Foreword

Summary

In the peace negotiations and cease-fire agreements that led to the civil war's end, negotiators layered the institutional elements of a shared peaceful future, the first form of political reconciliation. Two important reintegrative and conciliatory institutions emerged directly from these talks: the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR), which worked together with UN peacekeeping forces (UNAMSIL) to transform excombatants from soldiers into peaceful citizens; and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Two other institutions are also significant for reintegration: the Special Court and the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), NCDDR's counterpart aimed at helping civilians.

These four institutions, taken together, formed the mainstay of Sierra Leone's official security, reintegration and reconciliation strategy immediately after the war. Sierra Leoneans would see little justice for the massive crimes committed during the war. Only the few deemed most responsible for these crimes would be indicted by the Special Court and of these, with the exception of Charles Taylor, the leading indictees died in prison or before their arrest. For the tens of thousands of displaced people, war wounded and excombatants, reintegration was driven by the necessity of placating potential spoilers of peace. And it was guided and justified by a tradition-inspired ideal articulated in the much-quoted saying: “There is no place to throw away a bad child.”

Chapter eight examines the ontological vision captured by this expression, the reintegrative work of NCDDR and NaCSA, and the experiences of excombatants returning home. Chapter nine focuses on the TRC's reintegrative and conciliatory roles. And chapter ten looks at the gaps in these processes and the informal ways in which people build trust in the absence of opportunities for direct communication.