

The Commission asked the children of Sierra Leone what impact the war had had on their lives and what we had lost. The story of each child is unique but our stories repeat the same losses. Over and over again we told how we had lost our families, our homes and our education. Many of us have returned to school. But it hasn’t been easy. Most of the schools in Sierra Leone were damaged or destroyed during the war, and everything was looted. But the biggest problem was returning to a life that didn’t exist any more.

Those of us who were abducted or forced to fight had to face the bad feelings of our families, our friends and our communities. Some of them called us “rebel pikin” or “soja pikin”, meaning “rebel children” or “child soldier”. They didn’t trust us to behave. Sometimes we didn’t behave. We had been taught to use violence. We didn’t remember how to respect others or show kindness. No one seemed to understand the terrible shame and sadness that possessed us.

Girls’ education is a priority in the
national recovery process

We were accustomed to abuse and violence. We didn’t know that it is wrong for adults to beat and abuse children. That is why the Commission has recommended that corporal punishment be prohibited by law, to help teach children not to use physical force and violence to settle disputes, or as a means of discipline. Gradually we learned how to trust ourselves and each other. Once we left the Interim Care Centres and returned to our families, communities and schools, we could begin to make friends. The government joined together with UNICEF and other child protection agencies, and they made special arrangements so that we could go back to school. This resulted in the Community Education and Investment Programme (CEIP). Textbooks, pens, pencils and desks were provided by CEIP to the schools that agreed to receive us into their classrooms. We did not have to pay school fees.

CEIP schools include special lessons in healing, peace and child rights. We learn about health care and how to protect ourselves against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The schools were also given footballs and volleyballs so that we could play again. But some of us had missed too many years of school and forgotten what we had learned before the war. We couldn’t go back to study again with the little children in the first class. We needed to catch up somehow.

The government met with UNICEF and other child protection agencies and they created a new school curriculum to help us. They named it CREPS or Complementary Rapid Education for Primary Schools. By studying very hard we could complete six years of school in three years. About 30,000 of us have enrolled in CREPS.

Vocational training and employment
It was too difficult for some of us to return to our studies, especially older children. We didn’t feel we belonged in school any more. We needed to learn a skill and find a job. We are learning carpentry, auto mechanics, masonry, tailoring, baking, gara tie-dyeing and hairdressing. But jobs are hard to find. Not all were eligible or able to benefit from the reintegration programme. Some were left out, or were afraid to come forward, or simply didn’t know where to turn for help. Most girls who were abducted into the fighting forces were not considered child combatants and so were not eligible for reintegration benefits. Many remained under the control of their commanders. Many have been forgotten and are living on the street, struggling day by day to survive. During the war, children in the eastern districts of Kono and Kailahun were forced to mine for diamonds. These children were abducted and worked as slaves for fighting forces but were not recognised as child soldiers, and so did not receive benefits. This problem still needs to be solved. Very slowly we are finding a place once again in our communities. We are trying to learn new skills so that we can help rebuild our country. We are trying to trust others and be trustworthy, and regain confidence in urselves.

Drawing by child in interim care centre

Help for amputees
More than 1,600 people were cruelly amputated during the war and survived, including undreds of children. But twice that number did not survive. They bled to death. Efforts have been made to provide expert medical care for victims of amputation but many have not benefited. Wheelchairs, crutches and artificial limbs are desperately needed to help these people regain a place in their communities. They also need help with housing and job training. For children the difficulty is increased because as our bodies grow we need additional medical care to fit artificial limbs and treat other medical complications. Much more help is needed.

Recovering from drug addiction andphysical scars
Many of us who were injected with drugs to make us fight as soldiers during the war have continued to suffer. The drugs caused confusion and mental illness and created a terrible addiction in our bodies. They ruined our physical and mental health. Afterwards we couldn’t concentrate or study and sometimes we would cry or talk uncontrollably. We felt that we would not live without those vicious drugs. We lived the nightmare of addiction. We were ready to beg or steal to support our drug habit.

Recovering from drug addiction takes a long time, and we need a lot of special care and treatment. Another terrible problem is how to help the children who were branded and scarred on the chest, forehead, arms or back with the letters of the fighting forces. These children did nothing to deserve that torture. In fact, they tried to run away from the war and were branded to prevent them from escaping their commanders. Many died or were killed by other armed groups. Medical teams, working together with child protection agencies, arranged for surgery to remove the scars from these children.

About 100 children were treated for scar removal. Not all the surgery was successful but in some cases the scars were removed. Others are still awaiting surgery. Those are physical scars. The scars inside us are more difficult to remove.

Girls struggle to recover
Most of the girls who were captured by the fighting forces and kept for sex were left out of the reintegration programme. Among the 6,774 children who were demobilised, only 513 were girls. That was a terrible mistake. Thousands of girls were not admitted into the demobilization programme. These girls were abandoned and had to fend for their survival. Many have been exposed to further violations and continue to suffer. Why were so many girls left behind? Many were afraid to come forward.

We knew that the attack on us was also an attack against our communities and we were afraid our families would reject us and blame us for what happened. It wasn’t our fault. We were forced to ecome the so-called ’bush wives’ of the fighting forces. As a result, many of us gave birth. Our children were called “rebel pikin”. In many cases, the commanders who abducted us did not release us. We continued under their control. The national Family Tracing and Reintegration programme tried to help. They used video interviews to trace our relatives, but the help was too little and late in coming. Some of us went to Freetown or other cities. We couldn’t go home. But Freetown was another trap. We didn’t have food or money. We had to survive somehow. Some of the peacekeepers who had come to protect us became customers for sex. And they were not the only ones. Everyone wanted to use us but no one seemed to care about us. Because of the sexual violence and sexual slavery during the war we had very serious health problems. We need special care to treat infections such as syphilis and HIV/AIDS. Many of us need surgery to repair the damage to our bodies caused by rape and early pregnancy. Most of all, we need help and advice about how to protect ourselves from further exploitation. We need to know how to earn a living and how to create new opportunities in our lives. We need to recover our dignity and our pride.

Community-based reintegration
In many of the villages, tribal and religious leaders, schoolteachers, parents and children began to meet and talk about what they could do to help children recover from the war. With help from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs and the Child Protection Network, Child Welfare Committees were formed to help bring us back into our villages and back to school. The Child Welfare Committees organised tracing, health care and special counselling. They also created children’s clubs for sports, drama and cultural activities. The community began to breathe and live again.

Education, the stepping stone to peace

But too many of us have not received this help. Our families have not been found. There is no one to feed us, no one to love us. We are children and we have urgent needs. We cannot wait for schools and hospitals to be rebuilt. We are impatient for the future.

NaCWAC, Children’s ForumNetwork, and the Voice ofChildren Radio
A new Commission was created to pay special attention to the needs of children after the war. It is called the National Commission for War-Affected Children or NaCWAC. This Commission belongs to all of us. It is an advocate for children affected by the war, supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs. We formed a network of our own. The Children’s Forum Network (CFN) is run by the children of Sierra Leone. CFN was established by children, with help from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, UNICEF, UNAMSIL and Plan Sierra Leone. We also started the Voice of Children radio station with the help of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the Government of Sierra Leone, NAMSIL and UNICEF. We have brought together the first Children’s National Assembly of Sierra Leone, with representatives from all over the country. In June 2003, through the Children’s Forum Network, we submitted our own report on the war to the Commission.

One of our recommendations was that the Commission produce a child-friendly version of its report. This child-friendly report could then be used by children and their teachers to inform the future generations of Sierra Leone, so that war will never return to our country. In June 2003, through the Children’s Forum Network, we submitted our own report on the war to the Commission. One of our recommendations was that the Commission produce a child-friendly version of its report. This child-friendly report could then be used by children and their teachers to inform the future generations of Sierra Leone, so that war will never return to our country.