This dissertation presents an ethnography of youth in Liberia and of how their lives became affected by a civil war which raged in the country between 1990 and 1997. The focus is on the experiences, motivations, and reflections of young combatants who fought for a variety of rebel factions. For these young people, the daily prospect of poverty, joblessness and marginalisation effectively blocked the paths to a normal adulthood; drawing them instead into a subculture of liminality, characterised by abjection, resentment and rootlessness. As opportunity came, their voluntary enlistment into one of the several rebel armies of the civil war therefore became an attractive option for many. Based upon one year of fieldwork during 1998, conducted among groups of ex-combatant youths in both the capital Monrovia and in a provincial town in the rural hinterland, I describe and analyse the young people’s own accounts of their involvement in the civil war; their complicity in atrocities, their coping strategies in the context of armed conflict, their position as ex-combatants in a post-war environment, and their outlook on their past, present and future. In the first chapter I set the scene of the Liberian civil war and discuss the central concepts on which my dissertation is built. Chapter two then takes up the methodological issues relating to the particular fieldwork conditions found. This is done by providing an account of my participant observation within a volatile community of ex-combatants in Monrovia. Chapter three deals with the nature of pre-civil war Liberian political and military organisational structures and their rootedness in pre-state institutions such as local warlordism and secret societies. In chapter four I look at the cultural setting of my fieldwork and track elements found within the legacy of violence, to oral literature and patterns of socialisation. Chapter five focuses specifically on the role and predicament of young women in the civil war. Whilst some became active fighters, most participated as auxiliaries in various capacities. Their accounts convey not only the tremendous hardship and suffering, but also reveal mechanisms which helped at least some to survive. In chapter six I discuss the question of a post-war reintegration of ex-combatants into peacetime society and show that the prospects of different groups depend primarily on their social and geographical situation, rather than on the negligible effectiveness of aid programmes routinely executed by international organisations and NGOs.

Although civil war affects all civilians, it impacts men and women in different ways, and it influences their gender roles and responsibilities. Comparatively little attention has been given to assessing the gender sensitivity of international organizations who implement post-conflict reconstruction programs. The different social, economic and political dimensions of war to peace transitions, and how they impact on gender relations, can shed some light on the complicated intersections of needs and interests in wartorn societies. An examination of the policies of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Bank reveals that there is relatively little gender mainstreaming within their post-conflict operations. This research finds that the lack of resources and coordination, the failure to build on local capacities, and a lack of commitment to gender mainstreaming are the main obstacles these organizations face. To improve the situation it is recommended that organizations develop and use a 'gender checklist' at all stages of project planning, implementation and monitoring to ensure increased gender sensitivity in post-conflict programming.

D.Litt et Phil. / For over a decade, from the late 1970's to October 1992, a war raged in Mozambique that resulted in what has been described as, one of the "most terrible genocides in the history of Africa". Over 4 million people were displaced during this war. Conservative estimates put the number of Mozambicans who sought refuge in South Africa at 250 000. This study examines the trauma created by the war, and its psycho-social outcomes, from the perspective of women refugees who came to settle in villages in the Nkomazi region of Mpumalanga province, in South Africa. Posttraumatic stress disorder, the concept which dominates research in the field of trauma studies, was based on research with male war veterans in western industrial societies. Recently a body of work has emerged which questions the validity of applying posttraumatic stress disorder to contexts of massive social conflict, and its utility in cross cultural contexts. This body of work suggests that an understanding of extreme trauma and its outcomes requires careful consideration of the social and cultural dimensions of trauma. The inclusion of a cultural formulation in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorder, DSM-IV, reinforces a growing acknowledgement amongst mental health researchers of the influence of culture on mental health and disorder. The gaps in research on African women survivors of war and the lack of standardised assessment tools, makes this an exploratory study which uses qualitative research methods. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 30 Mozambican women refugees to explore their experiences and definitions of trauma, the psycho-social outcomes of the trauma, and coping and survival in the aftermath of the war. The magnitude of the trauma evident in the research findings called for a conceptual definition which reflects multiple risks and the interdependence of social and individual trauma. Thematic analysis and qualitative coding of the interview data revealed clinically well defined posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and locally specific discourses of suffering framed by cultural beliefs, social practices and historical experiences. Their testimony and observations in the field, revealed that the survivors demonstrated a capacity to survive and reconstruct their lives. Their coping strategies and survival tactics were fundamentally shaped by socio-historical experiences and the limits and possibilities contained in the recovery environment. The results of this study suggest an approach to examining the complex relationship between trauma and its consequences, which abstracts neither trauma nor its victims from cultural and social-historical contexts.

Using Richmond as a case study, this thesis seeks to answer the following question: what was the effect of the First World War on elite white Richmond women's roles as southern women? This thesis argues that, while white southern women's roles had been changing since the Civil War, it was not until World War I that southern women's traditional roles were challenged by ideas of national patriotism and citizenship. This thesis traces the trajectory of change from the last decades of the nineteenth century, when Richmond women began to join women's organizations and participate more fully in public life, through World War I. This thesis argues that during the war, national organizations that formed chapters in Richmond challenged the predominant ideas about women's public responsibilities, which had focused on their city, state, and region. This war relief work with the Red Cross and governmental programs like Liberty Loan drives encouraged women to work beyond traditional domestic roles and challenged conceptions of southern womanhood. This thesis contends that, while some women adapted more fully to these changes, all Richmond women integrated new ideas about national womanhood into their identities, creating a new southern woman who was both southern and American. / Master of Arts

The purpose of this research was to analyse the impact of forced migration on women and development in northern Uganda. The armed conflict in northern Uganda, which started in 1986, led to gross violations of human rights against women forcing them to flee their homes and ftnd refuge in overcrowded resettlement camps. The main objective of the study was to critically analyse the causes of displacement and the experiences of internally displaced women so as to contribute to available knowledge on women and development Qualitative and feminist research techniques were carried out in Erute Camp located in Lira Municipality among intemally displaced women, using observation and interviews. The findings reveal that forced migration was caused by the armed conflict between the LRA rebels and the government solders. The conflict destroyed in:frastructw·e and socio-economic service delivery systems. This consequently par·alysed the northern Uganda's development as many civilians were forced to abandon their homesteads due to traumatic experiences of killings, torture and abductions. This resulted in human disintegration and the collapse of economic and social development in the region that was based on agriculture. The prolonged insecurity disrupted education, health, communication and commercial activities resulting in absolute poverty and underdevelopment Despite effo11s by government and some humanitarian agencies to provide the needs of the affected civilians, peace and reconciliation seems to be hard to achieve. Insecurity continues to spread making normal life, relief and economic activities impossible. Due to lack of effective implementation, coordination and monitoring of programmes, the situation poses great challenges to government and international h\Unanitarian agencies present such as: WFP, UNHCR, WHO, World Bank and others. Therefore, forced migration has a significant impact on women's social, economic, cultural and environmental development. However, a positive impact regar·ding women's empowe1ment and gender equality due to changed roles was eminent. I conclude by recommending that the stakeholders need to increase the capacity to restore peace. There is need to coordinate the development projects and programmes through increased flexibility and transparency. However, the need to involve women in the reconciliation and reconstruction processes to restore peace in northern Uganda is vital / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil.

The purpose of this research was to analyse the impact of forced migration on women and development in northern Uganda. The armed conflict in northern Uganda, which started in 1986, led to gross violations of human rights against women forcing them to flee their homes and ftnd refuge in overcrowded resettlement camps. The main objective of the study was to critically analyse the causes of displacement and the experiences of internally displaced women so as to contribute to available knowledge on women and development Qualitative and feminist research techniques were carried out in Erute Camp located in Lira Municipality among intemally displaced women, using observation and interviews. The findings reveal that forced migration was caused by the armed conflict between the LRA rebels and the government solders. The conflict destroyed in:frastructw·e and socio-economic service delivery systems. This consequently par·alysed the northern Uganda's development as many civilians were forced to abandon their homesteads due to traumatic experiences of killings, torture and abductions. This resulted in human disintegration and the collapse of economic and social development in the region that was based on agriculture. The prolonged insecurity disrupted education, health, communication and commercial activities resulting in absolute poverty and underdevelopment Despite effo11s by government and some humanitarian agencies to provide the needs of the affected civilians, peace and reconciliation seems to be hard to achieve. Insecurity continues to spread making normal life, relief and economic activities impossible. Due to lack of effective implementation, coordination and monitoring of programmes, the situation poses great challenges to government and international h\Unanitarian agencies present such as: WFP, UNHCR, WHO, World Bank and others. Therefore, forced migration has a significant impact on women's social, economic, cultural and environmental development. However, a positive impact regar·ding women's empowe1ment and gender equality due to changed roles was eminent. I conclude by recommending that the stakeholders need to increase the capacity to restore peace. There is need to coordinate the development projects and programmes through increased flexibility and transparency. However, the need to involve women in the reconciliation and reconstruction processes to restore peace in northern Uganda is vital / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil.

La présente étude porte sur l'expression de la mémoire féminine dans les fictions traitant de la guerre civile espagnole (1936-1939) et du franquisme. Elle s’intéresse plus particulièrement aux œuvres publiées depuis la fin de la dictature (1975) jusqu’en 2010, en français (Agustin Gomez-Arcos et Mercedes Deambrosis) et en espagnol (Dulce Chacón, Carme Riera, Josefina Aldecoa, Jesús Ferrero, Marifé Santiago Bolaños et Ángeles Caso). <p>Nous nous attachons d’abord à l’étude globale des représentations des expériences féminines de la guerre et de la répression. Dans l’écriture des violences subies comme dans celle des luttes et résistances, la double dimension politique et de genre émerge. L’analyse se resserre ensuite sur les représentations du traumatisme, entre manifestations pathologiques et tentatives de ritualisation. Nous montrons à cet égard comment le récit peut assumer une fonction rituelle.<p>La « poétique du traumatisme » mise au jour dans le corpus d’étude qualifie des réalisations formelles diverses, rassemblées en trois ensembles, correspondant à autant de lieux possibles d’ancrage du traumatisme :le rapport générationnel, le corps et la voix. Une attention spéciale est accordée à la figure de la victime. Des phénomènes tels que la répétition et la délinéarisation, apparaissant à divers niveaux du récit, éclairent le rapport que les fictions entretiennent avec le passé ainsi que leurs positions éthiques et politiques dans le présent de la démocratie. <p><p>The current study explores the expression of women’s memory in literary works dealing with the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and Francoism. It focuses on the fictional narratives published between the end of the dictatorship (1975) and 2010, in French (Agustin Gomez-Arcos and Mercedes Deambrosis) and Spanish (Dulce Chacón Carme Riera, Josefina Aldecoa, Jesús Ferrero, Marifé Santiago Bolaños and Ángeles Caso).<p>The thesis first conducts a global analysis on the representations of women’s experiences of war and repression. In the writing of violence, struggle and resistance, the double political and gendered dimension emerges. The research focuses subsequently on the trauma representations, between pathological manifestations and ritual attempts, and shows how narrative can assume a ritual function.<p>The « poetics of trauma » characterises various formal realisations, divided into three groups. Each of them embodies a possible space for the inscription of trauma :the generational link, the body and the voice. Special attention is given to the figure of the victim. Phenomena such as repetition and delinearisation, that appear at various levels, clarify the relationship that fictional narratives build with the past as well as their ethical and political positions in the democracy. / Doctorat en Langues et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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My mini-dissertation gives the autobiography of Talent Nyathi, who was born in rural Zimbabwe in 1961. Talent was unwillingly conscripted into the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle. On her return to Zimbabwe, she has worked tirelessly for the education of her compatriots. Talent's story casts light on subject-formation in conditions of difficulty, suffering and victimization. Doubly oppressed by her race and gender, Talent has nevertheless shown a remarkable capacity for self-empowerment and the empowerment of others. Her story needs to be heard because it will inspire other women and other S/subjects and because it is a corrective to both the notions of a heroic Struggle and the `victim' stereotype of Africa. Together with Talent's autobiography, my mini-dissertation offers extensive notes that situate her life story in the context of contemporary postcolonial, literary and gender theory and further draws out the significance of her individual `history-from-below'. / English Studies / M.A.

My mini-dissertation gives the autobiography of Talent Nyathi, who was born in rural Zimbabwe in 1961. Talent was unwillingly conscripted into the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle. On her return to Zimbabwe, she has worked tirelessly for the education of her compatriots. Talent's story casts light on subject-formation in conditions of difficulty, suffering and victimization. Doubly oppressed by her race and gender, Talent has nevertheless shown a remarkable capacity for self-empowerment and the empowerment of others. Her story needs to be heard because it will inspire other women and other S/subjects and because it is a corrective to both the notions of a heroic Struggle and the `victim' stereotype of Africa. Together with Talent's autobiography, my mini-dissertation offers extensive notes that situate her life story in the context of contemporary postcolonial, literary and gender theory and further draws out the significance of her individual `history-from-below'. / English Studies / M.A.