The sasswood ordeal of poison presents a divinatory ritual which has been used in criminal cases by the traditional African of Sierra Leone and Liberia. For at least six hundred years, the peoples of these present countries have imposed this strictest of ordeals on their moral transgressors; and the practice has survived, despite the protestations of nineteenth-century missionaries and the encroachment of the western world. The investigation of the historical evidence of the sasswood ordeal among the West Atlantic tribes of Africa has three basic purposes. First, because of the paucity of interpretive data on the sasswood ordeal, the primary purpose of the thesis has been to more clearly delineate the meaning, characteristics, and functions of this poison ordeal as well as the swearing of oaths among the peoples of Sierra Leone and Liberia by amalgamating historical and more contemporaneous evidence. To this end, the distribution of the ordeal was considered; and descriptions were made of the various characteristics of the trait--complex--the poison’s action, the ritual and ceremonial aspects, the sasswood specialist, the accusations made in connection with the ordeal as well as indigenous myths of origin of the ordeal. Intracultural correlations were then presented to demonstrate the interdigitation of the elements in a culture in relation to the ordeal. Finally, some functions, other than the obvious guilt-determining aspect, were presented to demonstrate the various ways in which it had been used historically. A second purpose of this thesis was to demonstrate the intrinsically conservative: qualities of the ordeal as an aspect of religion and law. By assessing the impact of specific historical influences in the region of the West Atlantic tribes, such as Islam, colonialism, slavery, and urbanization, it was shown that no significant change had been witnessed through the six-hundred-year period of the historical record. In concluding this aspect, it was noted that certain "weaknesses" in the historical record—such as its being "piecemeal" and recorded only infrequently--caused problems in interpreting what appeared to be an intrinsically conservative nature of the sasswood ordeal. A third purpose, related to the second, was the application and assessment of "ethnohistoriographic" techniques, that is, those specific methods of historical scholarship utilized by the ethnographer in investigating past cultures. The limits of the use of the ethnohistoriographic techniques included observational bias (which was readily accountable, dealing as it did with hyperbole), the preoccupation with "sensational" data (which provided disparities, over-emphases in the historical record), as well as political motivations such that national prejudice frequently determined the "interpretation" placed on the ordeal. In addition, it was noted that because the sasswood ordeal may be classified as "esoterica," the record for this practice was generally spotty; and this fact affected interpretations on the actual change manifested in the trait complex. The main contribution made by this study has been to afford future readers with a composite and relatively complete source of information on one specific type of poison ordeal practiced among the West Atlantic tribes of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Le nombre de 300 000 enfants utilisés comme combattants est un chiffre conservateur que les experts du milieu ont mis de l'avant pour assurer un plus grand consensus international sur l'urgence d'intervenir. Ce chiffre, qui demeure constant depuis le milieu des années 1990, cache en réalité un nombre cumulé encore plus inquiétant. Lors des conflits, les enfants tués, blessés, qui réussissent à s'enfuir ou qui atteignent leur majorité sont remplacés systématiquement par d'autres ce qui fait que le nombre réel est, en fin de compte, beaucoup plus élevé. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'identifier les faiblesses du système international qui permettent encore aujourd'hui que l'enfance soit massacrée. Elle questionne l'existence d'une réelle protection des enfants pendant les conflits pour éviter leur enrôlement par des groupes armés en examinant des instruments juridiques internationaux. À la lumière d'une étude de cas effectuée en Sierra Leone à l'été 2005, l'auteure expose les défaillances de la protection accordée aux enfants combattants en période de post-conflit, notamment issues de la des mécanismes de réconciliation ainsi que lors de la provision des volets des programmes de Désarmement, de Démobilisation et de Réinsertion (DDR) s'adressant spécifiquement aux enfants anciens combattants. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Enfants combattants, Enfants soldats, Droit international, Droits des enfants, Protection, Sécurité humaine, Conflits, DDR et Sierra Leone.

This volume critically examines what happens when war formally ends, the difficult and complex challenges and opportunities for winning the peace and reconciling divided communities. By reviewing a case study of the West African state of Sierra Leone, potential lessons for other parts of the world can be gained. Sierra Leone has emerged as a 'successful' model of liberal peacebuilding that is now popularly advertised and promoted by the international community as a powerful example of a country that they finally got right. Concerns about how successful a model Sierra Leone actually is, are outlined in this project. As such this volume: provides a critical understanding of the nature, dynamics and complexity of post-war peacebuilding and development from an internal perspective; critically assesses the role and contribution of the international community to state reconstruction and post-war peacebuilding and evaluates what happens when war ends; and explores the potential relevance and impact of comparative international efforts of post-war state building and reconstruction in other parts of Africa and the world. The collection focuses not only on understanding the root causes of conflict but also identifying and appreciating the possibilities and opportunities for peace. The lessons found in this book resonate well beyond the borders of Sierra Leone and Africa in general.

Several organizations, most prominently the United Nations and the World Bank, have emphasized that ex-combatant reintegration is crucial to consolidating peace after war. Strategic thinking about peace-building and opportunities for international involvement in post-conflict states after the Cold War have focused attention on programs to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate fighters. Despite the resources and effort invested in reintegration programs, however, the evidence from Namibia, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone shows that significant problems linked to incomplete reintegration persist after formal programs end. These problems include widespread unemployment among former fighters, ex-combatant involvement in criminality, re-recruitment into neighboring conflicts, and political and social polarization of reintegration grievances. Left unmanaged, such problems threaten security even if they do not lead a state back to war. The thesis explains the persistence of reintegration problems in terms of two variables: the capacity (defined as resources, operational expertise, and authority) and preferences (defined as the explicit and implicit interests and assumptions that guide programs) of reintegration actors. The capacity and preferences of these actors are aggregate independent variables that are themselves the product of endogenous (organizational and bureaucratic) and exogenous (systemic) pressures that literature on political economy and international relations theory helps to elucidate (i.e., helps to determine how reintegration actors' own behavior exacerbates or ameliorates problems). Drawing on documentation and interviews, the thesis constructs a narrative of reintegration in each case and employs process tracing within cases to identify reintegration problems, measure their impact on security, and determine whether and how the capacity and preferences of reintegration actors contributed to the persistence of reintegration problems. The thesis uses comparative analysis to generalize inferences about the variables observed, and suggests potential solutions to improve the management of reintegration problems and creation of economic opportunities. Unless deeper issues of reintegration governance related to problem management and opportunity creation are addressed, targeted remedies to improve program design will not succeed.

Humboldt-Universiẗat, Diss., 2006--Berlin.

This thesis examines local transitional justice programmes and processes in Sierra Leone. I will examine both recognised mechanisms – official institutions with preconceived goals and processes that are already recognised as part of the transitional justice ‘toolkit’ and unrecognised mechanisms – processes outside the institutional transitional justice scope and discourse. Much research and analysis of these processes often prioritise organisations and their programmes as the starting point of investigation and fail to recognise the various individual actors involved, both within the organisational structures and the groups for whom these programmes are designed. Moving beyond discussions of impact and effectiveness, this thesis examines the actual activity of Sierra Leonean individuals in both recognised and unrecognised processes. Fambul Tok is an example of a recognised local transitional justice programme, which seeks to facilitate justice and reconciliation through bonfire ceremonies to make the programmes more contextually relevant for rural communities. I will look at the various individuals involved in constructing and shaping how Fambul Tok operates and is represented to different audiences to better understand dynamics amongst different Sierra Leoneans with attachments to different places, all of whom theoretically constitute the local. My thesis will demonstrate how transitional justice processes are not only institutional, but also individual. I move away from discussions about ‘societies,’ normative questions of institutional effectiveness, the underlying assumptions that propel transitional justice programmes and mechanisms and look more specifically at the activities and appropriation of individual actors within these transitional justice processes to better illustrate the diverse means through which individuals construct as well as engage with local transitional justice programmes and the unique unrecognised ways individuals move past their war-related experiences.

This study set out to examine the interplay of negotiations and military intervention in the resolution of the conflict in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002, and to draw lessons from this process for the resolution of intrastate conflicts in Africa. To achieve this, a more detailed analysis was undertaken on: the evolution and progress of the conflict in Sierra Leone (Chapter two); the various military interventions (Chapter three); and the various peace agreements (Chapter four). What has come to light is that it is important to distinguish between the triggers to the conflict and the drivers of the conflict. In the case of Sierra Leone, the trigger was ECOMOG’s entry into Liberia – an event that was mistakenly seen as the main cause of the conflict and leading to wrong decisions on how to end the conflict. It is also clear that greed was at the centre of the conflict in Sierra Leone since control of natural resources appear to be the main push factors behind most of the fighting. Control of these resources gave the holders an advantage. Progress in negotiations was determined by demands and concessions by those in control of the resources. An additional dimension that was common to many conflicts in Africa was control of the country’s capital city. Possession of this bestowed visible power to the holders. It is because of this that Freetown became the centre of many bouts of conflict. The study highlighted a number of issues that impact on the duration and outcome of intrastate conflicts. The first concerns the risks of sidelining the army that had played a significant role in governing the country. To do so, in favour of a civilian militia, was inviting trouble. This mistake extended the conflict by at least another two years. Also important was the issue of the over-militarisation of society. As the state structures failed, patronage and resources acted as drivers for the formation of other armed factions. The proliferation of armed factions made finding a solution more problematic. Increasing militarisation was further driven by the role of by neighbouring countries. This complicated the search for a political solution, as members of the regional group, ECOWAS, actively supported various sides in the conflict. While it was encouraging to see ECOWAS attempting to resolve the conflict, it could not sustain the role of being both a player and referee at the same time. As a result of this, ECOWAS itself contributed to the prolonging of the conflict. The intervention by the United Kingdom demonstrated that actors with superior force are in a position to make decisive interventions to help end conflicts. At the international level, the question on leaving conflict management to regional bodies is not a panacea for solving intrastate conflicts. The United Nations Security Council initially relied on ECOWAS to manage the conflict, but was later forced to take over the active peacekeeping role. It was also only when the United Nations began reflecting on earlier peacekeeping failures, such as Rwanda and Somalia, that new peacekeeping approaches began to emerge. This reflection also generated the continuing debate on the “Responsibility to Protect” vulnerable populations in intrastate conflict. / Dissertation (MDiplomatic Studies)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

The purpose of this study is to understand the causes of the Sierra Leonean conflict and to analyse the reconstruction programmes that followed it. Post-war reconstruction programmes must not be limited to the re-joining of families or reintegration of communities. It must also go a long way in providing an improved situation for all those affected by the war. Notably, where post-war reconstruction programmes fail to focus on the original causes of the conflict, it may result in reinforcement of the original social structures and prejudices and in continued marginalisation of certain groups. Using post-conflict Sierra Leone as a case study, the study attempts to examine the notion that ¿post-war reconstruction programmes tend to reinforce earlier social structures and prejudices rather than create opportunities for the previously marginalised¿. The work focuses on the role of the Department for International Development (DfID)-funded Community Reintegration Programme (CRP). Considering the Sierra Leone post-war scenarios, the causes and political resolution of the conflict and the situation in 2001 when the conflict officially came to an end, the thesis reviews the philosophy, planning, policies, practices and activities of donor agencies in general and CRP in particular before assessing impact on the process of rebuilding communities in Sierra Leone.

Yes

There are many approaches taken by teachers in order to effectively teach students the information they will need to be successful. One of these approaches is that of brain-based instruction. No one single definition is the same as another when it comes to brain-based teaching and learning. Definitions may include incorporating music and movement into lessons, using techniques to reach both hemispheres of the brain, and differentiating instruction to teach to the needs of the individual students. This study takes a closer look at the perspective of teachers when it comes to what brain-based instruction strategies are. Teachers were given a survey to voice their opinions about brain-based instruction and how they incorporate it into their classrooms. This study gathered information about how teachers perceive and understand brain-based instruction. The use of brain-based instruction is quickly becoming vital to the education field. Understanding more about it will help teachers effectively teach students.