Red Cross Blogs

Video: children affected by Liberia’s civil war

By Sarah Oughton
October 13, 2009 at 9:52 am

I’ve been so crazy working on the current emergencies in Asia Pacific the last couple of weeks that I forgot to mention I finished working on a video from Liberia!

In the video – Jeneh’s Story - a young woman talks about her hope for the future after the trauma of being abducted by fighters during Liberia’s civil war. When she was still a child, Jeneh was forced to become a sex slave for the combatants who’d abducted her.

At the weekend, I showed the film to my mum and grandad and by the end they both had tears in their eyes.

After the war, as a single mother, Jeneh was struggling to cope when she found out about the Liberia Red Cross child advocacy and rehabilitation (CAR) programme.

Through counselling, the Red Cross helped Jeneh deal with her past and find hope for the future. At the CAR centre, Jeneh also received a basic education and vocational training. She now makes a living as a tailor.

Jeneh told me: “I have so many plans now to see myself improve in life. In the future, I want to become someone who can really help my children.”

Fourteen years of brutal civil war had a devastating effect on the people of Liberia, with more than 150,000 people killed and many maimed both physically as well as mentally. At the end of the war in 2003, more than 100,000 ex-combatants were demobilised with more than 21,000 being child soldiers.

The CAR centre caters for children affected by the war in different ways – some saw their family killed before their eyes, or witnessed people they knew being tortured. Some became soldiers because they were given drugs and were forced to fight – some of these were as young as nine years old.

When I spoke to former child soldier David, I found out the story hidden behind his smile. He said: “During the war I was separated from my parents. For a while I was sleeping on the streets, but in the end I joined the fighting forces. I can’t really remember how old I was when this happened. I was about 12 years old at the end of the war.”

The British Red Cross supports the Liberia Red Cross programme, changing children’s lives and helping them re-integrate into society.

For young people like Mariana, the programme is invaluable. Mariana speaks quietly and it is clear from the look in her eyes that she has lived through more trauma in her eighteen years than most will experience in a lifetime.

“During the war I was raped by two fighters. My father left the home and I watched as the fighters killed my mother,” Mariana said. “But I managed to escape and hide in the bush.”

With the help of the Red Cross, Mariana is now moving on with her life. She told me: “I like playing kick ball, but I also enjoy learning. In fact I prefer it to kick ball, even though I really like that game. I’d like to be able to afford my own place to live and it will be good when I graduate and can get a business.”

I don’t normally like upsetting my family, but actually I was glad they cried. I hope Jeneh’s story will move you too.

The more people understand what the Red Cross does and the more they are willing to give their time and money – then together the greater difference we can make to so many lives.

Image © Sarah Oughton/BRC

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Tags: child advocacy and rehabilitation, child soldier, civil war, Liberia, rape, sex slave, trauma

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