"Why we
fight": voices of youth combatants in
Youthful
combatants in the
Young
people are the major participants in most wars. In the African civil wars of
the last twenty years combatants have become increasingly youthful. Some forces
are made up largely of young teenagers. Combatants may sometimes be as young as
8 or 10. Girl fighters are increasingly common.
This
is partly demographic.
Technology
also facilitates the rise in the number of child combatants.
Confusing
war and play, child combatants are heedless of danger. Groups of youngsters in
bush wars operate on their own initiative for long periods in remote terrain,
sometimes without even radio to convey commands. Incompletely socialised, they make up rules of war as they go. Civilians
bear the brunt of the unpredictable atrocity.
There
are two main adult reactions. The first is to stigmatise
youth combatants as evil (as `bandits' and `vermin'). Many under-age recruits
are from remote rural regions. Poorly educated, they are readily despised by urbanised elites. Elites always fear `unwashed' youth.
The
other reaction (regularly espoused by agencies working with children) is to see
young fighters as victims (Goodwin-Gill and Cohn, 1994, Human Rights Watch,
1994; Brett and McCallin, 1996)---as
tools of undemocratic military regimes or brutally unscrupulous `warlords'.
But,
as will be seen, many under-age combatants choose to fight with their eyes
open, and defend their choice, sometimes proudly. Set against a background of
destroyed families and failed educational systems, militia activity offers
young people a chance to make their way in the world.
The
exemplary report by Graca Machel
(1996) for the United Nations on children and war rightly cautions us against
seeing child soldiers solely as victims of war. It is important to pay due
attention to their agency in conflict. As rational human actors, they have an
at times quite surprisingly mature understanding of their predicament.
The
purpose of the present article is to let young combatants explain themselves
direct (cf. Cairns, 1996). The reader is left to decide whether they are the
dupes and demons sometimes supposed.
WAR IN
SIERRA LEONE
The
civil war in
Following
the precedent of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), the RUF/SL
chose to try and establish itself in an isolated border region (Kailahun and Pujehun Districts)
alienated from the regime in power. At the outset the movement was assisted by
hired Liberian fighters. The brutal terror tactics of the Liberian `special
forces' alienated local populations.
The
RUF/SL abducted and trained numbers of captured border-zone youths. Some came
from the most isolated and run-down schools in the country. Others were young `tributors' working alluvial diamond mining pits for
Lebanese and Sierra Leonean merchant `supporters'. Abductees cooperated with
the movement to save their lives, but some found the movement's analysis of the
breakdown of Sierra Leonean society meaningful and accepted guerrilla training
willingly.(1)
Opposed
to the RUF/SL was an ill equipped government army, the
In
April 1992 a pay revolt by some war-front junior officers escalated into a
full-blown coup against the Momoh presidency from
within the RSLMF. The young coup-makers formed the National Provisional Ruling
Council (NPRC). Believing it had radicalised the
coup-makers at the war front, the RUF/SL expected to be invited to share in
some kind of government of national unity (RUF/SL, 1995).
But civilian, and especially capital city, political elements
rallied to the personable young chairman of the NPRC, Captain Valentine Strasser, a Krio, persuading him
against any negotiation with the discredited RUF/SL. The army was rearmed and
transformed. From a fighting force of about 2,500 when the war began the RSLMF
was increased under the NPRC to total about 15,000 hastily trained recruits.
Many of the new intake were from the socially disadvantaged `underclass' courted
by the RUF/SL.(2)
The
NPRC quickly lost control of its enlarged but poorly trained army. Jealousy
between units was rife. The pay was abysmal and sometimes never reached
war-front units. Soldiers and NPRC officials engaged in the mining of alluvial
diamonds--the country's main resource--in the war zone. Military officers would
declare zones off-limits and drive civilians out while undertaking `sweeps'
against the RUF/SL but in reality digging for diamonds. Some rogue officers
apparently conspired to buy diamonds from RUF/SL groups in return for weapons.
Other units seem to have faked rebel attacks to drive civilians off in order to
loot (Keen, 1995).
RSLMF
irregulars continued to prove militarily effective, however, pinning the RUF/SL
into a last redoubt in Nomo chiefdom on the Liberian
border by December 1993. With its line of retreat blocked by a change of
fortunes in the war on the Liberian side of the border, the RUF/SL had little
option but to continue its struggle, now a fight for survival, from isolated
camps in the
Having
little faith in the bloated, corrupt NPRC-enlarged army, citizen civil defence groups began to mobilise
to protect rural areas against RUF/SL pockets and army renegades alike.
Beginning as early as 1992, these civil defence
groups drew upon the practical and esoteric knowledge of traditional hunters.
In
parts of the north such hunters are referred to as tamaboro,
in the south and east by the Mende term karnajo (pl. karnajoisia). Some tamaboro groups were assisting RSLMF units on the Liberian
border in 1994. It was to hit at this co-operation that the RUF/SL undertook a
daring raid on the town of
The
RUF/SL then began a new expansive campaign in late 1994, developing forward
bases and launching hit-and-run raids on all parts of the country, aiming to
cause economic devastation (especially to the mining economy), to advertise its
political programme and to abduct new recruits. One
such raid (on Kambia, in north-western
Resolution
of the hostage crisis brought the RUF/SL wider publicity and initiated the
building of a peace process, leading to a provisional cease-fire in January
1996. The NPRC regime, bankrupt of support in the country, and under
considerable international pressure, split over the peace process. Strasser was replaced by Captain Julius Maada
Bio in a palace coup, and Bio was steered by public protest, apparently
reluctantly, towards elections. The parliamentary election was won by an
alliance led by the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The presidential
contest was won by the SLPP candidate Ahmad Tejan-Kabbah,
a former UN bureaucrat. Kabbah continued the peace
process initiated by Bio and Sankoh.
The
new democratic government was suspicious of the army and sidelined it during
protracted peace negotiations, concentrating efforts on building up Kamajo militia activities. A major recruitment and training
drive took place; there may have been as many as 15,000-25,000 Kamajo fighters by the end of 1996. Kamajo
militia units never observed any cease-fire, and key RUF/ SL bases--including Sankoh's
Under-age
combatants from the government side began demobilisation
in 1993-94, but demobilisation of the RUF/SL and the Kamajo militia was still pending when the peace agreement
was signed. Surviving RUF/SL units went to ground in the forest. Kamajo militia operations continued. In February 1997 Sankoh, visiting
On 25
May 1997 some disgruntled soldiers bombed the main prison in
The
RUF/SL and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) came together in
alliance to form a new military regime in
UNDER-AGE
COMBATANTS AS VICTIMS AND AGENTS
The
war began in 1991 with no more than a handful of insurgents ranged against small
government forces. Today, estimates of the total number of combatants in
Male
and female under-age irregulars are rated highly by their officers. Under-age
irregulars fight without inhibitions (interview 5) and kill without
compunction, sometimes casually (interview 4), sometimes as an extension of
play. They are good in ambush situations, one of the main combat tactics
(interview 2), and--separated by war from their kin--are fiercely loyal to
their bra (Krio, lit. `big
brother'), i.e. the officer responsible for recruiting and training them
(interviews 1, 4 and 6).
Interviewees
report smoking marijuana, being prepared for battle with injections of
amphetamines, taking crack cocaine or a cocktail of local substances including
gunpowder (interviews 2 and 4). Atrocities are undoubtedly committed under the
influence of drugs. Girl combatants regularly experience military rape
(interviews 2 and 3; cf. Littlewood, 1997), of
children have been conscripted against their will, mainly by the RUF/SL
(interviews 6, 7 and 8). In all these respects a majority of participants in
the
But
many under-age combatants joined up voluntarily (interviews 1-5), some looking
for revenge (interviews 1 and 3), others to survive. Youngsters in a war zone
find themselves `on the street' (interviews 3, 4 and 6). Joining a militia
group is both meal ticket and substitute education (interviews 1, 3, 4 and 6).
The pay may be derisory (interview 1), but weapon training pays quicker
dividends than school ever did; soon the AK47 brings food, money, a warm bath
and instant adult respect (interview 4). The combat group substitutes for lost
family and friends (interviews 1, 2 and 6).
Time
and again interviewees return to the theme of educational aspirations. Economic
failure, political corruption and structural adjustment wreaked havoc on
educational systems in
The
accounts repeatedly stress that it makes little sense to stand down voluntarily
without any real promise of social reintegration, education or training, or
civilian job prospects, and that failure to address this complex of aspirations
caused and now prolongs the conflict. Frustrated by the failure of demobilisation to offer a way out (interview 5), several
informants promptly re-enlisted (cf. interview 1) after the military coup of 25
May 1997.
Political
understanding of the war is a striking feature of some of the comment.
Informants rejected the idea that the conflict is barbarously purposeless
(Kaplan, 1994) or the result of ethnic and religious tensions, preferring to
interpret it primarily in terms of an intergenerational struggle for a fairer
society (interviews 1, 5 and 7).
The
single most remarkable commentary is from an articulate Kamajo
militia fighter. Blaming the RUF/SL for the loss of his home and educational
prospects, he nevertheless unerringly puts his finger on the failures of
patrimonial politics as the cause of the anger of the young cadres of the RUF/
SL (interview 5). From the notes they scatter in attacked villages he concludes
that they are, like him, frustrated students. Patrimonial politics sent a few
to study to the highest level overseas and denied that opportunity to a
majority, not on merit but on grounds of political favouritism.
The
capacity of the young combatants opposed to the RUF/SL to understand what their
enemies are fighting for stands in stark contrast to the incomprehension of
observers, to whom the AFRC/RUF alliance between military enemies after the May
coup came as a complete surprise (Hecht, 1997). Those who posit a stark
contrast between the merits of democracy and the evils of militarism in
SOURCES
The
material below derives mainly from interviewing under-age excombatants
undergoing rehabilitation in two programmes in
Freetown in 1996 (the Children Associated with the War [CAW] programme based at the Wellington Approved School and the
army demobilisation camp at Grafton). Additional
interviews were obtained `up country' with recently self-demobilised
RUF/SL conscripts.
Our
aim has been to build up a `bank' of interview material as an
input to community and agency discussions about options for the demobilisation and rehabilitation of children and young
people affected by war. We have drawn inspiration from a collection of `street
children's' accounts of life in
So far
we have collected twenty-two accounts, but there is space below only to sample
the material. Rather than paste together bits and pieces to illustrate an
agenda of our own, it seemed better to present a smaller number of interviews
in extenso, to give a sense of who these young people
are and where they are coming from.
We
have chosen a mixture of accounts representing all the major groups of
under-age combatants in the war--RSLMF-linked irregular units, the RUF/ SL and
the Kamajo militia. For context we append two
interviews with abductees who escaped from the RUF/SL. One of these interviews
is with an unschooled middle-aged farmer rejected for guerrilla training. Since
the RUF/SL depended on written messages to convey orders, young people with
elementary schooling were its main target. But it seems also that the movement
expected only the partially schooled fully to understand and respond to its
political analysis.
Four
interviews were carried out by Krijn Peters, three in
English and one in a mixture of English, Krio and Mende with the assistance of a translator. Peters worked on
a regular basis with informants in demobilisation
camps for five months to establish rapport for interviewing. The other five
interviews were carried out in the national lingua franca, Krio,
by Paul Richards. Two of these interviews were carried out within a framework
of co-operation established with the CAW project for Peters's
study. The others were `one-off' contacts but in communities where Richards has
on-going anthropological fieldwork commitments.
Originally
it was planned to contact interviewees to review transcribed material and
discuss a final version for publication. Much of the material was given in the
explicit hope that it would appear in print with the contributor's name
credited. We had to review this possibility after the coup of 25 May 1997. Many
under-age combatants were remobilised by the Armed
Forces Ruling Council/Revolutionary United Front alliance and the Kamajo militia. Accordingly, steps have been taken to
protect the identity of all interviewees, for the time being at least, by
deleting personal names and some place-name references.
1 Male
youth ex-combatant, RSLMF-linked irregular
This
account may be considered typical of the experience of many male under-age
RSLMF-linked irregulars. The young man comes from a rural family in Kailahun, and was 18 years old when interviewed in October
1996 but had begun to fight in 1991, about age 13. His family had been
scattered by the RUF invasion, a younger brother killed, and his education
halted. He fought for about four years, responding to a demobilisation
offer only when there was a cease-fire with the RUF. He is frank that revenge
was one of his reasons for fighting.
The
account is especially interesting in that the interviewee was recruited by
Captain Ben-Hirsch, one of the first RSLMF officers in the war zone to respond
to RUF tactics by creating his own force of under-age irregulars. Ben-Hirsch
was allegedly one of the architects of the NPRC takeover in 1992, though
ambushed and killed (the interviewee was an eyewitness) before the coup took
place. It is interesting to note Ben-Hirsch adapting indigenous ideas, associated
with the men's `secret society' Poro, about hindo-hindo (the mobilisation of
village young men for community defence).
The
young man now wants vocational training, but would rejoin an irregular unit
tomorrow if required. When he says, `to defend my motherland', he is probably
speaking about Kailahun, and perhaps his mother's
village in particular. He has not seen his family since the RUF invasion in
1991 and does not know whether they are dead or alive.
What
is your name, age and where do you come from ? I am
[...]. I am eighteen years old. I come from Kailahun
district. It is in the east, close to the border. I lived in a village, a big
village with more than a thousand people.
You
lived with your family there? Yes, I lived with my father, while my father took
me to my uncle at S., near Daru, to go and attend
school. I was at the age of ten, then I went for the
first time to primary school. I was attending the M. primary school in S. After
primary school I attended W. secondary school.
Do you
have any brothers or sisters ? I have three brothers,
all smaller, and two smaller sisters. I am the only one who was attending
school.
When
you were with your uncle, did you visit your parents? Oh, yes. Every holiday I
went to visit my father.
What
kind of occupation did your father and uncle have? My father, he was a farmer.
At that age I liked farming. By then I wanted to become a farmer.... Not any
more. My uncle, he was a medical cashier, at the hospital...
So
when the war broke out, do you remember that? Yes. We were very close to the
border, where the rebels entered. There was a time they even kept my father and
mother. One of my smaller brothers was killed by the rebels,
that was in 1991. They were with the rebels for eight months. After that
I never set an eye on them again. I don't know if they are still alive. So
after that I tried to join the army as a matter of revenging. I wanted to
revenge my people.
What
was your first experience with the war? The soldiers came to my village and
they were telling that the rebels should come from the east and that they were
trying to kill people. So they said that we had to move, and we went to Kenema. Me, my uncle and his family.
I had already had been to Kenema, so it was not my
first time.
Where
did you join the army ? I went back to Segbwema. I met the lieutenant there, Lieutenant
Ben-Hirsch. So he tried to form some kind of organisation
we usually call the Hindo-Hindo squad. That is a Poro Society [idea]... for the boys to defend the land.
Normally the village chief takes the boys for the Poro,
but now the lieutenant did. When we joined, he trained us and gave us some
weapons to fight the rebels. The lieutenant died during 1992 in a rebel ambush.
Before the lieutenant died he was promoted to captain--Captain Ben-Hirsch. We
were on a mission, and on the way we were ambushed, and he died.
What
did you learn in the army? So many types of weapons--AK, RPG,
grenade launcher--and how to use them. When we were in the jungle I
usually held an AK47, twelve-inch, because that is the lowest weapon. I was
able to use the gun. I was with six friends in the army. We stayed together.
Now some have died, some of them are in Kenema and
some of them are on this programme... Since I arrived
here I haven't seen [the others] any more. I stayed for three years in the
army.
How
did you come here [to
Were
you happy to leave the army ? I was happy, because at
that moment they had already told the rebels to lay down their arms. So [when]
they took us, I was so happy, because the rebels had laid down their arms.
Did
you like staying in the army? Yes, I liked to be free in the country[side].
Besides that, when they took you to training, they also tell you [things]. We
were trained to save life and property. So I liked that, because I was saving
life and property. That's why I loved the work. When we were in the army, every
month the government paid us. They allowed us the amount of six thousand leones [about US$12.00]. Not
plenty. The actual pay was five thousand leones.
I bought drinks and smokes: cigarettes and snuff, beer and wine. Just to have
some mind [determination] to go and fight. I didn't use other drugs. The food
was supplied by the government. Sometimes the food was delicious, sometimes
not.
Did
the army lay ambushes? Well, in the army we don't like
to fall in an ambush, we only lay ambushes for the enemy.
Did
you actually take part in the fighting? Yes.
Do you
know if you killed somebody? By then [i.e. at the time] I did not know if I
killed somebody, because we were fighting and shooting, and only after the
fight we went out to search for the dead bodies.
So in
1996 the bus took you to this place. Do you like it here? We are still managing
it. I'd like to go back, but if they say I should stay here: no problem. We
wait for the order.
What
would you like to do in the future? I would like to attend school. After that I
want to do motor engineering. I want to become self-reliant. At the moment I
have nobody in
Why do
you think the war is still on? I don't know the rebels' motive for fighting. I
don't know if they will soon stop or not.
Do you
feel that you have taken revenge ? They have already demobilised me, so at present I have no power to hold arms.
Unless they allow me back.
So
when they say they want you back, you will go ? Yes.
And
fight again ? Yes.
You
want to go back to the army? Yes, to defend my motherland.
2
Female youth ex-combatant, RSLMF-linked irregular
Now
aged 20, this young woman was 16 when she first became a combatant. Unusually,
she had a strong and supportive family background and good educational
prospects in
Where
and when were you born and what is your work? I was born in
Do you
have children ? One child.
What
were you doing at the time you joined? I was at secondary school in
What
made you join up [as an RSLMF irregular] ? I had a
boyfriend who was a soldier, and I followed him from
Is the
combat gear what makes girls want to fight? Lots of young women followed the
rebels [RUF/SL] because they offered them items, and their regular men did
nothing for them.
Did
you take part in fighting? Yes.
How
did you prepare for battle? I just prayed ... I did not take any drugs.
Where
did you fight? Daru, Manowa,
Pendembu.
Did
you kill rebels in battle? Yes, plenty. Also, when soldiers came back to camp
with rebel captives I would be ordered to `wash' them.
What
was that? To kill them.
Why
was that `washing'? Did you spray bullets? No, bullets are expensive. I would
kill them one by one.
Did
you ever feel it was wrong to fight? I was defending my country.
Did
you ever feel sorry for the dead rebels? At first, when we advanced, and saw
their dead bodies, I would feel sorry, but we had to kill them... They would
kill us first if they had the chance. Rebels kill and split open the bellies of
pregnant women. Rebels rape any women soldiers they catch ... [Government]
soldiers raped us sometimes in the forest, but they are more careful... The
rebels, they all join in.
Did
you fear to become pregnant at the war front? I swallowed gunpowder as a
contraceptive.
Who
showed you that? No one... I discovered it for myself. But I first took it to
become brave for battle. If you take gunpowder before you sleep you will wake
with red [fierce] eyes.
How
did you fight? I know the ambush tactics. We have rations and a special belt,
and use sign language. We can be in the bush at the ambush point for up to five
days.
How
did the rebels fight? The rebels are no good at ambush. They are not
disciplined. They cannot `bear' [stand the suffering] ... they more commonly
attack according to time. Fourteen-hundred to sixteen-hundred hours is their
time. They want to be off, and go with loot. But when the rebels ambush an army
`big man' they know that you must go back for the body, so they use that to
trap you.
Did
the soldiers attack civilians? They fought among themselves. An army paymaster
[Dabo] was ambushed by army units. There was jealousy
[about money]. Many soldiers attacked, and many died.
Why
did you decide to leave the army? The rank smell of blood.
Also it was the sight of dead comrades, their arms and legs smashed by RPGs.
How
are things now? My heart is now cool. I don't want to fight again. I work as a
seamstress and have my own machine. But I still hope to study. I want to learn
languages--French and Dutch--and become an air hostess. [KLM and Sabena are the
two foreign airlines flying to
3 Female
youth ex-combatant, RSLMF-linked irregular
This
young woman was about 14 years old when she first joined up. Her story is more
typical in that she is an uneducated village child whose family support was
destroyed by the RUF invasion; she joined an RSLMF-linked irregular group for
revenge. Badly traumatised by the violence, she is
still drug-dependent and living an irregular life in
When
and where were you born ? Kono, in Gbeni [Gbense?] chiefdom, in
1978.
What
are you doing now? I want to learn hairdressing.
Do you
have children ? I have one child.
What
were you doing when you joined up? Nothing. I was in
the village. I never went to school.
Where
were your parents when you joined up? I was living in the village in Kono with
my mother. My parents parted before the war. Mother remarried.
How
did the war first affect you ? People in our household
were scattered or killed by the rebels, and the house was destroyed. Afterwards
I could only find my grandmother.
What
made you want to join up? When the government soldiers came I wanted to join to
get revenge.
Where
did you fight? In Segbwema.
How
did you find the war? I did not like the man business [sex].
Can
you explain ? I was afraid of soldiers raping us in
the forest. They would rape us if we retreated.
Did
you have sex first at the war front? I began man business before I joined [in
1992] but the army men harassed women, and never gave us posts.
Did
you take anything to help make you brave? We would eat gunpowder, or sprinkle
it on rice. Also I took capsules.
She
was no longer able to concentrate, and the interview came to an end.
4 Male
youth ex-combatant, RSLMF-linked irregular
This
account can be considered typical of the experience of a rather different class
of youngster--the urbanised, part-educated son of a
northern migrant to the diamond fields. Here is a teenage combatant with a
tendency to a `rarray' [street] life. (He was on the street in 1993, immediately before becoming a
combatant.) The war for the economically crucial Kono diamond fields has
always been much more manifestly a direct struggle to control material wealth.
Politicians and illegal miners have long defended their interests in this
region with armed gangs (
What
is your name, age and religion, and where do you come from ?
My name is ... I'm [now] seventeen years old. I'm a Muslim. My father came from
K., from the north. We settled in Kono District. That is where I was born, I was born in Kono District.
What
kind of work did your father do? My father was working for one of the
companies... SLST [Sierra Leone Selection Trust], a diamond company.
Do you
have brothers or sisters? I have five brothers. One is in the army [RSLMF] up
till now. He is a sergeant. And I have five sisters. My mother is in K.... They
are not divorced, the war set them apart. I have contact with my father. The
last time he wrote to me a letter about the family. I lived in a town, Yengema town. It is a big town. We have an airport and a
good social life.
What
did you do when you were young? The time I was young I used to go with friends
to the beach, to the cinemas, after school. Just after school. Because, that
time I was young, I didn't listen to what my elders said. I just did things on
my own will. Sometimes we went out just [to] make some fun, make up some
devils, dress up like devils and then go dancing in the streets. It was a way
to get small money. The time I was young, I also went out hunting. But I
remember once me and my best friend went out to the
bush and I had a sharp razor blade and I cut off his ... his [foreskin]. After
some time my father came and gave me a serious beating and then took the boy to
hospital.
But
why did you do that? To make him a Muslim? No, just to circumcise him. I said to him that I was a
doctor.
And he
believed you were a doctor? Yes. He was small and I too was not circumcised, so
I took it and cut it off.
At
what age did you go to school? I was seven years old. When the war broke out,
in 1991, I was in Form 1 [of secondary school]. I was good at school. In
primary school I had double promotion. I didn't do Class 2 and I didn't do
Class 4. At that time I wanted to become a doctor.
Your
town... Many people mined diamonds, but was it safe?
Yes, we had so much security--SSD and at times some special South
Africans--protecting the diamond fields. But the time my father was working for
the company I was not yet born. But later I accompanied some workmen [diamond diggers].
So when the diamonds came out, they gave me some and then I
gave them to my father. So I did some small diamond work. But at present
I want to become a nurse.
What
was your first experience of the war? I was in school when I heard a gunshot
coming from the headquarters, where the soldiers stay. So I heard a gunshot
from there and I was really scared. The rebels had already captured the place,
so we never turned back. We went to the bush area, to escape to stay alive. We
only stayed for a few hours in the bush. So after two days I
went back to the town, but the township was [held by] the rebels. I
entered the town at around eight-thirty in the evening. The place was so dark.
I entered my house and took some of my things away. I went to my father's room
and took his clothes, leaving the place at night again. I went back to the
bush.
Did
your father survive the rebel attack? My father managed to escape with my
brothers and sisters. I met them at one village, one day after the rebel
attack. After that, because my father had not enough to give us food, I left
him and joined the scouts, the Boy Scouts. We then took property from people
from the town. We took what belonged to them. I was already, before the war,
with the Scouts. They gave me a knife, but I was not wearing a uniform, a Scout
uniform. I just had the knife. We met one man standing with luggage, containing
clothes and other things. We pushed him into the bush and took his luggage. The
leader of the Scout boys was called Hamad. He was an
older boy. I stayed for five days with the Scouts. Later I went to a
checkpoint, the last checkpoint as you enter Kono. So I was sitting there and I
saw my elder brother. He was with his lieutenant. He told the official that I
was his smaller brother. So then I joined and became a soldier. So later, when
the rebels attacked us, they gave me a rifle to fire.
So the
moment the rebels attacked they gave you a rifle ? I
was having a rifle already. I had the weapon when we entered the bush. I was
just behind my brother, because he knew how to fight. They taught me how to use
the gun. So when the rebels attacked Kabala a message came to our officer that
he had to go there. So the next [day] we moved for Kabala.
We went with a truck. I was at that time sixteen-plus, that
was in 1994. In 1993 I was living a street life, I was
not with my father or mother.
How
was the first time you had to fight? I was sitting next to the sergeant, down
at the checkpoint. We heard some gunshots. I was afraid, so I jumped down into
the gutter. And then the soldiers said, `What are you doing there?' and he
laughed. So I came out and took my rifle. So two of my
friends who were sitting at the checkpoint answered, `Just fire where the
rebels are.' I was glad that my brother stood behind me, because I
didn't know how to fight. The second time I fought was in Kabala, then they shot me here, in my foot.
When
you were with the army did you fall into ambushes? Yes. There were ambushes I
fell into, in Kono district. That was with Lieutenant K[...].
He is still alive, in Gandohun.
How
many years did you stay in the army ? A year and six months. I liked it in the army because we
could do anything we liked to do. When some civilian had something I liked, I
just took it without him doing anything to me. We used to rape women. Anything
I wanted to do [I did]. I was free.
Did
the army pay you? Yes, but I had no official number, so normally the lieutenant
made sure that we got something. Sometimes I went to my mother, to buy some
rice for her ... a bag of rice.
Were
you not afraid to fight? The first time I was really afraid, but later I got
used to it and I was not afraid any more.
Do you
remember the first time you killed somebody ? I
remember. An officer captured a rebel. He told me to take care of him. He was
tied up with his hands on his back. So he was sitting and I had my rifle. But
he was talking in a bad way to me. He even insulted my mother. And then I asked
him, `Are you talking to me?' He said, `Yes.' So I shot him in the stomach and
he fell and bled to death. Later, when the lieutenant came back, he took me to
the captain, and I had to stay for seven days in a room. That was my first
killing. But in the battle I also killed.
Did
you at that time drink or smoke anything? Oh yes, the lieutenant used to
provide us cocaine. I put it here, on my nail, which is very long... [the nail] of my thumb, and sniffed it. It was free, for us
to fight. Just before the fight. We also used to smoke marijuana. It was common
to us. Every day we smoked it. And Totapak, a long
packet, it is a rum. And Ramram, you smoke it. It is
like a leaf, like marijuana.
How
did you come here to this programme? Well, our
commanding officer called us and mentioned that those who are not at least
seventeen or eighteen should leave the army. And that they should go to
So
after that you came to this place, in a bus? Because I had not had so much
money I got a lift to the checkpoint. Someone told the soldiers about me. Most
of my friends are still in the army. They will stay in thc army till they die.
Were
you happy to leave the army ? Yes, really happy. And
the people here take us like we are their sons. So I hope I can continue my
schooling, but now it is a long time since I was in a real class. After
secondary school I want to learn nursing, here in
The
war is still on. Why do the rebels still fight? They want the foreign troops to
go back, according to their leader Foday Sankoh. But they also want that the government should take
care of them after the war, to pay salaries. But the reason is best known to
them why they are fighting.
What
do you think about the present government: good or bad? I say [they are] good,
because the time when people were suffering to get food they helped.
5 Male
youth ex-combatant, Kamajo militia fighter
This
interview with a fighter with the Kamajo militia is
remarkable in two ways. First, it provides valuable evidence concerning the
formation and tactics of hunters' militia groups, and their effectiveness
against RUF/SL units, helping confirm their genuinely `grass-roots' origins,
before they were transformed into a semi-official `ethnic' militia by the Kabbah government in 1996.
Second,
the interview provides a most telling political analysis of the war. Here is a
young man who took up combat when he was 16 because his schooling had been
halted by RUF attacks on Kono. Driven into Guinea as a refugee by fighting, he
returns to his village to `represent' his father--owner of a hunting gun--in
the Kamajo militia on the orders of the local chief,
subsequently engaging in extensive combat operations against the RUF/SL. All
the time his dream is to return to school. He is bitter against the RUF for
disrupting village life and his education. Fallen fighters are not even buried,
because they are `the enemy'.
Yet he
understands the RUF/SL and what it is fighting for with remarkable insight.
First he concludes the RUF cadres are, like himself, students or would-be
educated youngsters, from the letters they leave behind in the villages they
attack, outlining their aims and beliefs, and that their bitterness stems from
a corrupt patrimonial system that fails to deliver education and jobs except to
a favoured few. Yet he is also aware that the
movement's major strategic mistake was to import violent methods of destabilisation from
He is
very impatient with the demobilisation programme, since it has failed to keep its promise of a
rapid resumption of his blighted education. His dream of becoming a scientist
(mathematics is the key to all science, he tells us), travelling
overseas to study, and returning to benefit his village, is becoming more
distant with every wasted day, and he delivers himself of some sharp comments
about the educated elite who so exploit the system.
And
yet he has gained something in
Throughout
the account we use the anglicised plural `Kamajors' rather than the Mende
plural kamajoisia. The interview began and ended with
the boy offering up a prayer.
You
pray every day ? Yes, in the morning, twice in the
evening.
But
first I want to know your name and where you came from. I am [...]. I am
eighteen years old. I come from Kono District, in the east.
And
your father and mother lived there together? Yes. Both my parents are alive.
And I have about four sisters.
What
kind of work did your father do ? Well, my father was
a carpenter. But he had no shop. I lived in Kono, in the city, in the
headquarters. I lived there for school. When the war came to Kono I travelled to
When
you were young what did you want to become? The time I was small I desired to
become a doctor. That was at the age of seven. The time I began to develop to
an adolescent age my intention was to do physical science. While I was in
school, during 1992, the rebels came and attacked the place. I decided to leave
school and go back to my village, to my father.
Why
did you go back to your father's place? Well, my father was a hunter. He had a
gun. There was a mandate signed by the paramount chief that every man with his
own gun ... should go and defend his ground at the war front. So by then I was
with my father during the war. And my father was now moving to an old age, so I
went to represent my father with the gun. So this led me to take part in the
war, but war was not my career. It is just because of problems and
difficulties. But during my childhood it was not my desire. My desire is to be
educated.
Tell
me about your primary school. My first year I took first
position to go to the second class. The second year I took the second
position to go to the third class. The third year my academic interest began to
decline. But when I went to the fifth class I regained my power and began to
study again ... and the subject I liked was maths.
From there I started to score. Even the last time, when the war approached Kono
in 1992, I took the first position. I want to believe in studies, because when
you study, when you work, you receive. If you do not study you do not get any
result.
So in
1992 you went to your village? At that time I was in the headquarters of the
district, named Koidu town. I was there attending
school. There was no school in our village, so I left the village, to go to the
city to seek education.
And
then the war came to Koidu? When the war came to the
headquarters, it was--let me see--six to seven in the morning, when the rebels
attacked. I was preparing to go to school. It was a Friday. But when I heard
the gun, then I decided to undress [get out of the school uniform]. After the
enemy invaded the town, we managed to escape. I had to go to
Did
you go alone to join the Kamajors? No, we were many
from my village. There were more than fifteen from my village. They sent you by
turns. You go for three months. After that you come back, and the next man goes
for three months. They go by turns to the front. When you finished your time,
you came back and started to work [on the farm, etc.]. You can be a hunter at
the war front and at the same time a farmer or a commercial businessman or
whatever. You only go there for months, maybe two or three. That was the way we
protect ourselves, because the government soldiers were then in certain
situations maltreating our people. But we, the civil defence,
had the same right as the government soldiers on the battlefield. So when you
became a civil defence man the soldiers would not
disadvantage you. We were both fighting for the land.
Were
there other boys with the Kamajors ? There were small boys who were not even my rank. Fifteen, fourteen [years old] and even younger, small boys.
They are more brave than the bigger boys. A person [not yet reaching] adolescence does not think much.
What he desires to do, he will do it.
Were
you not afraid? I was not afraid, because what I think is: when I have to die,
I die. If God saves me, then I will be saved. Whether you die or live, the
rebels were maltreating us. They came and killed our people,
they came and stole our properties. So as a man you have to stand for your
right and fight for your property, fight for your land.
But were
those your own ideas ? Yes.
Were
you able to use a gun ? The gun was not heavy. You can
take it with one hand.
Was
there any training? Yes, there was. The village leader goes for training.
Because the skills--the tactics--of the hunters applied when going to kill an
animal in the bush are the same tactics we should apply in the field to get rid
of the rebels. So you don't need to go for training, because the skill is with
you now. The idea to go and kill an animal in the bush is the same idea to go and
kill the rebels. Because the animals stay in the bush there, you pick up an
idea: you want to kill it. And so also with human beings.
Maybe you will go around the people in the bush, examine them in what way you
can get rid of the people. Because the Kamajors
are very, very wise. The wisdom they use to kill an animal is the same
wisdom that they use to attack the rebels.
So
they are good fighters ? Yes, they are very, very
good. In fact the enemy has more fear of Kamajors
than of government soldiers. Yes, they say that the civil defence
used to attack them unexpectedly. Because, the place where you [do] not expect
human beings to be, a Kamajo can be possible [in]
that place. So when the time reaches for the rebels to share their food, and
they think nobody is around, there could be a Kamajo
around. And if the Kamajo happens to fire, just a
shot--because the bullet we use in this civil defence
gun, it is many in the shell--so when you release one shot, that bullet will
kill many, many people. The bullets are very, very tiny, but when you shoot, it
spreads.
So it
can kill three or four people at once? Even more than ten.
But
what are the big guns, the long ones ? You mean the
ones the government soldiers use? [RPG?]
They use them in combat areas. They use them in clearing an area. But in bush
fights with that gun, you would not be able to go. The rebels always like to go
in the bush. The Kamajors go and search in the bush
and kill them. In the bush you are only able to take a light object with you.
You are not able to take a heavy object with you in order to go and fight in
the bush. You must take a lighter object in order to do the thing.
Did
you also fight the rebels when you were with the Kamajo
militia ? Yes, at regular times.
And
did you also kill somebody? I am not sure if I have killed somebody, because it
is group fighting. So maybe you are pointing at one man and
your neighbour also [is aiming] at the same man.
So after the operation there will be a lot of dead bodies. But you will not be
able to identify [which ones you killed] because there were many in the action.
You go
out with a group of--say, for instance--ten people ?
Yes, yes, more than ten, even more than twenty. When you want to capture a
large village . we even go
with more than forty. We go there and surround the place. We travel in the
bush. We travel a lot and then surround the place. Then the operation takes
place.
After
a fight what do you do with the dead bodies? We don't have anything to do with
them.
You do
not bury them? No, we don't bury them, because they are the enemy. They come to
spoil our land. They come to disturb our future as well. They even kill our
people, so that's why we kill. So we don't have any sympathetic feelings for
them.
What
happens to their guns ? If we happen to kill them we
take their arms.
How
long were you with the Kamajors? In 1994 I decided to
go to represent my father. In 1995 I left to go back to Koidu,
and from there I heard about this project.
Why
did you leave? Well, because my career is to go to school. And the situation
had become [more] normal, [so I could leave] the village in order to ... follow
my education. When I came I met some fellows and even a [Catholic] Brother and
I discussed the issue with him. So I was in preparation to leave the war and go
back to school. So eventually I heard about this project, and they told me that
this project can assist you with school, and help you forget the war. So I was
glad to come. But when I came, and when I saw the situation, I [thought about
going] back. But some of my friends encouraged me not to go back.
How
did you hear about this programme? Well, the way I
heard about this programme, if I had known how it was
[really] like, I would not have come from Kono. The way I heard about
facilities, the way I heard about education, if I had known for sure I would
not have left my land to come here. Because the motive I [had in leaving] Kono
was to come and be educated. The Brother convinced us to come, [but] when we
[arrived] we were discouraged, so we thought we would go back. Some of our
friends, they just went. But ... I [now] thank God, because the first thing
that happened was [that] I knew Jesus Christ. There was a time when I was in
the provinces I didn't know Jesus, but then the missionaries came to teach us,
to preach to us, to enlighten us, to teach us about the way of God.
When
you were in Kono you were not a Christian? I was a Christian, but I didn't
believe in the Christian life. I only went to church on Sunday.
Did
you tell me that you wanted to go back? Even now, my desire, if it becomes
real, is to leave here in order to go back to Kono ... Yes, I will go ...
because if I stay here I will just be at this CAW. It would give me no benefit.
We just eat in the morning, in the day and in the evening. But if I can go back
to Kono and attend school, because every day you sleep time goes out of you. So
that is why I desire now to go back to Kono to [re-]start education. Because
God knows it is a long time since I left school. The time I started to go to
school I was just age five or six. I thank the Almighty, because I was
brilliant in school. But then the war approached. But I said,
when this situation is normal I will go back to school. The reason why I took
part in the war was because there was no education in our headquarters.
In the
future, as you once told me, you want to be a biochemist? So I desire, whether
I become a biochemist, or an engineer. Because I want to
study pure science, and I might be able to specialise.
That is the reason why I always do mathematics, because mathematics is the key
of science.
I
heard that some Kamajors have bullet-proof vests.
Yes, there are [such] people, most Kamajors
have [them]. Only the young boys like me--maybe fourteen or fifteen years
old--did not have it. They make it with local witchcraft.
How do
they make it? Ordinary shirts, a set. They take the
set and worship the set, and if you [the wearer] happen to be fired [upon] the
bullet will not enter, because there is a witch guide on it.
Did
you know any Kamajor with a bullet-proof vest? Yes, I
knew some in our own group. But there were also some from other areas [who]
came to us. And when they came to us they fought for the same purpose. They
also had the bulletproof vest.
Did
you ever see what happened when the rebels fired but ... Yes, yes. Yes, I saw. The Kamajors of
the north [tamaboro], they don't use the English gun.
They use the native gun ... those with the native gun [and jacket], when the
enemy shoots them, they don't bother [about it], they
just continue to go [towards] the enemy.
Do you
also know other witchcraft defences? OK... They use a
grid, it is just like chain armour.
Or the helmet ... [like] the helmet the government soldiers use. They [Kamajors] have their own. They have their caps, and do some
worship on them, and when it happens they are shot at, the bullet will not
enter. Because there is a witch effect on the helmet.
It happens physically. I'm not saying this by parable--it happens. It really
happens.
Now
you are a Christian, what do you think about such witchcraft? [At that] time I
didn't know Jesus Christ. I didn't know the life of Jesus Christ. But when I
came to
You
see the bullet-proof vest as the work of the devil? Yes, it is the work of the
devil, not God.
I
heard from some other boys who were with the army that... Yes, the same thing.
There are some people ... the staff. Most of them have the same thing. But war
is the work of the devil. Because, according to the Bible, if you are a soldier
... even in the Bible we have soldiers. Isn't it so? ... We have Joshua, King
David, they fight ... they fight with nothing. With nothing
[except] the support of the Lord. Even the time when they killed
Goliath, [David] picked up the stone and what he said was, `I'm going to kill
in the name of the Lord. But now, these days, people fight with other forces,
with other supernatural forces. Now, according to my own view, this is not the
work of God. Because if you are fighting an enemy in that evil way... I don't
even believe now that arms can ... because since I was here in
What
are the reasons this war started and continues? Well, according to my own view,
[it started and continues] because when the rebels caught some of our brothers
and sisters they took them along with them and told them the reason why they
are fighting. Because of the past government, the APC government, the way the
government maltreated people. No freedom of speech. When you emphasise on your rights, they take you to court or jail
you. And the same bad thing with education. Most of
the rebels are students, the majority are students.
How do
you know? They write on paper that they drop. After an attack, they write a
message and drop it. These are the reasons why they are fighting, they say. The
government doesn't give any encouragement to people to get land or to go to
school. When you come from poor families, but with talent to be educated, there
is no financial support. The government doesn't give a helping hand. They are
only bothered about themselves. That was the reason this government made the
war to come, according to my own view. When the [rebel] people attacked a
place, the paper, the document they leave at that place, when you come and read
the document, this [gives] the[ir]
reason to fight. The other reason is assistance. If Mr
A. happens to be in the head office [top position], and you, Mr Z., you don't know him, there is no political influence
between you and him. So when you come with your problem to him, he will not
assist you. Only if you are the man who [wishes?] by him,
whether his son, his brother's son, or his brother's relation, or his wife's
sister's relation, or his relatives. But for you as a low man, when you
come to that person, to that official in that place, he will not give you any
assistance. Because he doesn't know you. This made the
war to come.
But
are these good reasons to fight? Yes. But if the rebels had come peacefully, if
they hadn't stolen our people, hadn't burnt our villages ... if they hadn't
done anything that harmed us ... but if they had only gone to the government
with blood ... If they had come trustfully [forcefully?] to the government,
come and attended to the government [changed it?], we sure [would] have been
glad. Because, according to their view, they are fighting for their rights.
That was the reason why the war came, the reason why I was against them. They
are fighting for their rights, but during their fight for their rights they go
to the villages. They go to [persons] who don't know anything about the
government. They go and kill [them] and steal [their] property. That was the
reason why I was against them. But if the rebels [had come] down here [to
What
do you think about the present government? The government
now? The
government comes, [with] their mass media, to make things normal.
Well,
we are watching them. If they do as they say, OK. If they are
not
responsible for what they say, we are still with them.
If
they are not doing what they promised, it is all right? If they
are not
doing what they say, it is all right. All is all right.
Because now it is a democratic state. Now what they promise to do, if
they
fail to do it, the next elections, the people will not vote for
them.
But if they do the will of the people it is good.
A last question. If you had three wishes, what would you wish? My
first
wish is to be educated. Because why? Because of the too much
illiteracy, the way our brothers in
rights.
Because when you are educated you know your rights. This is
the
first wish in my life. I admire education above anything. I
admire
academic education above anything in my life, according to my
own
desire. Second, after I am educated I wish to go to the Western
world.
To study ... and because when you travel you see changes. And
when
you are in those areas people are moving faster. When you [go]
and you
see people, how they move with their lives, how things are
going
... when you come back to your country, [and] you apply the
same
method, then you become developed. But some of our brothers
...
they
get money to be educated. But instead of helping the poor they
steal
the money. They do things that are not beneficial to their
country.
If I happen to cross to the Western world and go and finish
my
course, I [must] come with a new improvement to develop the area
where
we live in the country. If I happen to study much I [will] go
to
study to serve my country.
And
what is your third wish? My last wish is that the war ...
according
to God ... that the Lord... may it come to pass ... that
the war
finishes. Because when the war finishes all these things I
mentioned
will be fulfilled. If still the war is existing, these
things
will not be fulfilled. Because after this project will be
finished,
after two or three years, then I will be relying on the
resources
of my village. So from my parents, they make some money
through
their farm, the coffee farm, the cocoa farm. When they
harvest
they support us with education. But these past years they
harvest
nothing. But when the war will come to an end they can again
support
me to get education. So this is my last wish. I pray to the
Lord
that He brings peace to this country, because people are
suffering.
People are dying, the poor become homeless, people became
fatherless. Yes, I want to stop the war.
6
Child ex-combatant, experience with both the RSLMF and the RUF/SL
This
sad, inarticulate account by the youngest interviewee in our selection is
representative of the experience of child combatants in the war, some of whom
[as in this case] have found themselves fighting on both sides of a struggle
they are hardly old enough to understand. Only 9 years old when the war
started, the interviewee fought as an army irregular and is being demobilised as one, but it appears from his file that his
account is selective. Captured by the RUF, he stayed for more than five months
with the rebels, and became the leader of a group of `small boy' rebel
fighters. He did not say this in interview because other boys were around, and most
were former RSLMF associates. It may be that the attempted amputation of his
foot, from which he still suffers, was RUF punishment for trying to run away.
What
is your name and where and when were you born? My name is
[...].
I was born in 1982. I'm fourteen years old. I was born in Bo
District, Jimi Bagbo
chiefdom. It is the
J. chiefdom headquarters
town.
Did
you live there with your father and mother? Yes.
Do you
have brothers or sisters? Yes.
How
many? Four brothers and one sister.
Did
you go to primary school? Yes, in Kenema.
Did
you move to that town with your father and mother? No, I was
taken
by my aunt.
How
old were you at that time? In 1988.
Did
you like school? Yes.
What
do you like the most? Carpentry.
Was
your father a carpenter? No, a farmer.
Did
you have many friends in Kenema? Yes.
What
did you do after school? We went [to] study.
And what else? To sell things, which [were] made by my aunt.
How
many years did you go to school? In Class 5 I left, in 1994.
What
is the first thing you remember from the war? First, when
Kenema
was attacked, I went to my brother in K.
When
was the place attacked, at night or in the morning? In the
daytime.
What
did they do when they entered? When the rebels entered they
say
that they [will] help the civilians.
Did
they kill people? They killed four civilians.
Did
they also kill soldiers? Yes, but I cannot remember how many.
Were
you afraid? Yes.
Did
you go together with your aunt to your brother? No.
How
did you manage to go alone? I lost my aunt, I don't know about
her. I
went to my brother.
Did
you go on foot or by motor car? By motor car.
Someone
took you? Yes.
How
long were you with your brother? Five years--no, I mean five
months--and
then my mama took me.
Why?
He was a soldier. My mother took me because it was not safe.
You
stayed in the headquarters? Yes.
Were
you a soldier with your brother? No, but he took me as his
bodyguard.
You had gun? Yes.
What
kind of gun? AK47.
You
know how to fire? Yes.
When
your brother went out fighting the rebels, you joined him?
Yes. I
carried [the] ammunition box.
You
stayed always with your brother? Yes.
Did
you fire on the rebels yourself or did you only carry the
ammunition? I filled the magazines under attack.
Did
you like it with your brother? Yes.
What
did you like? I liked the soldier work.
Where
did your mother take you to? To J.
How
long did you stay there? Nine months. We have cassava, we
planted
away from town. When we planted the rebels came and caught me.
Was
your mother also with you? Yes.
And other people? Yes.
So the
rebels took you and other people? Twelve were taken by the
rebels.
At that moment five were killed.
Executed
or killed in the fight? They cut their throats.
You
saw the slaughter? Yes.
And
the others were taken with them? Yes.
Your mother also? No.
Was
she killed? No, she escaped.
And
the other six, were they young people or old people? Male and
female,
my age group.
And
what did they want to do with you? They told me that they will
kill
me.
How
long did you stay with the rebels? Two months.
What
did you do when you were with the rebels? I learned nothing.
When
were your legs wounded? When I was attacked. Someone
told
them
that I was the brother of a lieutenant. So I thought that they
wanted
to kill me. But they chopped my feet.
Could
you walk with your feet? When I was captured I was taken to a
base.
The next morning my feet were chopped.
Did
you have to stay in a house in the bush base? No, I was walking
around.
Was it
a big place? Yes.
Were
there also boys, children? Yes.
And girls? Yes.
And
the time you were there, did you make any friends with the
rebel
children? Yes.
Did
they give you good food? Yes.
They
treated you well? They never took care of my feet.
How
did you manage to escape? When they told me to find wood, I hid.
You
were alone? Yes.
Did
you hear that the rebels were looking for you? No, I escaped
to the
village. There were soldiers.
And then?
The soldiers captured me. They thought I was a spy [cf.
Amnesty International, 1992, 1993]. They took me first to the
headquarters in Bo.
There
they questioned you? Yes. I was no spy.
Your
problem with talking--was it with you from birth or did it
come
when you were captured by the rebels? When I was born.
In the
future what kind of work do you want to do? Carpentry.
Do
your feet give you a lot of pain? Yes.
Is it
slowly getting better? At the moment the wound has opened again.
How
did they do it? With a knife, they wanted to amputate it. It
was a
deep wound.
That
is all I wanted to ask. Is there something you want to say?
Yes. I
want you to help me with the training in carpentry.
I am
not a carpenter. But I hope I will be able to help you in
some
other way. A final question: if you had three wishes what would
you
wish? I want to learn for carpentry so I can rebuild my home. My
village
is burnt down. After that I want to go to school. Then I want
to do
business.
You
like it here? I want to be here first and then go back.
Why?
It is safe here. There is war now in my place.
7 Male
youth ex-combatant, self-demobilised from the RUF/SL
This
young man, now about 20, was captured and forcibly inducted by the RUF/SL in a
raid into north-western
Tell
me about how you were captured. It was early morning. They
came
down the road as I was going to work. They pulled me and loaded
properties on my head. They threatened to spray me with the gun if I
didn't
go. We walked day and night, with only snatches of sleep. We
made
food for them.
Where
did you go? We walked for seven days. Any town we reached,
we
would get food from the people. After eight days we reached the
Malal Hills... on top of
the hill.
What
happened then? We rested for one day, then they called
us to
a
lecture. They said, `If we write about bad things in the country
nothing
will happen, so we have brought you inside the revolution to
act to
make bad things stop.' They showed us plenty of things that
had to
happen ... They said there is no freedom, no medical attention,
no
better roads ... The system is rotten.
And
after that--what? They came to scrape [shave] our heads. We
were
sent to base camp for training in the Malal hills.
How
long did that last? Three months, for basic training. Then
they
were training us to fight. After three months government forces
attacked
us, so we had to evacuate the camp. The place is a long
hill.
The camp was shifted to the other end. So we had to advance to
the
other part. Then we completed training.
What
sort of training? We were trained in all kinds of war tactics.
Who
were the people being trained? All of us were Sierra Leonean
boys [Salong bobo dem]
... from all tribes ... Temne, Mandingo,
Kailahun
[UpMende].
What
did you do after training? We advanced to Western Area,
around
Mile 38 [on the
miles
from
Did
you really want to join them, since the RUF captured you? I
saw
that what they were saying about the country was true, but I did
not
really want to join, mainly because of the strain ... one, the
loads
we had to carry; two, the walking; three, the hunger ... We did
not
have good supplies, it was always a problem to get food ... and
we were
under rain day and night.
What
about the fighting? I did not feel happy about the killing
and
looting.
Some
say the RUF is just
different
gangs with no overall leader. Can you comment about Foday
Sankoh? It is true that there are plenty in our
group who have taken
over a
year in the movement without seeing Foday Sankoh. But he
communicates commands to us by radio message, regularly. If a week
goes by
without getting radio messages, then our commanders go to
visit Sankoh. They use bypass [footpaths in the bush], through
the
swamps
and bolilands.
Did
you ever see Sankoh? Yes ... I went with the
commanders to
take
leave of Sankoh before he went to
negotiations, January 1996].
What
route did you use? We left the
Yonibana and Moyamba. It took us four or five days [on foot] to reach
Sankoh's camp [the Zogoda]. His base camp is on flat ground in thick
forest.
What
happened after Sankoh had left? I joined another
group to
return
to the Moyamba area. I was now assigned to a new
`forward
defence' [camp]. I was there for six months
after the cease-fire.
But
then you ran away? I was sent with a written message for
another
`forward defence' [in our sector]. But I did not meet
anyone
in
their camp. They had gone to look for food. Then I saw two people
coming
to check on me. I somersaulted into the bush [as trained] to
hide.
They passed by. I wondered what to do. Then I said to myself,
`If I
meet them again I will give them the letter, but if I do not
meet
them, then I will give up [the struggle].' That is what
happened.
I kept the letter.
How
did you manage? I reached a civilian zone behind our [RUF]
line. I
did nothing to them. I did not explain I was escaping.
[Civilians
in RUF `ideology zones' were under strict orders to detain
and
return camp runaways.] I just explained that I had a problem. I
made up
the story that I had [accidentally] shot my friend in the
foot.
Otherwise they would have held me. One civilian said he would
help
me. I begged long trousers from him and a polo-neck [sweater],
so that
I looked decent. Then I said, `You and I have made "society"
[secret arrangement]. If anyone asks, don't say anything.'
How
did you get back home? I travelled as far as Sanda
[chiefdom], sleeping in the bush at night. It was four days
and
nights
before I met the road. I would sneak inside the empty farm
huts at
night to look for scraps of food. I did not dare approach
anyone
on the farms to ask directions. But when I reached the road a
driver
helped me. I made it to [...], and reached the checkpoint
after
midnight. I knocked on the window [shutter] of my stepmother's
room,
but she was afraid [to open it]. My dad was brave enough to
peep
out, and I called his name. Still, he could not believe, at
first,
it was me. I came with nothing, barefoot. It was September
[the previous month].
What
has happened to the other young people captured with you?
All
the [...] people are still in the camp behind Moyamba,
except for
the
Form 2 and 3 girls. They have gone to Foday Sankoh's base camp to
resume
their schooling.
Were
you accepted when you reached home? When I had arrived my
big
brother took me to the commanding officer to report. Later I went
to the
chief, and he called the people to say it was me, one of the
young
people seized in January 1995. Crowds then came to our house to
ask
about their children [seized with me].
How
are the other captives doing? The load-carrying brings some to
the
point of death. It is complete slavery. But plenty of others have
turned
to agba [become leaders] in the movement. The RUF
promotes by
ability,
so some have really joined. But most now want peace, and to
see
their families.
Some
say there is a drug problem in the camps. Is it true? There
are no
drugs in camp. The penalty for jamba [marijuana]
smoking and
rape is
execution. There is no cocaine. Even for smoking a cigarette
they
beat you. If I had a headache they would give me aspirin from
medicine
they looted.
What
else can you say about the camps? There is a church and a
mosque.
You are free to be Muslim or Christian, but if you do not
pray
they punish you. In Malal hills it is hard to get
water. Every
day we
had to fetch water. You go at 5.00 a.m. It is one mile to
climb
back. There is a rope. Sometimes you go three or four times.
The
water is dirty, and sometimes you slip and drop the bucket before
you
reach. You do not return to camp before midday. Small boys can be
promoted
above you. Some were my juniors at school. A small boy can
order
you, `Fuck you, go get water for me.' He is your superior.
But
what about the atrocities, like amputation? They cut hands in
revenge
for the attacks by the Kamajo [hunters' militia].
What
will the ones who have really joined want to do if the war
ends?
What they really want is work. Some will want to learn a trade,
like
carpentry. Even my
own
boss will want some as apprentices. But others will want to be in
the
army.
Will
the combatants forget? Will there be tribal war? The RUF
people
will forget. What has happed has happened. There is no
tribalism.
It is an armed struggle, but there is no pay. Many would
change
to national service in the army. Many want the war to end.
They
pray for it to end, but they do not yet have the chance to
escape.
Many want education--to go back to school. But they are
afraid
of the army--that the army will kill them. So they wait, for
Foday Sankoh's
last orders, to come out and lay down their arms. They
are
very well disciplined.
What
about looting? They take things [only] when villagers run
away.
What
can you tell me about some of the attacks? For example, the
one on
R[...] [in February 1996]. I wanted to take part in that
attack,
in case I got a chance to escape. But that was why they would
not let
me go. They brought others, not from this district.
Some
people say some government soldiers join RUF attacks? I never
saw any
government soldier in our camp. Maybe the big men have some
arrangement. What I know is that there are a lot of captured
government soldiers with Foday Sankoh.
He holds them. Some fight for
him. He
says he won't kill them. They will accept him when they know
what he
is trying to do.
What
about the attack at Magbosi [on a convoy, August
1995]? That
was the
RUF. They know how to train for manoeuvres.
Do you
know about the fight with the Gurkhas? Yes. It was
morning
time.
We were listening to a radio message, to announce promotions.
Then
we were called out of the base, and then ordered back in. Two
jets
came to bombard. But we knew the air raid was not the thing,
that
ground forces would come, so we were ready. They told us they
[Gurkhas] are coming. We began to fight seriously. It was
not an
ambush.
Did
you see the Gurkha commander [Colonel Mackenzie]?
There was
one
white man. He had a compass, camera, gun. He was hit,
and then
killed.
We dragged his body back to camp. We saw he had a tattoo on
his
arm. They cut the arm off, to show the tattoo to identify the
person,
to prove to the government that he had been killed. We buried
Tarawali
[RSLMF major, aide-de-camp to the NPRC chairman, Valentine
Strasser]. After that attack the commanders
decided to move the camp.
After
a week the jets came to bombard but we had left the camp site
by
then.
Did
you listen to [broadcast] radio in camp? They listen to FM and
[BBC]
`Focus on
who
have been left behind will feel the pain. They know that some of
us who
escape talk.
Is
there any training in camp [other than for combat]? They have
`Dr
Blood' [field medical orderlies]. They teach some of the women
they
have captured. They have some captured dispensers, who give them
the
ideas. Women `with sense' [intelligent] learn the work. Some are
now
very skilled in treating wounds.
8 Male
youth captive, escaped from the RUF/SL without becoming a combatant
This
and the final interview are appendices to the above account, from abductees
captured in the same raid who later escaped (in the first case after only a few
days). Both are important in emphasising the
difficulties faced even by those not tainted with RUF violence in going back
home. It is this wartime suspicion and hostility on the part of both civilians
and military towards any dishevelled `bush creature'
that explains why the RUF/ SL strategy of abducting young Sierra Leoneans and
turning them into combatants by force was so surprisingly effective. Once
caught, most young people soon realised they had
nowhere to run--that they risked death at the hands of government soldiers and
civilians (Amnesty International, 1992, 1993; Richards, 1996). Most settled
down to try and survive.
Tell
me what happened after you were caught by the RUF. I was only
with
them for one week and then escaped. [A friend intervenes to joke
that he
only went along only `to show face', i.e. put in an
appearance]... We had just reached the Malal
hills... I escaped when
we were
washing at the waterside. It was the last camp before the
main [Malal] camp. I told Braima Conteh [the guard] that I wanted to
wash
before we climbed the hill. I was in school uniform. It was 6.00
a.m.
The guard went with me, even to the toilet. There was thick bush
along
the river. I loosened my trousers, as if to ease. Then I ran
off and
hid in the bush. I was two days in the bush before I escaped.
How
did you get out of the bush? At first I followed the river,
then I
saw a canoe and crossed. Then I said, `Today I am free.' I
walked
in the bush until I reached the Makeni road. I came
across an
abandoned
village. I picked some oranges, but was afraid. I thought,
the
road is not safe. I met people hiding in the bush. I met one Abu
Sesay, a schoolboy from Makeni. His mother cooked for me. Next day I
planned
to try and reach Makeni.
How
did you manage the travel? I went into the bush to sleep. When
dawn
broke I went back to the Lunsar-Makeni highway. I
stopped a
vehicle
but they were afraid to take me, my clothes were so dirty.
They
held me at Fadugu checkpoint because I had no
identity card.
They
said, `Wait for the boss.' When the lieutenant came I explained
that I
had lost my ID. He accepted my story and gave me a letter `to
whom it
may concern', saying I was a fifth-former from K[...] School.
How
did you get home? The lieutenant stopped a vehicle and sent me
down to
Port Loko. There I sent a message to my mother. People came
from
[...] to collect me. But one military man stopped me, stripped
me
naked and said I was a rebel spy, threatening to kill me. Once you
have
become a `bush creature' people run away from you.
9
Middle-aged male farmer, abducted by the RUF/SL and
used as a labourer
In
RUF/SL raids the main focus was on abducting young people with some schooling
as potential recruits. The remainder of the civilian
population were encouraged to flee. At times, however, rebel groups
cornered civilian groups by accident. Sometimes the result was a massacre, the
rebels being fearful that civilians might otherwise report the whereabouts and
route of raiding parties to government troops. But at other times `unwanted'
civilians were drafted as slave labour, particularly
to carry loads. The final account in this set comes from an older man who
narrowly escaped being burnt alive by the RUF/SL. Drafted as a carrier, he was
of little interest to the rebels on account of his age and lack of schooling.
Later there was some discussion about whether to train him as a fighter, but
his health had deteriorated during forced marches through the bolilands. He escaped in the confusion of a raid that went
wrong on the university college campus at Njala.
How
were you captured by the rebels? After the attack on [...]
they
passed the night at [the interviewee's home village] ... but not
in the
town ... They slept in
the
bush somewhere. Then they just burst in upon us. They locked a
lot of
us up in one room [of a house] and discussed what to do. Some
wanted
to kill us all by burning the house. Others said, `No, it will
be hard
for us to carry all the loads,' so they took us. They took me
and I
had to leave my wife behind. I never knew that they had burnt
my
house.
So
they took you along. What happened next? We walked for six
days,
with the Sisters [expatriate nuns held hostage in the raid]
until
we reached the Malal hills. We were three months
there. Then we
left
the Sisters there. We went next [with a group of rebels] to
Makondu...
It is in the Yonibana area, inside the bolilands. How we
struggled
with the loads... They would beat us repeatedly.
What
was this place like? It was a small place for training,
inside
the grassland. Then, once [the trainees] had learnt, they
would
go round and attack [various places]. I did not follow them [on
operations] but remained in the camp. I was thinking about my wife.
Some
of my [abducted] brothers tried to escape.
Did
they succeed? At times the rebels would tell us, `Your
companion
has escaped', but really they were putting them at the
front
of the attack [to spring any ambushes] and the
soldiers
killed them in fighting.
But
you yourself escaped. How come? When God wanted to help us
the
group was engaged in attacking Njala [December 1995].
It was
there
we escaped. [The group] was trying to change its base location
[in the Njala area] and some of the
group moved up towards the Sierra
Ruthe mining area. The ones left behind ran into an ambush
of
government soldiers around Njala. [Three of us]
had been left behind
in camp
[sick]. That was when we were able to escape. We were ten
days in
the bush [on the run], and then on day 11 we came out at
Lunsar. [Government soldiers] held us and
interviewed us. They gave
us a
letter [of safe conduct] and found transport for us to go home.
What
happened when you returned home? That was around the time the
rebels
came back [to this area] to attack Rokupr. I reported
to the
police
chief, who took my statement. The people filled up the garage
[in...] to try and see me, but I had
to go and hide because I was
unable
to talk.
Did
anyone help you resettle at home? Nobody offered any help,
except
for the letter that [RSLMF] Lieutenant Bangura wrote
for me at
Lunsar;
he also found me a pair of trousers. There was nothing left
at home
when I returned. Formerly my wife had gone up and down with
groundnuts [for sale] but now there was nothing because the rebels
had
burnt all our property. I was ill [from the load-carrying and
constant
beatings] and really wanted to rest and get well. But I have
no help
now [the wife has gone] so there is nothing for it but to try
and do
some light farm work. I have constant chest pain from where
they
beat me.
Did
you understand anything about why the rebels were fighting?
When
they trained them they didn't tell them much except that they
were
fighting for the right to control the country.
Did
you ever meet Foday Sankoh?
No, never.
Did
you ever want to join the rebel movement? When I was first ill
from
the beating I had on the march some said they should kill me,
but
others said, no, it would be better if they trained me. But the
sickness
came back and I was not able to fight. So they left me in
the
camp. That is why I was able to escape, along with two others,
when
the attack on Njala failed.
NOTES
(1)
Only abductees with education were taken for guerrilla training. Other captives
were used by the movement as slave labour.
(2)
Had proper attention been paid to this fact international observers would have
been less surprised than Hecht (1997) claims by the alliance of segments of the
RSLMF with RUF/SL forces after the coup of 25 May 1997.
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1998 Edinburgh University Press