Dutch researcher Krijn Peters discovered that the war in Sierra Leone, and in particular the active participation of young people in this, was due to a lack of training and employment perspectives for young people. Moreover, the youth were not involved in society, but ignored, exploited and excluded. The marginalised and exploited youth subsequently turned against society in an extremely violent manner.
Peters also investigated what happened after the disarmament and during the reintegration of the former soldiers. Many millions of dollars have been spent on reintegration projects, mainly in the form of providing vocational training. Yet in a country where the majority of the population earns its income from farming, the many newly-qualified carpenters and tailors could find no work.
The majority of ex-soldiers had to return to their villages. Without access to land or reforms in the local jurisprudence, they remained vulnerable to exploitation by the local ruling elite. Others left for the diamond fields. Yet as they could scarcely sell their skills, they ended up working for subsistence wages in the mines. From these findings Peters concluded that the problems which led to the outbreak of the horrendous war in Sierra Leone have yet to be resolved.
Thesis: Footpaths to Reintegration: Armed conflict, youth and the rural crisis in Sierra Leone