14 October 2008
Monrovia — Female ex-combatants are twice as likely as men to take up weapons again to escape poverty, based on a recent US-funded survey of more than 1,000 former fighters in Liberia. Almost 30 percent of the people surveyed said they were willing to take up arms again to earn a living wage, family and community acceptance, and respect for their tribe or religion.
Researchers concluded that ex-fighters at risk of returning to violence can destabilise a country still recovering from war.
Surveyors with the US-based non-profit CHF International, formerly known as Cooperative Housing Foundation, focused mostly on former fighters in rural Lofa county. The former seat of recruitment for both government and rebel forces and current home to many of Liberia's former fighters is 65km northeast of the capital Monrovia.
Ex-combatants answered the following questions, among others, for the US Institute of Peace-funded study, released in September 2008: "Is life better now than before the war?" and "What events might make you decide to fight again?"
Mary Die Die
Mary Tarweh told IRIN she joined the government's Liberian Armed Forces (AFL) in May 1988, when she was 24 years old, and that she came to be known as "Mary Die Die" for her fearlessness in combat during both phases of Liberia's civil war.
Now, the 38-year-old mother of three said she is "likely" to fight again to support her three children, if economically things do not improve: "If the suffering persists and there is no sign of hope and people laugh at [mock] me, then it is likely that I can accept."
One-third of those surveyed by CHF International said both the army and rebels had promised them cash, education or jobs for fighting during the civil war. Among these 312 respondents, 19 percent said they would be willing to fight again.
Tarweh told IRIN things have become progressively more difficult for her since rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy forces killed her children's father in 2001: "Although my current husband sometimes helps, he does not have a better [decent] paying job to meet all the family's needs."
She said her small business is not enough to feed her family, and she is looking for different ways to earn more money: "When someone approaches you and says, 'I have a mission and I will give you US$15,000 or more. Here is at least US$10,000 of that amount let us go and fight,' you could be moved by that," Tarweh said.
Tens of thousands of Liberian fighters were registered with UN-led demobilisation, disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR) programmes at the end of both waves of fighting in 1997 and in 2003. But a civil war in next-door Côte d'Ivoire that broke out in 2002, and deadly government protests in neighbouring Guinea, most recently in 2007, have presented restive Liberian ex-fighters nearby opportunities to make a living through violence.
DDRR
The study's authors concluded past DDRR programmes did not focus adequately on post-war trauma.
Tarweh said she has only a faint memory of trauma counseling. "I can remember when I was in the DDRR camps, counseling was provided [to] us for only five days. I do not think this is enough because some of us face physical and mental trauma."
The authors noted that economic integration tends to train fighters for a market that does not have enough jobs. "Most rehabilitation and reintegration programming places immediate emphasis on skills training and only secondary emphasis on job creation," CHF International wrote. "This order of operations is intuitive, but perhaps misguided...a push for immediate, state-supported job creation may be the best way to reduce the risk of impoverished, idle ex-combatants slipping back into violence."
Tarweh said she briefly participated in both DDRR programmes' skills training classes in tourism and typing. She dropped out of both before completion, discouraged with the low prospects of unemployment.
The World Bank has estimated Liberia's unemployment rate to be as high as 70 percent, which government officials have disputed.
Tarweh told IRIN regardless of how many people are poor in Liberia, there are former fighters who are ready to resort to violence for the right price. "Money can convince people especially when [they] are not employed and the suffering is too much."
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Greetings: 1). As a former law enforcement officer from the Liberian National Police, I am very concerned about this issue. I have questioned the method used for the rehabilitation of these ex-combatants in the distant past, when the various programs for them were just starting. I foresaw this very problem.
2). What the GOL needs to do is to increase the Civil Engeering Unit within the Military and or Public Works Ministry, and when these ex-combatants have been given the necessary and relavant training, to have them assigned for the rebuilding of Roads and other public facilities thoughout the country. It is important that they become and participate in the rebuilding of their nation. It is important that the part of that training they receive be concerned with teaching what Civics Responsibility is all about and show them how to relate what they are learning with the needs for their children that they speak about in the future. How do they see their children now and what do they want for their children in the future. Show them how they can get it through Bloodless Struggle.
3). Rehabilitating people does not mean just talking. You have to help them to see, to visualize their future. You have to show them how to look to the future and how to most of all be able to Resist the temptation of those who will bring the US$15,000 to them and offer them that to go FIGHT. Just the fact that these ex-combantants can start to THINK this way brings me back to what I said earlier about the kind of training that was given to them in the first place.
4). Many of those in this category have no idea what Liberia was before the war. Many of them have no idea how and who struggled to build up the military or the Police - many of them have no idea that Liberia had some of the best trained military and police officers in West Africa who were well disciplined and were respected and who commanded respect while in the army and police forces. There is no continuity in our country. Some people think that Liberia just today started with honest people. That's not true. Liberia had honest people in the past, and they still exist today. But these are the perhaps small bits and pieces of information that should be part of the training, so that you also give hope to those in the classroom.
One last point I wish to make is this. This is the difference between Blame and Accepting responsibility.When a person accepts and blames someone, you are looking back at what cannot be undone. However, if someone accepts responsibility for what has been done in the past, then you look to the future and what CAN BE Done. This is the difference between accepting blame and accepting responsibiltiy. Who in Liberia has accepted responsibility.
Thanks for your space and thak you for those who will erad this comment.
I believe closing the gap between traditional and nontraditional women in Liberia is a huge concern that is often overlooked. Exploring the current situations, I believe Liberians and the international community is buying into the fact that Liberia has a female head of states as a sign of gender equality and power balance in Liberia. However, looking at the NEC 2005 election data, there was substantial evidence that shows a huge gap along gender line. The data shows that only 16% of women were elected into the House of Representative as compare to 84% of men. Also, in the Senate, only 14% of women were elected as compare to 86% of men. In additional to this problem, the few women that were elected into offices do not represent the majority of women in Liberia who are the traditional women. Traditional women in Liberia continue to struggle to close the gap of leadership and power. Due to the lack of education, resources, and money, traditional women are marginalized and faced difficulties to participate in post war reconstruction and leadership in Liberia. There is increasing frustration among many of these women (market women and former combatant women) who continue to be excluded in decision making in Liberia. In order to address this concern, I’m offering that nontraditional must create and develop more grassroots and community programs to increase traditional women involvement and participation in projects, decision making, grassroots business and provide literacy education to increase their opportunity for jobs and participation in community and government projects.
THE GOVERMENT SHOULD PROVIDES WELFARE FOR THE POOR PEOPLE UNTIL MORE JOBS BECOME AVAILBLE TO THE PUBLIC.IS VERY SAD TO KNO PEOPLE ARE STILL SUFFERING IN LIBERIA, AFTER ALL THEY WHEN THROUGHT.....LET THE UNITED NATION TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUS ALOT OF PEOPLE DIE DURING THE WAR WE WENT PEACE NOW...PLEASE GIVE LIBERIANS THE BASIC NEEDS WHICH ARE FOODS,WATER AND PLACE TO SLEEP.WE ALL HUMAN SUFFERING BRING STRESS AND MENTAL PROBLEMS TO THE POOR AND LET PUT THE CHILDREN FIRST.....PLEASE BRING SOCIAL WELFARE PROGARMS TO THE COUNTRY IT WILL HELP ALOTS.........
I am interested in viewing the study report, its findings and recommendations, before making substantive comments. regarding this article though, it would have been useful for the author to have mentioned the key recommendatios, in my view, there is no point mentioning that females are twice as likely as men to take weapons without indicating what the study findings is recommending about the situation.
It is good to know this recent study about how fragile the nation is, and the government must take the survey very seriously, and find jobs as quickly for the excombatants.Excombatants can be useful in our nations rebuilding process including, roads and other infractructure development. For Lofa county,roads construction workers, Agriculture, and other forms of jobs that do not need higher education should be a priority.
To the editor of this news, please double check your informations before publishing next time. Lofa county is not North East of Monrovia, and is also not 65km from there.It is Over 180 miles from Monrovia at the Bong county line( ST. Poul River ). Voinjama city is infact 285 miles,North west of central Monrovia.