Unfulfilled Promises, Unsettled Youth

Unfulfilled promises, unsettled youth: the aftermath of conflict for former child soldiers in Yumbe District, north western Uganda, Intervention 2014,Volume 12, Number 3, Page 344 - 355

Unfulfilled promises, unsettled youth: the aftermath of conflict for former child soldiers in Yumbe District, north western Uganda

Jonna Both & Ria Reis

This article addresses the long term impact of generations might perpetuate cycles of vio- having been a child soldier in Yumbe District, lence in the future (Blattman & Annan, Uganda. Within this district, a group of former 2008; Summer¢eld, 1999). Over the past child soldiers fell beyond the scope of almost all decade, researchers have increasingly aimed reintegration initiatives from the time a peace to empirically assess the longer term impact agreement was signed in 2002.Ten years after the of having been a child soldier (Boothby youths’ return from the bush, the authors used a et al., 2006; Betancourt et al., 2010a,b. Many qualitative approach to understand their present of these studies con¢rm that young people situation. It was found that serious grievances were are resilient and report no return to violent still expressed by the former child soldiers towards behaviour in the long term aftermath of organisations that had promised them some form con£ict. In other words, longitudinal studies of support, but did not ful¢l these promises. The have shown that earlier concerns about e¡ect of these promises being broken and renewed, so-called ‘lost generations’ are unwarranted repeatedly, over an extended period of time has (Blattman & Annan, 2008; Munive, 2010). provoked a sense of helplessness and anger. The On the other hand, researchers do report authors show how this group of youth try to navi- speci¢c forms of psychological distress that gate these emotions within their daily lives. The remain prevalent, despite the passage of ¢ndings also point to the importance of taking time, such as recurring thoughts of trau- historical, cultural and political contexts into matic events, developing distrust as a cop- account in order to fully understand the e¡ects of ing strategy or transferring trauma through post con£ict experiences of ‘former child soldiers’. parenting practices (Boothby et al., 2006; Song & De Jong, 2013; Song et al., 2014, Keywords: former child soldiers, griev- respectively). Post con£ict experiences, such ances, Uganda as stigmatisation of demobilised child soldiers, in addition to war exposure, are shown to in£uence the long term mental Introduction health outcomes of children’s participation Over the past three decades, children and in armed con£ict (Betancourt et al., 2010a, youth a¡ected by war have received a lot of b). More and more attention is now being attention from humanitarian agencies and paid to the fact that post con£ict settings researchers, with the aim of addressing their bring highly challenging sources of adver- mental health needs. Next to focussing on sity of their own, e.g. increased domestic immediate support, this attention usually violence, unemployment, di⁄cult access to related to the fear that, should their per- food or other resources, poverty, etc. (Miller ceived trauma’s remain unaddressed, these & Rasmussen, 2010). What happens after

war seems, therefore, to be equally as responsible for atrocities, abductions1 and important as events during the con£ict in a heightened sense of general fear. Some of terms of understanding mental health out- this study’s informants had been abducted comes. under WNBF, but later moved with the With this article, the authors contribute to split to the UNRF II and their new base. this ¢eld of study of the long term impact The UNRF II was largely made up of of having been a child soldier through Aringa o⁄cers and recruits from Aringa focussing on the experiences of a groups of county in what is currently Yumbe District. former child soldiers (FCSs) in Yumbe Dis- The general position of former UNRF II trict,10 years after disarmament.The article combatants is that they were supported argues that an inductive (reasoned) by the local population in Yumbe, did not approach is needed to come to locally prey on them and could draw on their relevant perspectives of what is at stake voluntary support (RLP, 2004, pp 16^17). (Vindevogel et al., 2013). Therefore, pre This o⁄cial discourse has obscured identi¢ed sets of questions were not used to UNRF II’s involvement in atrocities in seek understanding (cf. Bayer et al., 2007), Yumbe itself, and silence on this topic but rather ethnographic methods that pay prevails among survivors of atrocities in attention to the lived experiences of FCSs the region (Bogner & Neubert, 2013, ¢eld in the aftermath of con£ict. Such an notes JB). Our sample shows that 50% of approach aligns with research that aims to our informants were abducted, whereas take into account the social context when others joined for a variety of reasons, includ- trying to make sense of the challenges faced ing; either their parents had been killed or by children a¡ected by war (cf. Derluyn were repeatedly tortured by either the et al.,2013).By broadening the scope of inves- UNRF II or the Ugandan Peoples Defence tigation, beyond individual psychopath- Force (UPDF) at home for information or ology or the psychosocial ¢eld, more suspected collaboration with the enemy. complex realities emerge. They touch, The latter informants report great tension amongst others, on political and economic at home and stated that it was better to realms, ¢elds that are much harder for join one of the camps in order to be able the humanitarian community to address to protect oneself and ideally one’s family. (Branch, 2011; Summer¢eld,1999). Others joined because they were upset about not receiving support from their Context parents to continue education, whereas Background: rebel groups and the rebels promised them an income. abduction The Uganda National Rescue Front II With the rebels (UNRF II) was formed in 1996 (Alio,1996) Informants referred to the fact that while out of another rebel group active in the they felt they were not treated badly in the West Nile region; the West Nile Bank Front rebel camps in South Sudan, running away (WNBF). The WNBF were o⁄cially defe- was impossible: ‘we had no problems with the ated in 1997, in South Sudan, where they leaders but if you want to escape they kill you. had been based. Both rebel groups were Many times I witnessed it.’ Our informants formedby Idi Amin’s former army personnel also con¢rmed that the UNRF II fought who had not been successfully reintegrated next to the Sudanese army in South Sudan into the army after Museveni came to power against the Sudanese People’s Liberation in Uganda (Refugee Law Project (RLP), Army (SPLA) in the late 1990s and often 2004). The WNBF held a strong grip on reported that younger children were not the region in the mid 1990s, and were forced to engage in battles, but some chose

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to ¢ght. At the same time, they reported Organisation) Uganda, they organised having lost peers in battles with the SPLA, training to prepare the FCSs for reinte- meaning that many child soldiers did not gration with their families. After this make it home. Three informants referred to two weeks training, confusion arose. PRA- having lost alotof friends in the bush, FORD communicated that they were go- many of whom were young, for example ing to organise vocational training, but when a landmine exploded during train- 75 of the 135 FCSs indicated they were ing in the rebel camp and many people not interested and preferred to continue were killed, or when there was intensive with formal education. PRAFORD told ¢ghting with the SPLA in South Sudan. them they could not help and advised the Some informants reported having enjoyed FCSs to seek support from their parents. ‘holding the gun’. While few mention having The boys went home, expecting to hear fought in Yumbe District, some of them more from UNICEF about the possibility referred to it, saying: of attending formal education. Meanwhile, the remaining boys were also sent home ‘theywouldn’ttakeus [to Uganda]forfearwe by PRAFORD to spend some time with would run home;’ their families before being called back for ‘we only went there for food, when we would vocational training. However, neither UNI- meet the SPLA or the [Ugandan] army on CEF nor PRAFORD ever called the boys the way, we fought;’ back.2 In December 2002, in the ¢nal ‘one time we were supposed to go [to Uganda] peace agreement, it was agreed that the but then a helicopter came and the thing was Ugandan government would ‘facilitate the cancelled’. One Hundred and Thirty-Five (135) Child Soldiers who are interested in going back to After a long process of negotiations, on 24 school’ (Article III, point 8, Peace Agree- December 2002, a historical peace agreement, 2002). This raised the expectation ment was signed between the government that their return to school would now be of Uganda and the UNRF II rebels in possible. In reality, it took the government Yumbe District. By that time, the rebels of Uganda ¢ve years (20073), to commu- were already based in Yumbe District. nicate to the FCSs that they could register Earlier, on 13 May 2002, 135 children had in schools and their school fees would been removed from the rebel camp and be paid. However, as they enrolled in handed over to the United Nations Secondary Schools in Yumbe, they had to Children’s Fund (UNICEF) by the rebel withdraw before sitting for their exams as leaders. their school fees appeared not to have been paid. The FCSs suspect mismanage- The aftermath of con£ict: unful¢lled ment of the funds meant for their educa- promises tion. According to the FCSs, in May 2002 UNI- CEF left them in the hands of the local Amnesty cards NGO Participatory Rural Action for Devel- Adding to the stress caused by the failure to opment (PRAFORD), while UNICEF access education, the FCSs also never would look into possibilities to send- received an amnesty card. These were dis- ing them to school. PRAFORD had tributed in the rebel camp (under the earlier played an important role in the Uganda Amnesty Act of 2000, cf. Finnegan e¡orts of bringing the rebels out of the & Flew, 2008) after the FCSs had been bush (Mischnick 2009 RLP, 2004). Toge- removed by UNICEF. Along with these ther with TPO (Transcultural Psychosocial cards, came an amnesty package of 263,000

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Ugandan Shillings and various items to In reality, this money has been distributed facilitate the reintegration of ex-combatants long ago, with payments beginning in at home. In February 2010, the FCSs 2004 (RLP, 2004) by former rebel leaders voiced their concerns in a letter to the to their cliente' le. In fact, many adult UNRF Amnesty Commission4 about not having II ex-combatants also claim never to have received their amnesty cards. In May 2010, received their share. Yet, in the eyes of they were visited by the Amnesty Commis- the FCSs, receiving an amnesty card will sion and had their photos taken. However, acknowledge their right to a share of this by February 2014 (almost four years later), sum, and a possible belated payment.6 the cards had still not been processed, nor have the FCSs received any form of Methodology amnesty package. Project background In the interviews, our informants expressed Data for this article was gathered in Yumbe serious concerns that various actors had District, by the ¢rst author, during13months tried to intervene in the registration pro- of ethnographic ¢eldwork between 2010 cess by the Amnesty Commission in and 2013. The data gathering formed part 2010, later erasing the FCSs’ names and of a larger research project that focussed photos and inserting their own relatives on on youths from Yumbe District in the the list to bene¢t from the amnesty packa- aftermath of a period of recurring violent ges. Whether true or not, the prevail- con£ict, occurring from 1979 to 2002. ing uncertainty about their access to these Aware of the disproportional attention to cards and lack of proper communication child soldiers in Africa, in comparison to between the various actors involved youth who had not been former child sol- (Amnesty Commission, former rebel diers, the research did not speci¢cally target leaders and FCSs) has given rise to further FCSs. However, the ¢rst author encounte- suspicion of corruption and rumours. red this group in one of the ¢rst explora- Accessing the amnesty card is very import- tory focus group discussions (FGD) held ant to the FCSs. This is not, in general, in 2010, in which a group of UNRF II due to exemption from legal prosecution former child soldiers, supported by their for acts committed under the UNRF II non former soldier peers, emphasised that the card a¡ords, something only strong grievances related to their experi- two informants expressed reference to,5 ences in the aftermath of the peace agree- but the belief that without it, they will ment signed in 2002. These grievances never access the 4,2 billion Ugandan Shil- kept re-emerging in interactions and con- lings the government promised for the versations with FCSs, to such an extent resettlement of all ex-combatants (Article that the authors decided to orient a part of III, point 3, Peace Agreement, 2002). their research speci¢cally to this group. The focus of the FCSs on this money is clearly in line with what has been referred Research design and data collection to as an ‘environment of rewards’ that exists From the o⁄cial peace agreement document in Yumbe, and in Uganda at large, where (2002), it was known that there were 135 ex-combatants are often co-opted by UNRF II FCSs at that time, in the district, promise of compensation. In the case of but by 10 years later they were quite dis- Yumbe this allowed the former rebels to persed. Some FCSs had joined the Ugandan preserve a heroic (instead of perpetrator) army (UPDF) and many others had left image of themselves (cf. Mischnick, for Kampala or other towns in Uganda 2009; RLP, 2004; Bogner & Neubert, and South Sudan to look for work. A total 2013). of 26 UNRF II FCSs from the original

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135 were reached through snowball reported to have been age 17. During the sampling, starting with key informants in time of the interviews, 19 informants lived di¡erent sub-counties including Yumbe in their respective home communities, Town Council and Arua Town. With these while seven had moved into urban areas. 26 FCSs, semi-structured interviews were The largest group was married, or had undertaken, after obtaining oral informed been married (n ¼ 21). These 21 informants consent and assuring con¢dentiality.7 The had, on average, 2.6 children in 2011. Four researcher’s contact with a local social informants reported no source of income, worker, and other local structures, allowed the largest group (n ¼14) reported that for referral of research participants in farming provided their main source of (mea- need of psychosocial support. The inter- gre) income, and the remaining youth view guide was based on exploratory inter- (n ¼ 8) held minimal jobs (such as barber views and participant observation with or riding a bicycle-taxi) and reported four FCS and addressed: (1) circumstances erratic income. under which the youth came to join the UNRF II rebel group; (2) levels of education Analysis obtained (before joining and after coming All data (from both the interviews and home); (3) reintegration experiences (e.g. cases studies) were transcribed, anonymised family and community reception); (4) liveli- and analysed through a process of open hoods; (5) current challenges; and (6) coding. In the process of data collection, a overall re£ections of the peace agreement constant comparative approach (cf. Barnes, of 2002. Twenty-one informants were inter- 1996) was used, allowing important con- viewed only once, with ¢ve other key cepts to emerge from the data and then informant relationships developed further. selecting appropriate research methods These informants were extensively followed (e.g. in-depth case studies) to further investi- over the course of the ¢eldwork, between gate these concepts. This process led to the 2010 and 2013. In this period, time was emergence of the most important themes, spent regularly at their homes with their which are presented as ¢ndings below. families, conducting informal conversations and engaging in participant observation. Findings and analysis This, in turn, led to an in-depth under- A cycle of raising and shattering hope: standing of their lived experiences. The helplessness and anger method was aimed at triangulating infer- From the handing over of the UNRF II ences about the extent the reported grie- child soldiers to UNICEF in 2002, through vances and hardship informed their daily to 2014, many FCSs remained hopeful for experiences, and in which domains of education, access to an amnesty card and their daily lives these played a part. package, and for ¢nancial compensation, as discussed above.8 Several times over the Participant pro¢le course of the past years, their hopes were The group of 26 FCSs formed a mixed shattered, renewed and shattered again. group, of whom half (50%) reported to Hope was renewed was when they were have been abducted, and 50% reported sent to school in 2007, and again in May to have joined the rebels for other reasons, 2010, when the Amnesty Commission held mentioned in the context section above. a hearing on their request to register. How- They spent di¡erent periods of time in the ever, the outcome of this exercise still bush, varying from nine months to ¢ve remains unclear in 2014. This process of years. The youngest ones reported having hope being raised and shattered again and joined the rebels at age 11, while the oldest again has caused a sense of indeterminacy

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and helplessness in our informants. While and left empty handed, and therefore, this in their social lives, they have ‘moved on’, ( i. e. sense of helplessness engenders frustration got married and became parents), this and anger. It does not, however, lead to com- social progress is not re£ected in how they plete passivity, resignation or defeat as the feel about themselves. They consistently model of learned helplessness would have expressed feelings of being stuck and it (Reis, 2011). In the following citation abandoned: Salim clearly exempli¢es the mix of feelings that emerged from our analysis: ‘It is like I am still in there in the bush.While others went to school or developed a business ‘Last year our photos were snapped by the over the past years, I don’tknow where to start. Amnesty Commission, later we found differ- I have nothing. Life is taking me in the wrong ent faces. How? We have nowhere to follow way.’ ( FC S, 31-10 -2011) up.Thisistheangerwehavemost,because ‘In February 2010 we met with the Amnesty we don’thave any direction to follow. No office Commission, up to now there has not been any in the district can be found to direct us’.First response. It hasleft ussuffocating.Where togo author:‘why is that?’Salim: ‘They [people at and what to do is a problem.’ ( F C S 2 8 -10 - the district] collaborate with our [former] 2011) officers, that is why we are left...there is too ‘Sometimes I reflect about what happened in much corruption’. ( F C S , 19 -11 - 2 011) the bush and when we were abandoned here but there is no way [out].We would have taken a step but we have no power.’(FCS, Our ¢ndings suggest it is precisely this com- 31-10 -2011) bination of dependent waiting (a constant renewal and shattering of hope by outsiders) What is clearly expressed is an awareness and feeling anger (towards the attributed of, in sociological terms, a lack of agency; cause) that cause an enduring, unsettled they feel incapacitated to act and are pain- state among the FCSs in our study. fully aware of the resulting stagnation. Similarly, in psychological terms we can Ambiguously relating to an externally read a loss of hope and a perceived lack imposed identity category: becoming of control. Their repetitive exposure to and remaining ‘former child soldiers’ unpredictable outcomes has led to a sense The moment the adolescents were taken of learned helplessness: ‘the learned expecta- from the rebel camp, they became ‘former tion of having no capacity to control the environ- child soldiers’. Their encounter with this ment, leading to a generalized passivity response’ external and universal label, used predo- (Reis, 2011, p177 referring to Lask, 2004, minantly in the circles of international p156)9. development, trauma specialists and peace- Some caution must be taken, however, in building has had far reaching consequen- labelling the FCSs response as passive. On ces for their perception of self. The label the one hand, the FCSs have learned that identi¢es them mostly as helpless victims they could not change their situation (cf. Akello et al., 2006; Branch, 2011) and through prolonged interactions with unpre- refers to the notion of having been wron- dictable institutional actors over whom ged, bereft of their childhood and con- they had no control, and found them- comitant opportunities. Even in the more selves continuously on the losing side of remote places in the world, the label of unful¢lled reintegration and compensa- former child soldier raises more or less uni- tion promises. On the other, they feel they versal expectations of assistance, yet these have been intentionally made powerless are expectations that remain hard to live

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up to in various localities (cf. Shepler, 2014; government play a role in preserving this Angucia, 2010). Over the past 10 years, our ambiguous, but prominent, part of the informants have gradually come to under- identity of the youths in this study through stand the care that the international ongoing delaying ful¢lment of their community attaches to this label, and inter- promises. nalise it, yet at the same time experiencing an inability to access this care. Coming from Navigating between anger and Yumbe, they compare themselves with avoidance in the aftermath of con£ict FCSs in other parts of Uganda (National Considering the poor and unpromising Resistance Army (NRA) bush war child sol- conditions of life after returning from the diers and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) bush and the feelings of neglect and aban- child soldiers), who they believe have donment, it is not strange that some of the received a lot of assistance, especially with former child-soldiers mention ‘going back to regard to education.10 Based on such assess- the bush’ as an option they consider. Feeling ments, the FCSs in Yumbe feel particularly powerless in the face of corruption and marginalised. The label FCSs has become a unable to access their rights under the painful identity marker, reminding them Amnesty Act, ten years after coming home, foremost of a feeling of neglect: aggravates the grievances:

‘The peace is just bad to us, those who were not ... compensated. It means the peace was not part ‘ life has become hard, so I now think it was better in the bush, as much as we did not have of us.Why would we be called UNRFII child money,at least food was free..... [...]ifitis soldiers? It was a way of damaging us’. ( F C S possible again to join the bush, I will do it, not 16 - 09 -2011) tofight againstthegovernment, but againstthe former leadership of the UNRF II, because In this fragment, we see that our informant they are not taking care of us’. (FCS, 16-09- feels hurt with regards to the label attached 2011) to him during the peace negotiations, because it has become meaningless. Ironi- cally, despite this ‘hurt’, many youths hold Going back to the bush was sometimes on to this label because elsewhere it has mentioned as a form of desperate revenge earned ‘compensation’. 11 for unjust treatment in the aftermath of That these youths are not inclined to let go the peace agreement. Such statements of the FCSs label, ten years down the road, were occasionally meant to be provocative, can also be attributed to the aforementioned and are a well known threat in post con- general ‘environment of rewards’ in Yumbe. £ict areas by dissatis¢ed ex-combatants Our interlocutors identi¢cation with an (cf. Branch, 2011; Finnstrom, 2006; Mergels- identity as an ex-combatant, implied in berg, 2010). More often, however, it seemed the label ‘UNRF II (former) child soldier’, to be an expression of deep grievances. needs to be preserved into the future if Other informants were explicit about the they want to remain entitled to any form fact that it was the desperate situation of of belated government compensation.12 their families at home, the hunger13 and Therefore, contrary to what Boothby et al. poverty faced, that would motivate them to (2006, p97) describe for Mozambique, in rejoin a rebel group if such an opportunity Yumbe, there is no ‘successful transformation would occur. These motivations should of self-image from being a ‘child soldier’ to be understood from a cultural perspective, becoming ‘like everyone else’. Additionally, where men in Yumbe are traditionally sup- the former rebel leaders and Ugandan posed to be providers for their families

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and attitudes of a military type of fearless- of mind. Others, during the course of ness and bravery are in£uential orienta- research, moved away from Yumbe arguing tions. Joining a rebel group was seen as an that being away from the government o⁄- act of living up to the notion of fearless- cials, ex-rebel leaders and the process of ness, while at the same time escaping expectant waiting helps them to avoid feel- the confrontation with their sometimes ings of revenge and aggression. These dramatic failure to provide for the family at examples point to the fact that many of our home. Furthermore, in Yumbe, joining a informants have found avoidance strategies rebel group is associated, through historical to deal with their anger and frustration. example, with ‘remuneration’ and thus could be imagined as solution to economic despair and the problem of ‘providing’ for Discussion their wives and children. The remuneration In this article, the authors aimed to provide referred to here, can be: the ability to in-depth insight in the long term impact loot food or live from wild animals and of having been a child soldier in Yumbe fruits in the bush, ‘living for free’; the ¢nan- District. This research was undertaken cial support of rebel groups by foreign gov- because initial interaction with some of the ernments,14 or the compensation expected informants pointed towards ongoing stress from the Ugandan government in case factors in the aftermath of armed con£ict rebels engage in peace negotiations. that compromised these young people’s However, it is important to note that refer- wellbeing up to ten years after a peace ences about ‘going back to the bush’ are not agreement was expected to have brought shared by all FCSs. Three informants, for stability to the region. example, referred to the counselling by Our ¢ndings portray how a sense of help- TPO Uganda as having helped them not lessness and anger seem to be the outcomes to feel vengeful.15 Rather, they, emphasised of a cumulative experience, with hopesbeing peaceful ways of con£ict resolution or shattered and renewed over the stretch of ‘forgetting’. Other informants mentioned more than 10 years, by a variety of actors. di¡erent reasons for not believing in vio- While feelings of disappointment and lent solutions: deception among former child soldiers after cease¢res or peace treaties are not ‘Despite being unhappy with the neglect by the uncommon (cf. Ho¡man, 2003; Utas, 2005; government, and although I feel uncomfort- Song & de Jong, 2013), it has not often been able, I cannot make any mistake’. ( F C S , acknowledged that NGO’s sometimes also 16 - 09 -2010) play a role in the experience of deception ‘When they are looking for people like us now, (Branch, 2011), nor has such a cumulative I cannot join, because they (the UNRF II process of deception over time been exten- rebels) have already deceived us’.(FCS, sively described and analysed for its 19 -11-2011) impact. We have shown that, in combination with Thus, many informants also have their own the ‘environment of rewards’ in Yumbe for ex- reasons not to join any armed opposition. combatants, and the failure of educational At the same time, their disappointment opportunities that could foster reintegra- and distrust in the various institutions tion (cf. Betancourt et al., 2008), FCSs in remains profound. Quite a few youths in Yumbe display an inability to see them- Yumbe address their grievances by using selves as ‘normal’ youths ten years after khat (a mild stimulant) to suppress a feeling demobilisation. Rather, they keep falling of frustration and achieve a peaceful state back on an identity as FCSs, still expecting

Copyright © War Trauma Foundation. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.351 Unfulfilled promises, unsettled youth: the aftermath of conflict for former child soldiers in Yumbe District, north western Uganda, Intervention 2014,Volume 12, Number 3, Page 344 - 355

this label to entitle them to support after Conclusion more than ten years of peace. Yet, falling Intervening in the ¢eld of former child back on this label, constantly makes them soldiers is likely to have ‘unexpected e¡ects’ aware of the neglect they feel. We believe (Shepler, 2014). By applying only a selec- it is these enduring and ambiguous cycles tive approach to individual mental wellbe- that create and perpetuate their feelings of ing in the aftermath of con£ict, complex helplessness and anger. Some informants interactions in the daily lives of FCSs that refer to not seeing a way out other than are shown to be important stress factors revenge and/or going ‘back to the bush’asa become invisible or distorted, and de-politi- (locally meaningful) solution, and some cised. In reality, interventions engage with speak explicitly of feelings of revenge. Such highly complex local realities and become feelings among FCSs have been earlier part of new realities that in£uence the associated with posttraumatic stress dis- daily lives of their recipients of aid. Di¡e- order (PTSD) by Bayer et al. (2007), but rent institutions should, therefore, be here the picture is more complicated and more concerned about accountability with political, and cannot be attributed to regards to the promises they make to so PTSD alone. A labelling of their anger as called ‘vulnerable’ groups. This also includes a mental health problems resulting from better collaboration and follow-up when their experiences in the bush could lead institutions work together, or hand over to a medicalisation and de-politicisation of projects to partners. A non-timely handl- their socio-political problems (cf, Branch, ing of grievances that emerge, in relation 2011). to promises made but not kept, seems to Our ¢ndings con¢rm then, that identifying lead to potentially volatile situations and local post con£ict sources of distress can new forms of psychological harm. E¡orts make an important contribution to our towards ‘closure’ and reconciliation, between understanding of the long term outcomes of all parties a¡ected, is recommended. having been a child soldier, within a parti- cular (historical) context, and our case draws attention to what can perhaps best Limitations be labelled as ‘political post con£ict stressors’. I n This research builds strongly on extended line with the orientations by Miller & Ras- participant observation and semi structured mussen (2010) and Fernando et al. (2010), interviews with a small group of FCSs that these refer to speci¢c political dynamics that were once part of the UNRF II. While we may have a negative impact on FCSs well- found references suggesting that their being in the aftermath of con£ict. However, experiences re£ect those of a larger dis- we should be cautious with just adding new persed group, more research is needed labels to mental health models; there is a for con¢rmation. risk that this obscures a collective political problem into an individual and medical problem.While young people appear resour- Acknowledgements ceful in managing political stressors, and they Weacknowledge with gratitude: the ¢nancial sup- develop ways of dealing with their grie- port for this doctoral study by The Netherlands vances other than responding in violent Organisation for Scienti¢c Research (NWO), modes, it seems that the prolonged state of the research approval by the Uganda National hope and disappointment prevents ‘closure’, Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), which raises questions about what the the willingness of the informants to share with us future looks like for these youths, and their their experiences and the valuable feedback social environments. received from the three anonymous reviewers.

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fact that there was a pending promise from the author was a student from the University of government that it would send the FCS to school. Amsterdam and not working with an NGO. The program ended in 2008 when funding was 8 Thisnarrative abouttheunfoldingofeventswas over. con¢rmed by certain parents and (former) NGO 3 ‘Voice of the Former Child Soldiers of the Defunct workers. Political sensitivity prevented further UNRF II’:Letter to the Chairman of the Amnesty inquiry by the authors at other levels. Commission, dated 23 February 2010 (copy in 9 For an elaboration on Seligman’s development theauthor’spossession).Di¡erent informantscon- of learned helplessness theory, see Nunn & tradict each other when it comes to the year in Thompson,1996. which the FCSs were invited to enrol in school. 10 ‘Voice of the Former Child Soldiers of the Defunct Some mention the year 2004 or 2005. UNRF II’. 4 ‘Voice of the Former Child Soldiers of the Defunct 11 See endnote 7. UNRF II.’ 12 It is important to note here that ex-combatants 5 The FCSs, as mentioned earlier, probably inYumbe tend to preserve a heroic image of them- hardly fought in Uganda which allowed for the selves (cf. Bogner & Neubert, 2013), which makes fact that most of the FCSs reported to be‘received it plausible that to use the FCS label is not con- well’ when they came home from the bush. Only sidered stigmatising as other studies report (cf. three of our 26 informants reported a more di⁄- Akello , 2006). cult reception due to accusations of being involved 13 References were often made to the painful in atrocities inYumbe.Two informants out of these experience of ‘seeing your children cry of hunger’. 14 three therefore felt they needed access to the For example Omar al Bashir, president of amnesty card. The remainder of our informants Sudan supported the UNRF II with arms and explained they needed amnesty card for material money to ¢ght the SPLA. 15 compensation and stated they were not worried While the author was introduced to Yumbe about prosecution. initially through the help of TPO Uganda, the 6 As suggested, ex-combatants nationwide have research participants, by the time of the semi come to rely strongly on this perception of entitle- structured interviews were not aware of that and ment, a development nourished by the Ugandan referred to TPO occasionally themselves, they were not asked explicitly about the impact of the Government under former rebel leader president TPO training they had received. Museveni. It is widely accepted that such a pay- mentmighttakeages,butprecedentshavefostered hope that eventually, they will be ‘recognised’ and Jonna Both is a PhD student at the Amsterdam paid. School for Social Science Research (AISSR) 7 One potential informant had mental problems University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. and it was too di⁄cult to converse with him. His email: [email protected] friends attributed his condition to marijuana use. Ria Reis is Professor of medical anthropology at Another potential informant refused to partici- Leiden University Medical Center,Department pate in the interview after explaining what the of Public Health and Primary Care (LUMC/ interview was about. All informantsweretoldthat PHEG) and Associate Professor in the Depart- the survey was part of a larger research that ment of Sociology and Cultural Anthropology at focused on youths inYumbe District and that ¢rst the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.