Sierra Leonean Research Articles

Trajectories of Internalizing Problems in War‐Affected Sierra Leonean Youth: Examining Conflict and Postconflict Factors

Three waves of data from a prospective longitudinal study in Sierra Leone were used to examine internalizing trajectories in 529 war-affected youth (ages 10-17 at baseline; 25% female). Latent class growth analyses identified 4 trajectories: A large majority of youth maintained lower levels of internalizing problems (41.4%) or significantly improved over time (47.6%) despite very limited access to care, but smaller proportions continued to report severe difficulties 6years postwar (4.5%) or their symptoms worsened (6.4%). Continued internalizing problems were associated with loss of a caregiver, family abuse and neglect, and community stigma. Despite the comparative resilience of most war-affected youth in the face of extreme adversity, there remains a compelling need for interventions that address family- and community-level stressors.

The power of sweet words: Local forms of intervention with war-affected women in rural Sierra Leone

During Sierra Leone’s civil war, women and girls experienced numerous forms of gender-based violence and gross human rights violations, which had profound implications both during and following the conflict. In the war’s aftermath, Sierra Leonean social workers provided crucial forms of support to war-affected women and girls. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this article explores local forms of social work assistance provided to women in the post-conflict period. The article examines the assistance provided, the techniques and approaches of local practitioners, and the perceived impact of the interventions. In examining these post-war interventions, we highlight the unique local approaches to practice, and their implications for international social work practice and research.

Sierra Leone and the Curse of the One-Party State: Contested Ideas of the Post-Colonial State 1965-1973

This article analyses the contestation among Sierra Leone’s leading politicians, in government and in opposition, over the form of the post-colonial state, with an explanation of their motives behind the move to a single party regime. Regarded for long as a model British colony, Sierra Leone was a promising case, expected to succeed in building a western type democracy. However, it turned to be an example of failed state after its experience with a one party state. Two Sierra Leonean leading politicians, Albert Margai and Siaka Probyn Stevens, had been remarkable nationalist figures since the 1940’s struggling side by side against the coloniser. However, with the coming of independence that friendship turned quickly into fierce enmity where personal animosities and ambitions turned the political arena into a tense atmosphere characterised by doubts and political crisis. Surprisingly, their enmity was responsible for creating the Sierra Leone version of the one party regime. Both leaders held ambivalent attitudes defending the project when in power but fiercely objecting to it when out.

Militarism, Conflict and Women's Activism in the Global Era: Challenges and Prospects for Women in Three West African Contexts

This article develops a feminist perspective on militarism in Africa, drawing examples from the Nigerian, Sierra Leonean and Liberian civil wars spanning several decades to examine women's participation in the conflict, their survival and livelihood strategies, and their activism. We argue that postcolonial conflicts epitomise some of the worst excesses of militarism in the era of neoliberal globalisation, and that the economic, organisational and ideological features of militarism undermine the prospects for democratisation, social justice and genuine security, especially for women, in post-war societies. Theorisations of ‘new wars’ and the war economy are taken as entry points to a discussion of the conceptual and policy challenges posed by the enduring and systemic cultural and material aspects of militarism. These include the contradictory ways in which women are affected by the complex relationship between gendered capitalist processes and militarism, and the manner in which women negotiate their lives through both. Finally, we highlight the potential of transnational feminist theorising and activism for strengthening intellectual and political solidarities and argue that the globalised military security system can be our ‘common context for struggle' 1 as contemporary feminist activist scholars. 1 Mohanty, 2003.

SIERRA LEONE: Land Deals Stir Unrest

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 49, Issue 3 p. 19482B-19484A ECONOMIC TRENDS SIERRA LEONE: Land Deals Stir Unrest First published: 02 May 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2012.04456.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume49, Issue3May 2012Pages 19482B-19484A RelatedInformation

How Special is the Special Court's Outreach Section?

This article attempts to evaluate the work of the Outreach Section of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. In it, I try to answer two questions: (1) how innovative was the Outreach Section?; and (2) has the Outreach Section been successful? In contrast to earlier commentators, I try to answer these questions using empirical data, including Sierra Leonean attitudes toward and knowledge about the court as measured in various surveys. I conclude that the Outreach Section has been modestly innovative, but that it has largely failed in its primary goal of educating Sierra Leoneans about the Special Court – while virtually all Sierra Leoneans are aware of the existence of the Special Court, very few have a good understanding of what it does.

The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia (review)

Danny Hoffman, The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. 320 pp. Malaria in Insecure Spaces. The first time I heard of Danny Hoffman was at an international conference and it was a fantastic story. Some of the senior academics shook their heads at the risks he had taken, blaming it on his youth; but I was rather impressed. My reading was that surviving this situation was dependent on his skillful building of trust and mutual respect with his research subjects: rebel soldiers. Hoffman had caught a serious case of malaria while accompanying rebel soldiers deep into the Sierra Leonean bush. He was saved by rebels who carried him across the border to Liberia for medical attention; clearly risking their lives, but thereby saving his. Respect and Research. Sierra Leoneans have quite clear ideas of the white man, many are bad-afraid of local people, greedy, and arrogant. These qualities are awarded the average UN/INGO-worker, businessman, and researcher. Without doubt no Sierra Leonean would risk their life for him/her. There are a few others who escape the bad white man category. You hear of them in the streets of Freetown and beyond. Researchers in post-war settings are many, but surprisingly few are spoken of as good. Meeting people in the streets of Freetown in post-Hoffman time, I can say for certain that he is considered a good one. As researchers fieldworking sensitive issues know, mutual respect and trust is absolutely crucial for the outcome-if not, we end up doing science on a spectra ranging from semi-truths to outright lies. Previous Reads. It has always inspired me to read Danny Hoffman. He writes exceptionally well. Another advantage of Hoffman is that his texts are extremely varied; he is far from rewriting the same paper time and again. Thematically, he has guided us from rational choice perspectives of the Sierra Leone (Hoffman 2004) to interesting theoretical developments of the Agambean camp (Hoffman 2007, see also chapter 5 in this book). In his current book, The War Machines, Hoffman is taking on yet another challenge. Hoffman's Plateaus. This book is principally about war as a violent mode of participating in today's global economy (122) based on ethnographic material from the Mano River War (primarily in Sierra Leone, and to some extent the interrelated conflict in Liberia), but it is also a reading of Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia (1983) and A Thousand Plateaus (1987), and as such, is an important theoretical contribution with implications far beyond the Mano River warscape. Although there are many theoretically stimulating parts of the book, by far the most inspiring is how Hoffman consistently uses the work of Deleuze and Guattari as an overarching framework; especially the machine concept.1 By doing so he at times bends his ethnography slightly too much. Yet still it is great with an anthropologist going beyond eclectically picking pieces of philosophical theory. Jealousy and Praise. I have myself researched the wars in the Mano River region since 1996, starting out in a refugee camp in Cote d'Ivoire, followed by a year of fieldwork in Liberia, and subsequently two years in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Throughout this time I have focused on young people's experiences of and its aftermath. Most of Hoffman's conclusions fit well with mine. I am slightly jealous: I would have liked to be the author of this fine book. Reading Hoffman, I am very much impressed by his close knowledge of the Sierra Leonean Kamajors, both concerning their activities in Sierra Leone and later in Liberia. With a focus on the advent and gradual metamorphosis of the Kamajors, following a plateaulike logic of the Deleuzian and Guattarian machine, this is the most well-informed research on this particular group up to date. But it is goes far beyond just an ethnographic study of the Kamajors. …

Irrational Actors and the Process of Brutalisation: Understanding Atrocity in the Sierra Leonean Conflict (1991–2002)

In the 1990s, vivid accounts of atrocities committed by Sierra Leone's drug-fuelled child soldiers contributed to the portrayal of so-called ‘resource wars’ as some violent descent into a primordial anarchy. The academic rebuttal that inevitably followed stressed, by contrast, the very ordered nature of civil conflict, placing the rational actor at the centre of supposedly ‘irrational’ violence. This article nevertheless finds the rational-actor argument inadequate for explaining the most seemingly senseless acts of atrocity and calls for greater focus on expressive and psychological micro-foundations of violence in the study of civil wars.

The Use of Pop Songs by Sierra Leonean Youths in Enjoying the Space Created for Freedom of Expression after the Civil War

Postwar governance reform in Sierra Leone is gradually creating a public space conducive to free expression. Youths, who for long did not have much say in governance, consider this an opportunity to make known their views and influence political decisions. This is evident in the singing of pop songs by urban youths, which cry down ethnicity, corruption, injustice, and bad governance in general. Enjoying the space created for free expression is, however, not without challenges, many of which spring from the irresponsible exercise of this right without taking into consideration the rights of others or the stability of the state. There is also the apparent lack of political will to keep this space open and free of manipulation.

Cerebral venous thrombosis in a child with nephrotic syndrome: case report

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), a rare and life threatening complication of nephrotic syndrome, has a variable and non-specific presentation, posing diagnostic challenges. We describe a case of CVT in a Sierra Leonean child with nephrotic syndrome who was successfully treated for the condition despite the resource limitations of the hospital. This case highlights the importance of considering cerebral venous thrombosis as a complication of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in children presenting with neurological symptoms.

Sex as Synecdoche: Intimate Languages of Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's <em>Half of a Yellow Sun</em> and Aminatta Forna's <em>The Memory of Love</em>

In the 1990s, women's writing about war in Africa took a new turn as Yvonne Vera and Calixthe Beyala began to publish texts interweaving explicit sexual descriptions and graphic violence. With their examination of sexual relationships in the context of the Nigerian and Sierra Leonean civil wars, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun and Aminatta Forna's The Memory of Love continue this trend. Why is it that female African writers are currently turning to sensuality as a means to explore conflict? This article argues that sex and violence are intricately interwoven and that the examination of sexual pleasure in these novels forms both a language and strategy with which to explore and contest violence against women. In doing so, it draws on theoretical insights about the sexual nature of out- sider perspectives on conflict, the political choices involved in describing gender-based violence, and the crucial role of intimacy in representing war and wounding.

The influence of price on rice production in Sierra Leone

Rice is the main staple food of the vast majority of Sierra Leoneans, eaten on a daily basis by almost every household in the country. Rice is the most important food crop widely grown by farmers across the country. Although much attention is now focused on rice production through the small holder commercialization programme (SHCP), less attention has been given to investigating the constraints faced by rice producers in the country. Also, as food insecurity continues to be a major development problem across the country, thereby undermining people’s health, productivity, and often their very survival; this study contributes to efforts to overcome the development challenges posed by food insecurity necessarily begin with accurate assessment of influential factors that constrained the production of the staple food, rice. The main objective of this study is therefore to analysis the factors that influence rice production in the country, and specifically examine the relationship between rice production and the price of rice as sold in the domestic market. The study used a log linear model with the quantity of rice produced as the dependent variable and the price of domestic rice, quantity of rice imported and price of imported rice as explanatory. Findings indicated that, domestic rice is more expensive than imported rice per ton, and this underscores the argument that, rice importation is undermining domestic rice production as a viable income generating activity. Also, almost all the people in the capital city which hosts about 70% of the total population of country prefer eating imported rice, since it is free from stones and other impurities. However, In order to control price and still increase rice production, the government should be able to purchase the rice from the farmers and then sell this rice to private retailers.

From patronage to peacebuilding? Elite capture and governance from below in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leoneans have long seen their governance institutions as unresponsive and inefficient. Following the civil war, the government adopted a plan of fiscal, administrative, and political decentralization to mitigate widespread corruption, enhance accountability, and reverse the over-concentration of central authority in Freetown. The key institutions of decentralization, the chieftaincy system and local councils, play important but uneven decision-making, management, and implementation roles, making the process prone to elite capture. This article analyses the peacebuilding implications resulting from variation in strategies to counter elite capture in decentralization. It argues that the UN's variation of this approach, which focuses on relations between elites, has yielded few positive results. A second variation, employed mainly by international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focuses on rebalancing asymmetries between elites and non-elites, and has been more effective in sensitizing non-elites to demand good governance and accountability. The challenges of redressing power imbalances between chiefdom actors and non-elites remain, and in addition to continued, robust oversight of local councils, the chieftaincy system requires deeper reforms to guard against further marginalization of non-elites and to achieve liberal peacebuilding goals.

The Role of Religion During and After the Civil War in Sierra Leone

Civil wars in Africa are renowned for their strong religious elements, with religion being used for different purposes and in different capacities. Sierra Leone’s civil war (1991-2002), known also as the “rebel war,” had significant religious dimensions. The warring factions used religion for their gain. Beyond that, Muslim and Christian groups provided relief supplies for war victims and, through interfaith cooperation, succeeded in brokering peace between the government and the rebels. This article will present an account of the roles religion played in the Sierra Leonean civil war: as instigator, justifier, and eventually reconciler. In so doing, I will argue against singular modalities of religion, which fail to illustrate the permeation of religion in African society and the sphere of capabilities of religious leaders and organizations in war-torn states.

Does Teacher Training for Refugees Contribute to Post-Conflict Reconstruction of Educational Systems? Evidence from West Africa

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) ran a successful refugee education program in Guinea for 17 years, serving Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees. One aspect of that program included training thousands of refugees as teachers, school administrators, and classroom assistants. This report describes the research project carried out in early 2009 to trace those former refugee teachers and interview them about the influence of the trainings on their lives today, and to find out whether they are currently contributing to the reconstruction of the postwar education systems in their home countries. The aim was to discover the perspective of former refugee teachers on the long-term effects of their training, as well as the challenges they faced reintegrating in their country of origin.

Global Incorporation and Local Conflict: Sierra Leonean Mining Regions

Abstract: This paper draws upon a world‐system core–periphery framework to examine the nature and causes of persistent low‐level conflict in Sierra Leonean mining regions. Conflict is endemic because of asymmetrical power relations between global core‐state corporations and peripheral weak‐state Sierra Leone, which are mirrored locally within its mining regions. Structural constraints inherent in these relationships generate and sustain socioeconomic, cultural and environmental inequities. The paper reveals the complex web of micropolitics in the mining locale core‐periphery microcosm involving a weak state, exploitative corporations and oppressive traditional social hierarchies. The findings are relevant to effective policy making and conflict resolution.

The United States to Africa lupus prevalence gradient revisited

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease that has a significantly higher prevalence, morbidity and mortality in African Americans compared with Americans of European descent. The pathogenesis of lupus is unclear but appears to be a result of environmental factors interacting with a genetically susceptible host. Despite the high disease load of SLE in African Americans, there is the perception that lupus is relatively rare in Africa. This prevalence gradient suggests that comparative studies of related cohorts from the two continents may provide insight into the genetic/environmental interactions that result in the development of lupus. To define if a lupus gradient exists, we began a study of autoimmunity prevalence utilizing two unique cohorts. The first is the Gullah population of the Sea Islands of South Carolina, who are unique in their low genetic admixture and their known ancestral heritage. The second is the population of young women served by the West Africa Fistula Foundation in Bo, Sierra Leone. Anthropologic studies indicate a direct ancestral link between the Gullah population and Sierra Leoneans. Since it is impossible to perform an epidemiologic study of lupus in Sierra Leone at this time, we assessed the prevalence of lupus serum autoantibodies, serologic evidence of specific infections and levels of serum 25-OH vitamin D in young women in the two cohorts who have no known relatives with lupus. Our results indicate similar prevalence of serum antinuclear antibodies in the two cohorts, though there was a significantly increased prevalence of antiphospholipid and anti-Sm antibodies in the Sierra Leone cohort. Seropositivity to common viral infections was significantly higher in women from Sierra Leone, while serum 25-OH vitamin D levels were markedly lower in the Gullah population. These data suggest that the prevalence of autoimmunity is similar in the two populations, but that there are significant environmental differences that may impact progression to autoimmune disease. Further studies comparing these two cohorts is likely to provide important insight into the impact of environmental factors on development of lupus.

Peace in Sierra Leone, a project under construction

‘The war is over, go and enjoy life,“ Sierra Leone’s former president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, declared at a January 2002 symbolic burning of weapons and ammunition to mark the end of the country’s civil war. As thick smoke from the weapons of war spiralled away at Lungi, in eastern Sierra Leone, he added: “The curfew is hereby lifted.” Thousands of jubilant Sierra Leoneans filled the streets to celebrate the formal interment of a decade-old war that had killed 150,000 people and wrecked most of the country’s social infrastructure.

Media and conflict in Sierra Leone: national and international perspectives of the civil war

The rise of the media in Sierra Leone. The media and the civil conflict. The evolution of the conflict. The Western media perspective of a "barbaric" Africa. Western media coverage of the civil war in Sierra Leone: the British example. The role of NGOs in news reporting.The end of the twentieth century saw an adverse escalation in armed conflict. A characteristic of this was that whilst the majority of wars that took place before the 1990s were fought between states, conflicts post 1990 progressively began to take place within countries. The doctrines of major world powers no longer seemed to determine the ideologies and objectives of warring groups and, almost as a new war strategy, combatants started to target civilians rather than fighting sections in order to achieve their objectives. Atrocities began to be the statements that publicised political positions. In countries that were rich in natural resources, such as diamonds, the political goals of wars were often linked to the complex logics of resource appropriation (Bangura, 2004).Rather than providing an account of the events that shaped the unfolding of the civil war in Sierra Leone, this paper focuses on the analysis of the role that the media played in elaborating the perception of those events, both at a national and international level. A theoretical examination of the impact of the conflict’s media coverage - which has been explored and reviewed by authors such as Khan (1998) and Shaw (2006) - is conducted and its effect of the war explained.The growth of the Sierra Leonean press is discussed and its limitations reviewed, examining both the financial and legislative constraints that characterised it, some of which derive from the colonial period. The role of the media is then evaluated in relation to the internal influence that “biased” journalism had on the shaping of the war, and how it impacted on the fighting. Finally, an example of the Western media coverage of the conflict is also reviewed within the context of theories that illustrate the way the African region is often regarded as an uncivilised and hopeless continent, where little can be done by the developed world to put an end to violence.

SIERRA LEONE: Big Bold Plans

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 48, Issue 5 p. 19121A-19121A ECONOMIC TRENDS SIERRA LEONE: Big Bold Plans First published: 01 July 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2011.03939.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume48, Issue5July 2011Pages 19121A-19121A RelatedInformation