'Use' them or 'lose' them: Engaging Liberia's disconnected youth through socio-political

International Peacekeeping

Volumn 17, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 343-360

  Maclay, Integration Christopher ^a   Özerdem, Alpaslan ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ARTICLE; CHILD BEHAVIOR; CHILD PSYCHOLOGY; ECONOMICS; EDUCATION; ETHNOLOGY; HISTORY; HUMAN; LEGAL ASPECT; LIBERIA; PHYSIOLOGY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR; SOCIAL CHANGE; SOCIAL ISOLATION;

ADOLESCENT; ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR; ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY; ECONOMICS; EDUCATION; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 21ST CENTURY; HUMANS; LIBERIA; SOCIAL ALIENATION; SOCIAL CHANGE; SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 78650747828     PISSN: 13533312     EISSN: 1743906X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13533312.2010.500144     Document Type: Article

References (112)

1. The 'young people' interviewed as part of this research ranged in age from 14 to 42. Forty-one per cent of young people and 25 per cent of elders interviewed were female.
2. Alex De Waal Opposes chronological definitions, in 'Realising Child Rights in Africa: Children, Young People and Leadership', in Alex De Waal and Nicholas Argenti (eds), Young Africa: Realising the Rights of Children and Youth, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2002, pp.1-28.
3. Richard Curtain offers a more functional interpretation based on participation in economic, political and cultural life, in 'Youth in Extreme Poverty - Dimensions and Country Responses', in World Youth Report 2003: The Global Situation of Young People, New York: UN, 2003, ch.3.
4. Cited in Mats Utas, 'Sweet Battlefields: Youth and the Liberian Civil War', PhD thesis, Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology, University of Uppsala, 2003, p.93.
5. Utas, 'Abject Heroes: Marginalised Youth, Modernity and Violent Pathways of the Liberian Civil War,' in Jason Hart (ed.), Years of Conflict: Adolescence, Political Violence and splacement, New York: Berghan Books, 2008, pp.111-138.
6. Focus group discussion with seven amputee ex-combatants, Congo Town, Monserrado, April 2009.
7. Jeremy Weinstein, The Structure of Rebel Organizations: Implications for Post-conflict construction, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002.
8. Paul Richards, 'Rebellion in Liberia and Sierra Leone: A Crisis of Youth?', in Oliver Furley (ed.), Conflict in Africa, London: I.B. Tauris, 1995, pp.134-170.
9. Liberia's long conflict began when Charles Taylor and his (then small) National Patriotic Front of Liberia entered the country in 1990, backed by other West African governments, with the intention of overthrowing the oppressive regime of Samuel Doe. However, no single group emerged capable of filling the power vacuum, and a scrap for power and wealth developed. Despite a ceasefire and elections in 1997 (in which Taylor was victorious), a new set of rebel groups emerged (most notably, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia). By the time the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in August 2003, 14 years of conflict had caused the deaths of over 250,000 Liberians, and had seen half the population displaced.
10. Joint Implementation Unit, Cited in James Pugel, What the Fighters Say: A Survey of Excombatants in Liberia, New York: UN Development Programme, 2007, p.19.
11. Wolf-Christian Paes, 'The Challenges of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in Liberia', International Peacekeeping, Vol.12, No.2, 2005, pp.253-261.
12. According to the Cape Town Principles promoted by UNICEF, a child soldier is defined as 'any child - boy or girl -under 18 years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity'.
13. Labour Market and Skills Training Assessment: Mapping of Reintegration Opportunities for Children Associated with Fighting Forces in Liberia, Geneva: ILO/International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, 2005, p.6.
14. The processes are titled DDRR in Liberia, but elsewhere they are known as DDR (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration). Festus Aboagye and Alhaji Bah, cited in Paes (see n.10 above), p.259.
15. Mark Knight and Alpaslan Özerdem, 'Guns, Camps and Cash: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reinsertion of Former Combatants in Transitions from War to Peace', Journal of Peace Research, Vol.41, No.4, 2005, p.500.
16. Paes (see n.10 above), p.259.
17. Alpaslan Özerdem, Post-war Recovery: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, London: I.B. Tauris, 2009.
18. Marc Sommers. 'Reaching the Youth Majority', in Youth and Politics in Conflict Contexts, conference report, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2007 (at: http://wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/Final-YouthandPolitics.pdf), p.21.
19. Paes (see n. 10 above), p.255.
20. Irma Specht, 'Girl Combatants: Women Warriors Fight Their Way Back into Liberian Society', World of Work, No.54, 2005, pp.8-11.
21. Interview in Monrovia, Monserrado, Mar. 2009.
22. Steve Archibald and Edward Mulbah, 'Short Term Technical Assistance to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of the Republic of Liberia for Conflict Mapping Project',European Commission, 2008 (at: www.trcofliberia.org/reports/final/volumethree_layout-1.pdf), p.9
23. Richard Hill, Gwendolyn Taylor and Jonathan Temin, 'Would You Fight Again? Understanding Liberian Ex-combatant Reintegration', Washington, DC: USIP, 2008 (at: www.usip.org/files/resources/sr211.pdf).
24. Adekeye Adebajo, Liberia's Civil War: Nigeria, ECOMOG, and Regional Security in West Africa, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2002, p.58.
25. Interview at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Monrovia. Apr. 2009.
26. 'The Adolescent Experience in-Depth: Using Data to Identify and Reach the Most Vulnerable: Liberia 2007', New York: UNPFA, 2008, (at: www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/PGY_AdolDataGuides/Liberia2007.pdf).
27. By using Participatory Rural Appraisal methods and discussion with 12 members at Secretariat meeting, Kakata, Margibi County, Mar. 2009.
28. Anders Nilsson, 'Reintegrating Ex-combatants in Post-conflict Societies', Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Stockholm, 2007;
29. Beth Verhey, 'Child Soldiers: Prevention, Demobilization and Reintegration', World Bank, 2001 (at: http://cpr.web.cern.ch/cpr/Library/article-childsold.pdf).
30. Hill et al. (see n.21 above), p.26.
31. Sinkor, Monrovia, May 2009.
32. 'The Adolescent Experience in-Depth' (see n.24 above), p.15.
33. James Pugel, What the Fighters Say: A Survey of Excombatants in Liberia, New York: UNDP, 2007, pp.50-51.
34. Semi-structured discussion with four ex-combatants, Centre Street, Monrovia, Apr. 2009.
35. Pugel (see n.30 above), p.50.
36. Semi-structured focus group discussion with seven amputee ex-combatants, Congo Town, Monserrado, Apr. 2009.
37. Discussion with 13 members of the Bong Youth Secretariat, Gbarnga, Bong County. Mar. 2009.
38. Labour Market and Skills Training Assessment (see n.11 above), p.6.
39. Dale Buscher, 'Marginalizing Youth: How Economic Programs Fail Youth in Post-conflict Settings', report for Cooperative Housing Federation International, Silver Spring, MD, 2008 (at: www.chfinternational.org/node/21515), p.74.
40. Semi-structured focus group discussion with nine ex-combatants, Congo Town, Monrovia, Apr. 2009.
41. Interview with Zeleh Lealous Kolubah at NEPI Office, Monrovia, Monserrado, Apr. 2009.
42. Nat J. Colletta and Michelle L. Cillen, Violent Conflict and the Transformation of Social Capital: Lessons from Cambodia, Rwanda, Guatemala, and Somalia, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2000.
43. Jennifer A. Widner, 'Building Effective Trust in the Aftermath of Severe Conflict', in Robert I. Rotberg (ed.), When States Fail: Causes and Consequences, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp.222-236.
44. Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, 'Greed and Grievance in Civil Wars', Oxford Economic Papers, Vol.56, No. 4, 2004, pp.563-595;
45. Eugenia Date-Bah, Jobs after War: A Critical Challenge in the Peace and Reconstruction Puzzle, Geneva: ILO, 2003.
46. Irma Specht and Hirut Tefferi, 'Impact Evaluation of the Reintegration Programme for Children Associated with Fighting Forces (CAFF) in Liberia', report for UNICEF Liberia, Apr. 2007;
47. Tobias von Gienanth and Thomas Jaye, Post-conflict Peacebuilding in Liberia: Much Remains to be Done, report of the third Zentrum für Internationale Friedensätze (ZIF)/Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (AIPTC) seminar, 1-3 Nov. 2007, Accra, Centre for International Peace Operations, 2008.
48. Kathleen M. Jennings 'Unclear Ends, Unclear Means: Reintegration in Postwar Societies - the Case of Liberia', Global Governance, Vol.14, No.3, pp.327-345.
49. Informal discussion with two young ex-combatants, Lexington, Sinoe County, Apr. 2009.
50. Michael G. Wessells, 'A Living Wage: The Importance of Livelihood in Reintegrating Former Child Soldiers', in Nick Boothby, Alison Strang and Michael G. Wessells (eds), A World Turned Upside Down: Social Ecological Approaches to Children in War Zone, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian, 2006, pp.179-198.
51. Archibald and Mulbah (see n.20 above), p.23.
52. Labour Market and Skills Training Assessment (see n.11 above), p.12.
53. Richard Hill, Gwendolyn Taylor and Jonathan Temin, 'Helping Ex-combatants Help Themselves: Understanding Ex-combatant Reintegration in Lofa County, Liberia', report for Cooperative Housing Federation International, Silver Spring, MD, 2008 (at: www.chfinternational.org/files/Special%20report%20No.%20211%20SEPT%2008.pdf), p.13.
54. Pugel (see n.30 above), p.46.
55. Semi-structured discussion with four ex-combatants, Centre Street, Monrovia, Apr. 2009.
56. Mats Utas, 'Building a Future? The Reintegration & Remarginalisation of Youth in Liberia', in Paul Richards (ed.), No Peace, No War: An Anthropology of Contemporary Armed Conflicts, Oxford: James Currey, 2005, p.145.
57. Labour Market and Skills Training Assessment (see no.11 above), pp.401.
58. Utas (see n.51 above), p.141.
59. Hill et al. (see n.21 above), p.5.
60. James Pugel, 'Measuring Reintegration in Liberia: Assessing the Gap between Outputs and Outcomes', in Robert Muggah, Security and Post-conflict Reconstruction: Dealing with Fighters in the Aftermath of War, Abingdon: Routledge, 2009, pp.70-102.
61. Nat J. Colletta, Markus Kostner and Ingo Wiederhofer, The Transition from War to Peace in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, DC: World Bank, 1996.
62. Krishna Kumar, 'The Nature and Focus of International Assistance for Rebuilding War-Torn Societies', in Krishna Kumar (ed.), Rebuilding Societies after Civil War: Critical Roles for International Assistance, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1997, p.21.
63. Okwir Rabwoni, 'Reflections on Youth and Militarism in Contemporary Africa', in Alex De Waal and Nicholas Argenti (eds), Young Africa: Realising the Rights of Children and Youth, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2002, p.162.
64. Roger A. Hart, Children's Participation: From Tokenism to Citizenship, Florence: UNICEF International Child Development Centre, 1992.
65. Eddie Jarwolo, 'Effective Approaches to Youth Mobilization', in Youth and Politics in Conflict Contexts, conference report, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2007 (at: http://wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/Final-YouthandPolitics.pdf), p.13.
66. Semi-structured focus group discussion with nine ex-combatants, Congo Town, Monrovia, Apr. 2009.
67. Albert Harris, 'Assessment of Youth Groups in Liberia', report for UNDP Liberia, 2005.
68. Interview with civic action programme representative, Gbarnga, Bong County, Mar. 2009.
69. Henrik Urdal, The Devil in the Demographics: The Effect of Youth Bulges on Domestic Armed Conflict, 1950-2000, Washington, DC: World Bank, July 2004.
70. Henriette von Kaltenborn-Stachau, 'The Missing Link - Fostering Positive Citizen-State Relations in Post-conflict Environments', policy brief, World Bank, 2008 (at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/CommGAPBriefs_MissingLinkweb.pdf), p.3.
71. Semi-structured focus group discussion with seven amputee ex-combatants, Congo Town, Monserrado, Apr. 2009.
72. Unstructured interview with manager and workshop trainer at Buchanan YWCA, Buchanan, Grand Bassa, Mar. 2009.
73. Sommers (see n.16 above), p.12.
74. Kaltenborn-Stachau (see n.65 above), p.2.
75. Interview with Arthur Becker, Programme Director, West Africa Youth Network, Monrovia, May 2009.
76. Augustine Toure, The Role of Civil Society in National Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Liberia, New York: International Peace Academy, 2002.
77. Widner (see. n.40 above), pp.230-231.
78. Ibid., p.236.
79. Colletta and Cillen (see n.39 above).
80. Nat J. Colletta, Markus Kostner and Ingo Wiederhofer, The Transition from War to Peace in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, DC: World Bank, 1996;
81. Kimberly A. Maynard, Healing Communities in Conflict: International Assistance in Complex Emergencies, New York: Colombia University Press, 1999.
82. Richards (see n.7 above), p.163.
83. Paul Richards, Steven Archibald, Beverlee Bruce, Wotta Modad, Edward Mulbah, Tornolah Varpilah and James Vincent, Community Cohesion in Liberia: A Post-war Rapid Social Assessment, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005, p.30.
84. Margaret McCallin, 'Community Involvement in the Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers', in Patrick J Bracken and Celia Petty (eds), Rethinking the Trauma of War, London: Free Association Books, 2008, p.64.
85. Jesse Newman, 'Protection through Participation: Young People Affected by Forced Migration and Political Crisis', Working Paper No.20, Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford, 2005.
86. Paul Richards, Khadija Bah and James Vincent, Social Capital and Survival: Prospects for Community-Driven Development in Post-conflict Sierra Leone, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004.
87. Interview with two members of the Bong Motorcycle Union committee, Gbarnga, Bong County, Mar. 2009.
88. De Waal (see n.2 above), pp.20-21.
89. K. Johnson Borh, National Programme Coordinator, NEPI, Monrovia, Monserrado, Apr. 2009.
90. Informal discussion with ex-combatant in Weala, Margibi, Apr. 2009.
91. World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation, Washington, DC: World Bank, p.161.
92. Youth and Conflict: A Toolkit for Intervention, Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development, 2005 (at: www.usaid.gov/our_work/crosscutting_programs/conflict/publications/docs/CMM_Youth_and_Conflict_Toolkit_April_2005.pdf).
93. Marc Sommers, 'West Africa's Youth Employment Challenge: The Case of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire', Vienna: UN Industrial Development Organization, 2007.
94. Kolubah (see n.38 above).
95. Specht and Tefferi (see n.42 above), p.16.
96. Interviews with project participants, Tepenni, Grand Bassa County, and Panama, Sinoe County, Apr. 2009.
97. PRA and discussion with 12 members at Secretariat meeting, Kakata, Margibi County, Mar. 2009.
98. Youth and Conflict (see n.86 above), p.4.
99. Interview with David Sombie, Country Director of Right to Play Liberia, Monrovia, May 2009.
100. Lowicki, 'Beyond Consultation: In Support of More Meaningful Adolescent Participation', Forced Migration Review, Vol.15, pp.33-35.
101. Interview, Monrovia, Apr. 2009.
102. De Waal (see n.2 above).
103. Rachel Brett and Irma Specht, Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004.
104. Only 5,000 child soldiers took part in formal reintegration programmes in 1997.
105. Krijn Peters, Paul Richards and Koen Vlassenroot, 'What Happens to Youth during and after Wars? A Preliminary Review of Literature on Africa and an Assessment of the Debate', working paper, Netherlands Development Assistance Research Council, Oct. 2003.
106. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and semi-structured focus group discussion with eight members of Gbarpolu Youth Association, Bpoplu, Gbarpolu, Mar. 2009.
107. Richards et al. (see n.77 above), p.32.
108. Hart (see n.59 above), p.33;
109. 'Integrated DDRS Framework 5.20: Youth and DDR', UN, 2006 (at: www.unddr.org/iddrs/05/20.php).
110. Bastiaan De Gaay Fortman, 'The Golden Triangle of Human Dignity', in Marie Eloïse Muller and Fortman (eds), From Warfare to Welfare. Human Security in a Southern African Context, Assen: Royal Van Gorcum, 2004.
111. Mary Douglas, 'Traditional Culture - Let's Hear No More about It', in Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton (eds), Culture and Public Action, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004, pp.85-109.
112. Richards et al. (see n.77 above), p.31.