Years of Conflict

Adolescence, Political Violence and Displacement

Jason Hart, Jason Hart

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9780857450548
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Antropologia

Recent years have witnessed a significant growth of interest in the consequences of political violence and displacement for the young. However, when speaking of "children" commentators have often taken the situation of those in early and middle childhood as representative of all young people under eighteen years of age. As a consequence, the specific situation of adolescents negotiating the processes of transition towards social adulthood amidst conditions of violence and displacement is commonly overlooked. Years of Conflict provides a much-needed corrective. Drawing upon perspectives from anthropology, psychology, and media studies as well as the insights of those involved in programmatic interventions, it describes and analyses the experiences of older children facing the challenges of daily life in settings of conflict, post-conflict and refuge. Several authors also reflect upon methodological issues in pursuing research with young people in such settings. The accounts span the globe, taking in Liberia, Afghanistan, South Africa, Peru, Jordan, UK/Western Europe, Eastern Africa, Iran, USA, and Colombia.

This book will be invaluable to those seeking a fuller understanding of conflict and displacement and its effects upon adolescents. It will also be welcomed by practitioners concerned to develop more effective ways of providing support to this group.

PART I

ADOLESCENCE IN CONTEXT

1

Reconstructing Adolescence after Displacement: Experience from Eastern Africa *

Hirut Tefferi

Introduction

This chapter explores the impact of armed conflict and displacement on adolescents in eastern Africa. It asks how dramatic changes brought about by war and forced migration affect the traditional ideas and practices surrounding adolescence and thereby influence the actual lives of young people. It is based on my extensive experience as a female psychologist from Ethiopia working with war-affected children since the late 1980s. My work has taken me to Somaliland, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, southern Sudan and northern Uganda. By writing about eastern Africa, I am aware of the fact that I am dealing with a large geographical area with a good deal of cultural diversity. Nonetheless, through my work I have come to recognise the ideas, issues and practices relating to adolescence that, if not existent in all locations, are certainly familiar in many locations. While I do not wish to downplay the importance of distinctive cultures and particular communities, I believe it is still useful to reflect on the general trends and offer observations that may support detailed enquiry in any given location.

Much of the conventional discussion of conflict and its impact on young people has tended to focus on a single issue – such as military recruitment or gender-based violence. To address the limitations to this approach, this chapter instead seeks to consider a less obvious but potentially more fundamental challenge to those young people in later childhood. As I shall explain, adolescents in conflict-induced displacement experience much difficulty in achieving their adult status and full membership in society. In this context, many adolescents have chosen to migrate or join a military force as an alternative means to attaining prized adult status. However, these alternatives also present many contradictions and challenges. Not only is their immediate well-being put under threat, but both returning migrants and former combatants may encounter a challenge to their claims on full adult membership of home communities as a result of their actions. As I shall suggest, this kind of social impact – while less immediate and obvious perhaps than other dimensions of young people's experience of conflict and displacement- nevertheless has important and potentially very long-term consequences for them and their communities. In order to understand how exactly such consequences come about it is first important to know a little about the conventions surrounding adolescence in eastern Africa.

Conventional Notions and Practices of Adolescence in Eastern Africa

Throughout eastern Africa, adolescence is commonly defined as a period from the end of childhood towards the full entry into adult responsibilities. Certainly, adolescence is not a moment or a sudden switch from childhood but rather a gradual process within which particular rites and practices may serve to mark the changing status of the individual. If adulthood is considered as a period of full membership in the community, adolescence is a transition to and a trial period of adulthood. Of course, there are important differences in the ways in which adolescence is understood within the region. For example, in rural areas it relates strongly to the assumption of growing degrees of responsibility by individuals. During this period, adolescents are expected to increasingly share the responsibility of their parents and villagers, especially in terms of productive activities and defending property such as cattle and land and upholding the name of the family or the tribe. In contrast, for their peers living in urban and more privileged areas, adolescence is a time when they continue to attend schools and are largely considered as ‘children’. Nevertheless, commonalities exist in that adolescence is conceptualised as an important period of transition from childhood to adulthood.

In terms of the practices surrounding adolescence, transition is achieved and marked in various ways within different communities. However, in most rural communities, initiation ceremonies are commonly employed to mark the end of childhood and entry into formal adulthood. The preparation for and conduct of initiation ceremonies involve elders in the community in guiding the physical, social, political, psychological and spiritual development of young people. During initiation ceremonies, adolescents are taught to take on adult roles and responsibilities within their families and communities. Afterwards, they are expected to show signs of independence, responsibility and ability to care for parents, extended family and community members.

In general, social responsibilities are defined according to gender, and success in performing their designated roles is related to the attainment of ideal masculine and feminine status. Girls, for example, are generally taught to be good wives and mothers. They are advised on appropriate social behaviour, duties and responsibilities (particularly towards husbands and inlaws) and on their sexual and domestic roles. They learn to groom themselves, and to contain anger and frustrations caused by the behaviour of spouses. Many are expected to marry even before they experience their first menstrual cycle (menarche). Girls who show signs of possessing supernatural powers may be encouraged to develop these skills through association with traditional healers or spiritual leaders in their communities.

On the other hand, males are expected to imitate their fathers, spending more and more time away from home, performing adult tasks in farming, participating in traditional courts, and so on. In this way, they are gradually introduced into the political life of their communities. Those who seem particularly suited for leadership may be invited to participate with elders and community leaders during political functions. Initiation ceremonies particularly emphasise the role of males in defending their community's economic and social interests and understanding the relationship of their community to others. Initiates learn to identify other groups as friend or foe, judge the necessity of inter-group conflict, and display acceptable behaviour during different phases of conflict. In addition, in many communities courage and the capacity for aggression are strongly associated with the attainment of adult masculine status. As part of the transition to adulthood, boys are therefore required to display physical strength and tolerance for pain and hardship. They are also expected to exhibit skills necessary for protecting themselves, those around them and the interests of their communities. During initiation ceremonies, activities focus on building physical prowess and bravery, and boys are coached in survival skills by male relatives such as elder brothers and uncles. Failure of a boy to perform the expected tasks is a humiliation not only for the individual but also for the whole family or clan.

All in all, initiation ceremonies are highly significant not only for the adolescents themselves but also for their community at large. The successful conduct of initiation ceremonies is indicative of the well-being and moral standing of a community. Conversely, interruptions in initiation ceremonies are thought to signify the failure of a community and its political leadership, as well as a collective decline in morale and values. It is often believed that the community will pay for such failure for several generations.

The Impact of Conflict and Displacement on the Transition to Adulthood

In the countries in eastern Africa that this chapter focuses on (namely, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and northern Uganda), violent social upheaval and political turmoil have undermined the basic structures and functioning of many communities as well as the practices and values of the population. In particular, conflict and displacement have led to the disruption of institutions and practices that would conventionally serve as a framework for the transition to adulthood. The following examples are illustrative of such disruption.

Breakdown of the Family and Community Structures

Throughout eastern Africa, social roles and responsibilities are distributed to a large extent in relation to age and generation. Older community members have traditionally been expected to provide leadership and guidance for younger generations to assist them in their successful achievement of transition to adulthood. However, large-scale displacement during protracted conflicts in this region have brought about radical changes to the traditional hierarchies and social systems characteristic of many communities in eastern Africa and particularly undermined the role of elders. In some cases, the negation of conventional, age-related social hierarchies and the role of older generations has been a deliberate aim of parties to the conflict. For example, the socialist revolution in Ethiopia during the mid-1970s attacked the feudalistic social structure and, in doing so, intentionally undermined established family, communal and religious values. Thus, social hierarchy built upon age and generation, according to which respect for elders was strongly upheld, was replaced by a common belief that the elders as well as the values and powers associated with them were backward. This went hand in hand with the assumption of far greater power by younger generations.

In addition, military engagement by adolescents has led to the reversal of the roles of parents/adults and their children as those adolescents with weapons came to hold a significant amount of power over civilian adults. In southern Sudan, for example, where community elders had previously played the most prominent role in overseeing the administration of community affairs, adolescent boys and young adults who bore modern weapons usurped the role of the elders. The consequent demise in the status of elders has, in turn, had a significant impact on the adolescents' development and disrupted the conventional framework for their transition to adulthood.

Finally, conflict-induced displacement has also made the transition to adulthood practically impossible to attain for many adolescent boys. Within displacement camps, younger adult males often experience an increase in power in relation to their male elders. Since they are more likely to be educated and to possess the means to communicate with aid providers, at least some will be given significant power and responsibility. They may be asked to oversee efforts such as the distribution of rations, registration of refugees, provision of support for soldiers and recruitment of fighters for armed groups. Such increased power, however, has had a negative impact not only upon the authority of elders but also upon the opportunities of adolescents. Due to such changes in the social hierarchies of displaced communities, many adolescent boys have found that the social mobility which had existed in peacetime now largely disappeared, as young adult males are often reluctant to graduate into the now-devalued social space of the elders. Furthermore, they are equally hesitant to relinquish their newfound power within the camps to inexperienced adolescents. As a result, many adolescents come to remain in a state of social suspension and are unable to assume the expected roles and responsibilities of ‘adults’. Such decreased social mobility and the resulting inability to make the effective transition to adulthood have been a source of great frustration for many adolescent males in displaced situations.

Suspension of the Practices around Transition

As previously discussed, initiation ceremonies are essential to the process of moving from the status of a ‘child’ to that of an ‘adult’ in eastern Africa. In many communities, an individual's transition out of childhood is not considered complete without the performance of such ceremonies. As initiation rites are conducted in agreement between different groups of people, they require a certain level of political and social cohesiveness. In situations of conflict-induced displacement, however, such cohesion is hard to achieve.

In the absence of the ceremonies, the position of young people clearly no longer ‘children’ but not yet initiated often becomes highly ambiguous and problematic. Even when they are in their thirties or forties, those uninitiated may still not be recognised as full adults. Due to the resulting stigmatisation, disruption of initiation ceremonies is thus loathed by adolescents seeking to obtain respected adult status. In many communities, completed initiation is represented by physical markings on adolescents' faces or bodies in the form of scarification, tooth removal or tattoos. These markings are of such symbolic importance that in southern Sudan, for example, adolescents who were unable to undergo initiation ceremonies due to conflict began forcibly removing the teeth of their related peers, so as not to be seen as cowards or outsiders despite their uninitiated status. Such actions are indicative of adolescents' fierce desire to attain the respect associated with adulthood despite the impossibility of using traditional methods for doing so.

Introduction of New Discourses and Practices of ‘Childhood’

For the adolescents in displacement situations in eastern Africa, the ambiguities of adolescence and the challenge to attain adult status are further complicated by the introduction of new discourses about childhood by international humanitarian organisations. In light of different international and regional standards, adolescents under the age of eighteen are categorised as ‘children’ in need of protection. They are seen as possessing a certain set of rights that international humanitarian organisations strive to realise on their behalf. Such notions are often in contradiction to local ideas about young people in their second decade of life. This has led to much confusion and frustration for many young people who are frequently confronted with contradictory expectations regarding their competencies, roles and responsibilities.

For instance, following initiation ceremonies young males are commonly expected to contribute to and defend their communities through gainful employment or soldiering. Indeed, adolescents often fill the ranks of both rebel groups and state armies, composing a significant proportion of eastern Africa's fighting forces. As soldiers they take on a variety of roles, engaging in direct combat, guarding checkpoints, assisting commanders and conducting military intelligence work. However, in relation to humanitarian interventions, adolescents in displacement situations must regularly recast themselves as vulnerable, dependent children in order to escape legal punishment or gain priority for relief assistance. Furthermore, while young people are, under normal circumstances, expected to perform a considerable amount of productive work and take decisions on certain matters, they are expected by humanitarian agencies to sit in classrooms, usually with children much younger than themselves. Their roles in defending their communities and properties are consistently delegitimised, and adolescents are discouraged from taking part in training or from exhibiting skills that relate to the defence of themselves and their communities. Agencies usually offer services to them only if they are seen as vulnerable, according to such labels as ‘unaccompanied children’ and ‘demobilised child soldiers’. To be sure, I am not intending to endorse the involvement of children as soldiers here, many of whom are forcibly recruited by organisations such as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Nevertheless, I believe it is important to remember that many young people engage in these activities not only because they are forced by circumstances, but also because they feel that such involvement offers them a sense of independence that they desire in becoming an adult. Unfortunately, many humanitarian agencies have only worked according to their own values and outlook on ‘children’ and have not acknowledged such complexity in the roles and desires of adolescents.

For those categorised as ‘child soldiers’, demobilisation processes can be particularly challenging as disarmament during war often works against a boy's claim on the ideal masculine status of an adult. As a southern Sudanese man explained:

It is unthinkable for me to pick up a weapon and fight when my young grandson is around. It is his duty to contribute what he can to the struggle…I cannot see what he shall do staying in the village. That [staying in the village] is for girls and for boys younger than four years (Interview conducted by author in Akot, southern Sudan, 1999).

That many adolescents must deny or repent their involvement in activities considered honourable and respectable by their communities in order to access relief assistance is a source of much confusion and frustration for the young people. I have witnessed this situation in refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

A similar conflict in expectations of adolescents' roles and responsibilities occurs with the introduction of modern education systems among displaced populations. While education through traditional initiation ceremonies is lost or curtailed, formal ‘Western-style’ education has become an important component of humanitarian assistance and an integral aspect of life for young people in many refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) camps. Emergency education programmes emphasise the importance of young people's attendance at school, and suggest radically different standards for successful personal development. Along with the proliferation of primary and secondary schools has come a great stress upon the value of formal academic achievements among populations with no prior exposure to educational services. As a result, educational achievement has gradually become a measure of young people's maturity. This, of course, stands in stark contrast to more traditional indicators of maturity, including successful passage through initiation ceremonies, marriage and mothering for girls and work in the fields or other gainful employment for boys. Increasingly, adolescents are finding it necessary to redefine their future goals and aspirations, and postpone traditional social roles and responsibilities to fit those dictated by modern education systems. In many cases, this poses a direct threat to adolescents' identity and self-esteem, since school is often perceived to be only for young children, thus making a return to the classroom a step backwards from initiation and adolescents' pursuit of adult status.

Destruction of Family and Community Ties

Conflict and displacement not only affect the ways in which ‘adolescence’ as a life phase is imagined and structured but also undermine the ties that bind young people to family and community. In ideal circumstances, attachment to community is developed through processes of socialisation and initiation that involve the inculcation of established values. In many conflict situations, however, the destruction of families, communities and traditional rituals often means that adolescents miss out on engagement with the established processes through which a sense of group belonging is developed. Moreover, due to severe economic problems some parents may push their children to take responsibility for supporting their families even through behaviour that would previously have been considered unacceptable. Military forces can take this further, exploiting the poverty and the breakdown in social relations experienced by young people to draw them systematically into extreme acts of violence unacceptable to the norms of society. The most obvious recent example in eastern Africa is Rwanda, where early recruits to the Interahamwe particularly included young men displaced by war and rural poverty living near the capital Kigali. As Alison Des Foges has reported:

Authorities first incited attacks on the most obvious targets – men who had acknowledged or could be easily supposed to have ties with the RPF – and only later insisted on the slaughter of women, children, the elderly, and others generally regarded as apolitical.…the ‘moral authority’ of the state swayed them to commit cri...