Sierra Leone’s young generation faces two wars
Two sets of wars in Sierra Leone have left our generation of young people in utter pain, suffering, fear and often despair. The civil war that raged from 1991 to 2002 and now the Ebola onslaught have torn apart families and deeply affected children and youth. Sierra Leone, like its neighbors, struggled hard to recover from the bloodshed and violence of its civil war, which left more than 50,000 people dead. When the civil war ended, many youth were left homeless and aimless. The government, NGOs, religious bodies, and many individual actors helped the young war survivors throughout post-civil war years. These institutions and individuals sought resources everywhere to provide survivors with the psycho-social care and support that was crucial to reintegration. In recent years, it seemed like things were settling down for the generation of young people, but alas, another abominable war broke out - the silent war of Ebola, which is sending an even louder message in the media, far louder ...