Susan Shepler
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814724965
- eISBN:
- 9780814760192
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724965.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This book examines the reintegration of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Based on eighteen months of participant-observer ethnographic fieldwork and ten years of follow-up research, the book ...
More
This book examines the reintegration of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Based on eighteen months of participant-observer ethnographic fieldwork and ten years of follow-up research, the book argues that there is a fundamental disconnect between the Western idea of the child soldier and the individual lived experiences of the child soldiers of Sierra Leone. It contends that the reintegration of former child soldiers is a political process having to do with changing notions of childhood as one of the central structures of society. For most Westerners the tragedy of the idea of “child soldier” centers on perceptions of lost and violated innocence. In contrast, the book finds that for most Sierra Leoneans, the problem is not lost innocence but the horror of being separated from one's family and the resulting generational break in youth education. Further, it argues that Sierra Leonean former child soldiers find themselves forced to strategically perform (or refuse to perform) as the “child soldier” which Western human rights initiatives expect in order to most effectively gain access to the resources available for their social reintegration. The strategies don't always work—in some cases Western human rights initiatives do more harm than good. While this book focuses on the well-known case of child soldiers in Sierra Leone, it speaks to the larger concerns of childhood studies with a detailed ethnography of people struggling over the situated meaning of the categories of childhood.Less
This book examines the reintegration of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Based on eighteen months of participant-observer ethnographic fieldwork and ten years of follow-up research, the book argues that there is a fundamental disconnect between the Western idea of the child soldier and the individual lived experiences of the child soldiers of Sierra Leone. It contends that the reintegration of former child soldiers is a political process having to do with changing notions of childhood as one of the central structures of society. For most Westerners the tragedy of the idea of “child soldier” centers on perceptions of lost and violated innocence. In contrast, the book finds that for most Sierra Leoneans, the problem is not lost innocence but the horror of being separated from one's family and the resulting generational break in youth education. Further, it argues that Sierra Leonean former child soldiers find themselves forced to strategically perform (or refuse to perform) as the “child soldier” which Western human rights initiatives expect in order to most effectively gain access to the resources available for their social reintegration. The strategies don't always work—in some cases Western human rights initiatives do more harm than good. While this book focuses on the well-known case of child soldiers in Sierra Leone, it speaks to the larger concerns of childhood studies with a detailed ethnography of people struggling over the situated meaning of the categories of childhood.
Susan Shepler
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814724965
- eISBN:
- 9780814760192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724965.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This chapter describes aspects of the practice of childhood in Sierra Leone—child labor, secret society initiations, child fosterage, and education and apprenticeship—that are continuous with the ...
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This chapter describes aspects of the practice of childhood in Sierra Leone—child labor, secret society initiations, child fosterage, and education and apprenticeship—that are continuous with the participation of children in armed forces. Sierra Leoneans have their own culturally specific reactions to child soldiering that are not reflected in global child rights discourse. What is disturbing to them is not a lost innocence but a separation from family and training and the idea that the nation loses a generation. However, the focus on social, cultural, and historical continuity does not change the fact that the war was an extraordinary event, and a horrible experience for almost everyone involved.Less
This chapter describes aspects of the practice of childhood in Sierra Leone—child labor, secret society initiations, child fosterage, and education and apprenticeship—that are continuous with the participation of children in armed forces. Sierra Leoneans have their own culturally specific reactions to child soldiering that are not reflected in global child rights discourse. What is disturbing to them is not a lost innocence but a separation from family and training and the idea that the nation loses a generation. However, the focus on social, cultural, and historical continuity does not change the fact that the war was an extraordinary event, and a horrible experience for almost everyone involved.
