Sierra Leone Post Civil War Essay

Words: 700
Pages: 3

Families have returned to Sierra Leone, post-civil war, and need community support to cope with the emotional stress of war. Many of the children have mental health effects from the violence of war that require the social support of a community (Betancourt, Brennan et al. 2010). The local communities lean on cultural traditions and beliefs to heal. Cleansing ceremonies are a cultural tradition performed by communities that symbolically cleanses children of their experiences of the civil war (Zuilkowski, Betancourt. 2014). Community support helps the children cope with the destruction of war, but it also helps with support of education. It is very common for children of Sierra Leone to drop out of school. The enrollment rate of secondary schools in Sierra Leone is 35% and 18% for senior secondary school (Zuilkowski, Betancourt. 2014). Lack of community support also leads to a pattern of …show more content…
First, reforms within the diamond sector sought to address the diamond related dimensions of war. Second, because diamonds provided many of the narratives about the causes of war, other dimensions were addressed through the sector. In this way, the diamond sector became a space for implementing wider reforms that were seen to be key for addressing the broader causes of war, such as underdevelopment. Third, broader reforms outside of the sector were also instrumental in allowing for transformations in the diamond sector. Finally, diamond exploitation deterred some peacebuilding and development initiatives. Diamond areas were among the last ones to be relinquished by rebel forces, and were those longest disputed in the conflict. As a result, the presence of peacekeepers and activities of development agencies were delayed by about three years compared to other parts of the country. Furthermore, many NGOs have proven reluctant to work in diamond areas and/or to engage in any diamond-related activities.