| Summary/Abstract |
This paper explores the nexus between child-soldiers’ wartime roles and their reintegration into the post-war society. Reintegration programmes do not suit all young veterans (former child soldiers). Many of these programmes do not result in their intended outcomes and literature has attempted to provide reasons for the failure or success of reintegration processes. The influence of young veterans’ war retentions, that is, skills, abilities, knowledge and practices gained through their wartime roles, on the reintegration process has not been adequately considered; this paper sets out to bridge this gap. The paper argues that wartime roles, far from being totally negative, could catalyse the reintegration process of some young veterans. While the paper partly concurs with the dominant apocalyptic description of the involvement of children in armed conflict, it argues that the experience gained from the war through combat, logistics, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance functions, is not always exclusively negative. Narratives collected from Liberian young veterans through in-depth interviews, attest to this. The paper also argues that the emphasis on the dominant role of killing and the harsh conditions of young veterans, tends to undermine any positive dimension of war retentions. The paper finally contests the view that there is diametrical opposition between wartime roles and post-war roles.
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