The previous section analysed the (re)construction of ‘self’ by former combatants, the relationship between status and identity in their new civilian environment, which are affected by the DDR process that they went through. This section, on the other hand examines the common perceptions, sensations and feelings experienced by formal combatants in their new
31 Ibid, pp. 6 - 7.
32 See Kaldor, M., and Vincent, J. (2006) Evaluation of UNDP Support for Conflict - Affected Countries. United Nations Development Programme. Document Available on line at:
web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/thematic/conflict/ConflictEvaluation2006.pdf. Document Accessed on line on 12/12/2015.
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status as civilians, which has contributed to the state of uncertainty and confusion on their part. For many former RUF combatants who took part in this study, isolation, betrayal, abandonment, loneliness and discrimination are among some of the key reasons for their failure to reintegrate back into civilian society following their demobilisation. During fieldwork and through some of my interviews and informal conversations with respondents, I was able to understand the feeling of isolation, mental and emotional difficulties, discrimination and the feelings of abandonment that they are presently going through. The purpose of this section is to examine the common traits experienced by many former combatants, which hinder their reintegration and contribute to their position of ‘neglected former combatants’.
In a conversation with Saddam, one of my respondents, I noted the following:
Interviewer: How do you feel now that the war is over and you now live in a civilian
environment?
Saddam: Yes, the war is now over, and we live in civilian environment, but there remain
many problems in this country. All of the problems that caused the war are still around - poverty, inequality, corruption, greed and grievance are still embedded in our society despite the violence conflict we went through.
Interviewer: What do you mean?
Saddam: Because since the conflict ended in 2002, we were promised many things such as
job opportunities, houses, even money, and ‘good life’ but until now, nobody cares for us, and we as ex-fighters are suffering and struggling for our living. The only way we survive is by riding Okada.
Interviewer: Can you explain this further please?
Saddam: During our time in the DDR camp, they told us that the international community
will provide money, jobs and houses for us when we give up our arms. I was attached to General Augustine Gbaw’s33 regiment in Makeni, in the north. During our stay in Makeni,
General Gbaw was given a lot of money by the ‘big people’ (the international community) to be distributed among those of us who were under his command, so were other Generals across the movement. But he kept all of the money for his own personal use. After the war ended, some of us who survived went and asked him about the money, but he told us that there was no money for us because he knew the war was over. So, some of the men decided to go to his house and kill him at night. But he was lucky; it was the following week that he
33 Augustine Gbaw was a senior commander in the RUF movement from 1991 until his arrest in 2002. He was
one of the most ruthless and most feared commanders in the RUF movement. Gbaw was convicted by the Sierra Leone Special Court in February 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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was arrested and indicted by the Special Court. Now we are left with nothing except extreme poverty. We struggle to even feed our family.
Interviewer: What do you think about this situation?
Saddam: General Gbaw and other senior commanders in the movement as well as the
government and the international community betrayed us because since the war ended, everybody turned their backs on us - no jobs, no money.
Interviewer: Do you think you are marginalised or discriminated against because of your
involvement with the RUF?
Saddam: Yes, it is very difficult for us to get job, we are left by ourselves, and nobody care
for us except our close relatives and friends, and those of us who fought for the common cause - former fighters occasionally when we meet in the ghetto.34
My extended discussion with Saddam who fought under the command of General Gbaw in Makeni summarises explicitly, not only the feelings of most former combatants across the board, but also the position they are now in after their demobilisation. Some of them had violent reactions from members of their community, some forgot about their past, and others just did not integrate with society. But most of them had feelings of resentment against some individuals especially their own commanders or society as a whole. In terms of feelings and emotions, this gap generated different reactions among former combatants. From the respondents and the discussions so far, it is clear that some of the common feelings are the sense of abandonment and inequality created by the authorities, former commanders, organisations and society in general.
The disarmament and demobilisation (the first two stages of the DDR process) forced some former combatants into a state of disillusion and confusion about their role in the new Sierra Leonean society. Questions then arose about both new and old relationships, which generated inner doubts on the side of the RUF. For some, this confusion is temporary, while for others it is permanent. Labelling them as old killers, old rebels, former combatant or ex-fighter carries with it negative associations, and thus creates a sense of disapproval by society, aggravating their condition, that then modulates into stigmatisation. As Saddam further explains:
‘Some people in my community sometimes call me old killer, old rebel or old assassin, all sorts of names. But what we need to do as former combatants is to
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change our attitude and behaviour completely, because we now live in a different environment - the civilian environment.’35
The reintegration of former combatants is linked, in some ways to individual behaviour, and how well they try to adjust to their new civilian environment. Other factors such as identity, the level of destruction that took place in a particular community, and perhaps most importantly, the level of sensitisation that took place in a given community about the reintegration project following the termination of the conflict are also important. It is also obvious that some community members, in places such as Kailahun and Pujehun, where the rebellion started in March 1991, saw former RUF combatants as revolutionary heroes, idols or ‘liberators’, whose main aim was to free them and their country from the brutality of the APC regime. In other places, where destruction of properties was high, they were described as ‘old killers’ or ‘old rebels’.
In this section, I have examined the common perceptions, sensations and feelings experienced by many former combatants in the civilian environment after they were demobilised, which have contributed to the state of uncertainty, betrayal and confusion on their part. I have also pointed out that some former combatants who took part in this study pointed to isolation, betrayal, abandonment and discrimination as some of the key issues responsible for their failure to reintegrate back into civilian society after the termination of the conflict.
The next section looks at the difficulties faced by the NCDDR commission to attract funds, as well as the difficulties to manage the very large number of former combatants. This resulted in the delivery of poorly structured short-term training opportunities for former combatants.