...Gender and Transitional Justice An Assessment of the Contribution of Transitional Justice Mechanisms in Addressing Gender-Based Violence in post-Conflict Sierra Leone Introduction Sierra Leone, a relatively small country with a population of just over 6 million people, has been the focus of considerable attention due to the recent Ebola epidemic and, prior to that, the decade-long civil war (1991-2002) (Mills, Nesbitt-Ahmed, Diggins & Mackieu, 2015, p. 4). After the war, the transition from civil war to peace witnessed a number of landmark procedural innovations with widespread implications for gender justice. The decade-long conflict had shattered the West African country, displacing more than one million people and leaving more than two hundred thousand women and girls dealing with the aftermath of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Then, in 1999, the Lomé Peace Agreement traded amnesty for peace, making provision for the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone to work parallel to the Special Court of Sierra Leone (otherwise called the Special Court or the SCSL) in order to prosecute those who bore “the greatest responsibility” for mass atrocities committed during the civil war. While there is a growing consensus that truth and reconciliation commissions as a transitional justice mechanism can be effective tools “in the construction of a post-conflict society that is more democratic and more respectful of human rights” (Wielbelhans-Hrahm...
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...Ishmael Beah All around the world, children have no choice but to fight in war in order to stay alive. Ishmael Beah, once one of these children, now acts for those who think they have no choice but to fight. Being the author of a book titled A Long Way Gone provides a platform that allows Beah to provide a better life for those in combat during their youth. This motivational memoir is about Beah’s time as a child soldier himself. Ishmael Beah has used his firsthand experiences of war and death to gain an education as well as a place in the world of advocates and entrepreneurs. Ishmael Beah had a pretty normal childhood. Well, about as normal as a childhood could be for one living in the midst of a civil war. Born November 23, 1980, Beah grew up in Sierra Leone. When he was 12 years old his country was...
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...Forced Prostitution “Rape is Civil Wars Legacy in Sierra Leone” Forced prostitution has become an epidemic in Sierra Leone following the civil war and in many other places in the world. As Dr. Olabisi Cole reported, the perpetrators of the rapes were young boys and that the young boys have become men now. Due to Sierra Leone’s overloaded legal system and weak criminal laws for the rape of children under the age of 15, rape and sex slavery is continuing to happen to the young girls and women. I found it unbelievable that the youngest victim was a 2 ½ month old infant girl, who Dr. Cole treated for an infection as a result of sexual assault. It is amazing to see the strength and determination of the people who are taking a stand against sexual violence, like Dr. Cole and the International Rescue Committee. I can’t even imagine the dilemma Dr. Cole faced during the civil war, should she flee Sierra Leone so she doesn’t become a victim of sexual...
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...Africa in Cinema- Final Paper Professor Rice May 2010 Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone This semester, the topic of Child Soldiers presented a very interesting dilemma that several countries in Africa continue to face today. Sierra Leone, in particular, has struck an interest because of the many films and readings that try to depict this story of the civil war. In class, we have viewed two films representing the problems with child soldiers in Sierra Leone which include films titled Blood Diamond and Ezra. Both films represent opposite sides of the spectrum, as Blood Diamond shows the Western view of child soldiers and Ezra represents the first African view of child soldiers. Before discussing the two films, there are also two articles that depict the issues of child soldiers in great detail. In the first article by A. B. Zack-Williams titled, “Child Soldiers in the Civil War in Sierra Leone,” the author describes the reasons behind children even joining rebel based armies such as the RUF, why children are chosen as soldiers against their will, and the examination of policies that are yet to be instilled on this matter. The first valid point that the author makes is the purpose of the RUF (Revolutionary United Front). The focus of this organization is to seek a better life for the people in Sierra Leone. They feel as if their lives have been wasted because of poor housing, malnutrition and no opportunity to succeed and that the government is to blame. With that said...
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...Africa and his service in the RAF, covers much of the buildup to World War II. In the book mention is made of the 20th century British Empire. The 20th century British Empire plays a large role in the memoir as Dahl says about that "Please do not forget in the 1930s the British empire was still very much the British empire, and the men and women who kept it going were a race of people that most of you will never encountered and now you never will."(1). In fact, the 20th century British Empire has a huge role because the British Empire were participants in World War II and is where Roald Dahl was born and raised. To begin with, the British empire was brought up in the book because it is originally where Roald Dahl was born and raised. He was born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13, 1916. "Born in Llandaff, Wales on 13th September 1916 to Norwegian parents Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselburg"("About Roald Dahl"). This evidence can prove that the British empire is where Dahl was born and raised. To conclude, Roald Dahl's birth in the British empire makes it very important to mention in his memoir....
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...A Long Way Gone In the book, “A Long Way Gone,” the main character Ishmael goes through some tough situations and how they deal with it. Ways that Ishmael went with Adversity is how he looks at someone else as a different person, how he comes to having himself with a shelter in different situations.Ishmael overcomes things without them letting it pull him down. One way that Ishmael deals with adversity is how he comes together to make himself a shelter. He has nothing else he can do when he’s walking around, traveling by himself. He said, “That was when i finally came to accept that i was lost and it was going to take a while to get out of where I was.” While other people may be struggling he finds his ways in these woods that he can make himself a better shelter, knowing that he is going to be staying there for awhile. “I decided to make my new home a little bit more comfortable by adding leaves to the weaved branches to make them less hard to sleep on.” Ishmael said. He finds different ways to make his position better than it could be so that he doesn’t have to deal with the worst that other people could be dealing with.(Beah, 50) Another way that Ishmael deals with things in a different way than others is towards the end of the book Ishmael needed to get things off of his mind. Ishmael had no way that he could, he knew nobody around where he was except his close friends that Ishmael didn’t want to talk to. Ester said to Ishmael, “Think of me as your family, your sister...
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...This book, A Long Way Gone, tells a biography of Ishmael Beah. Ishmael Beah starts out as an innocent boy who is fascinated with rapping with his friends. When he is 12 years old, his village is attacked by rebels while he is performing in a rap group at school. Among the confusion, violence and the air of uncertainty of the war, Ishmael and his brother, Junior, and his friends wander from villages to villages in a desperate search of food and sanctuary. Their daily struggle for survival causes them to commit acts that they have never believed themselves capable of, such as stealing food from the younger children. Eventually, Ishmael is conscripted as a solider by the army and he becomes a killing machine who enjoys horrible violence. The...
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...Guns give people immense power, the sort of power you wouldn’t want anyone to be able to possess; the power to hurt, destroy, and manipulate those around them. The book A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, follows the story of young Ishmael Beah during the war in Sierra Leone. It tells step by step the events that led up to Beah being captured and forced to fight in a war at the mere age of thirteen. Those with the most power in this war were the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), they attack villages looking for people to force to fight alongside them but if you were to refuse or if they thought you were not good enough, they would kill you. “The rebels fired their guns toward the sky, as they shouted and merrily danced their way into...
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...carried, weapons. The method of using children in combat was first introduced in Africa in the lowlands of Mozambique, where rebel commanders used children for war. Almost half of the numbers of child soldiers in the world come from Africa. They thought that this was a great method because they were easily manipulated, very loyal, and there was an abundance of them. Also the rebel forces found it difficult to convince adults to join them, which initially drove them to the idea of using children instead. Do not be mistaken though, for Africa did not create the child soldier. In fact it was the Nazis who drafted children after they got desperate. Other countries also used children soldiers such as Iran, Iraq, and countries in religion-driven or nationalistic wars such as in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and the Palestinian territories. But in Africa the situation is at the lowest level. The children were used for the sole reason of greed and power and with no recognition of them whatsoever. The children were fooled by using many different schemes. The way they will try to keep the children was by using magic and superstition. The children will be told that life and death was only controlled by spirits that the commanders conjured up or brought to life by using distilled oils and amulets. A former child soldier from Sierra Leone said “The commanders would wear certain pearls and said that guns wouldn’t hurt us, and we believed it.” The children were also told that if they ate the...
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...book, A Long Way Gone, with horrific imagery of a violent war, but he somehow also added in the art of music. In his book, Ishmael explains the tragic events of the civil war that occurred in Sierra Leone. Thousands of innocent people were brutally killed and thousands of young boys and men were forced to become rebel soldiers. Ishmael eventually became one of those rebel soldiers and was forced to participate in violent acts. Throughout his life, Ishmael relied on music to survive and recover from the mental injuries caused by the war. Before the civil war broke out, Ishmael, his older brother Junior, and couple friends discovered rap and hip-hop music (Page 6-7). Listening to rap lyrics on cassette tapes and dancing...
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...Some of the character traits that Ishmael shows in the beginning of the book is that he is a studious and innocent child. This quote is from before Ishmael is affected by the war, when he was a young boy at the age of eight and takes place in Mobimbi, a city in Sierra Leone. Ishmael, his brother and some friends like listening to rap and formed a dance group. Ishmael says, “The four of us had started a rap dance group when I was eight. We were first introduced to rap music during one of our visits to Mobimbi. […] I loved the dance, and particularly enjoyed learning the lyrics because they were poetic and it improved my vocabulary” (Beah,6). This quotation shows that before Ishmael became a soldier, he was an innocent child who liked to listen and dance to rap music with his brother and friends, much like kids...
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...Kristine Chin Ms. Williams English 10 September 19, 2015 A Long Way Gone: Socratic Seminar Topic 4 Notes What does the destruction of Ishmael’s cassette when he joins the army symbolize? • Cassette symbolizes innocence/ his childhood o “The four of us had started a rap and dance group when I was eight” (Beah 6) Raps during childhood o Reminder of his childhood “We loaded out backpacks with notebooks of lyrics we were working on and stuffed our pockets with cassettes of rap albums” (7) • Carries cassette with him while running away from the war o Cassette saves him when he’s mistaken for a rebel/ spy, more than once “One of them found a rap cassette in my pocket . . . He stroked his beard, thinking. ‘Tell me,’ he said, turning to me,...
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...Weapon Conflict Throughout history, humans have used literature as a way to express emotions, feelings, and tell intriguing stories. A Long Way Gone, a memoir written by Ishmael Beah and “Weapon Conflict”, a song performed by Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars are two differing pieces of literature that render powerful messages about the menaces of war that these authors have faced. In the 1990’s, war broke out between harsh rebels and the corrupt government of Sierra Leone. Beah and the members of Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars have different, yet effective ways of telling their stories about the horrors of Sierra Leone. Nevertheless, A Long Way Gone, expresses the true dangers of war more effectively than “Weapon Conflict” because it goes into...
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...Ishmael Beah had wrong “A long way gone”. He was born November 23, 1980. He was born I Mogbwemo, Bonthe District, Sierra Leone. Beah is an author as well as a human rights activist who rose to fame with his acclaimed memoir, “A long way gone” He is 37 and still alive. When Beah was thirteen he was forced to leave and go off to be a child soldier. There’s not much about his earl school life but he did Graduate from Oberlin College with his bachelor’s degree in political science. When he moved to the United States he joined the Human Rights Watch. Beah said that he believed that returning to the civilized society was more difficult than the act of becoming a child solider. He was living in a Freetown with his Uncle.. Beah face getting back to...
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...following day. For children of Sierra Leone however, the costume is plastered against their bodies, and the dreams of the American children is their reality. Children residing in Sierra Leone from the years of 1991- 2002 were forced to participate in their country’s civil war, having to endure countless atrocious experiences. If these children are able to evade death for a long enough time, they may be lucky enough to be moved to a completely foreign area for rehabilitation and reintegration back into regular society. However, due to their role in the war, child soldiers...
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