A lengthy disarmament programme has wrapped up in Sierra Leone, with organisers giving themselves a pat on the back.
”I think that the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants have been a success,” said Francis Kaikai, executive secretary of the programme.
”Right now, virtually all the ex-combatants have got skills training, and something or other to do,” he added.
The programme started in 2000 with a group of 45 000 soldiers drawn from various factions — including the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Westside Boys. This militia was loyal to the group of army officers that staged a coup in 1997 under the leadership of Johnny Paul Koroma, although it later pledged allegiance to the government.
Last week the programme came to a close with organisers claiming that all weapons had been taken away from the fighters and destroyed — or recycled to make hoes, shovels and other implements.
Amid the backslapping, however, there was growing discontent among some of the former combatants, who have been taught skills like tailoring, carpentry and masonry. They say they have not been given the specialised tools that will allow them to ply their trade. Even for those who have everything they need to earn a living, jobs are scarce.
”I finished training in 2002, but I am as yet unemployed — just roaming the streets,” said Edward Kowa, formerly of the RUF.
”This problem is not affecting me alone. Hundreds of my colleagues are in similar situations.”
In the former rebel strongholds of Kono in eastern Sierra Leone and Makeni in the north, hundreds of ex-combatants while away their time, waiting for opportunities that might improve their living conditions.
Political analyst Michael Jones said: ”This holds potential for disaster. These youths have known, for the better part of the last decade, guns and violence. If they are not properly reintegrated they may as well go back to war — because that was how they made their living.” — IPS