“Do not Disturb the Peace!” Identities, Livelihoods and the Politics of Post-War Discontent in Sierra Leone

Abstract

Although the collective memory of war is frequently invoked in post-war societies, who chooses to invoke it and to what effect has been less studied relative to other aspects of such societies. In this article we employ a case study of Sierra Leone to address this deficit in the post-conflict scholarship by illustrating how the collective memory of that country’s civil war is appropriated by diverse actors in the post-war society. Drawing from field interviews, we present evidence showing how, and why, several societal groups constituted as distinct post-war identities such as victims-rights groups, former defenders of the state, or perpetrators of the violence during the Sierra Leone civil war articulate dissatisfactions with their livelihoods and the reactions of state officials to their demands. The article explains why, and how, successive governments have selectively suppressed the discontent of some groups over livelihood insecurities that are construed as threats to public order while ignoring violent protests from other groups over similar issues, in spite of a 1965 public order act restricting protests. Thus, the article argues that state officials in Sierra Leone have not demonstrated superior commitment to peacebuilding than societal groups that make demands on the state.

Los colectivos de las víctimas en aspectos sociodemográficos, formación, trayectorias laborales y expectativas de inserción laboral : revisión bibliográfica.

“…Es de suma importancia acciones de indulgencia como el perdón, el cual permite la trascendencia y el aventajamiento sobre las actitudes sociales y los cambios en el comportamiento de aquellos quienes han sido victimarios. (Cortés, López-López, Pérez D., & Pineda-Marín, 2016), mientras tanto el castigo concebido en el contexto de un conflicto armado interno sin vencedores ni vencidos, siendo este un impedimento para la búsqueda de la paz (Ignacio Gómez, 2017) (Achutegui Otaolaurruchi, 2017), inhibiendo a personas con habilidades potentes en los diferentes campos gubernamentales, debido al auge sobre la participación política de los miembros de grupos al margen de la ley en cuestiones de liderazgo comunitario como consecuencia a la elevada exposición de violencia de la cual han sido partícipes (Batty & M'Cormack-Hale, 2019).…”