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During the course of the war, hundreds of thousands of children were displaced internally, for many, two or three times. Many others became refugees in neighboring countries. Finally, the increased family impoverishment and continued separation of children from their families contributed to the increase in the number of children on the streets and the arrests of children for common crimes. These children were detained in facilities that were far below minimum international standards and conditions. The Xaverian Missionaries Programme for the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Child Ex-Combatants. To address the needs of separated children (child soldiers, unaccompanied children and children suffering from war-related stress UNICEF developed a Child Protection Program in Sierra Leone. This programme succeeded in establishing structures for the demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers and identification, registration, documentation and reunification of children separated from their families. In 1999, the Xaverian Missionaries joined UNICEF in this program. We offered a center where children who had been with the fighting forces could start their process of rehabilitation. Our center, St. Michael’s Interim Care Center, was located in Lakka, a small village near Freetown, the capital city. By July 1999, large numbers of children were being admitted to St. Michael’s in response to the Lome Peace Accord and, by January 2000, the center was well over capacity. The reunification of children with their families was almost impossible. The center was becoming unmanageable, and the general view was that the center had become a “parking-lot” where children were placed and from which there was no way out. In an attempt to solve this problem, we decided to move children out into the community and into a program we called Alternative Care. This was something new and few people believed it would work. However, we proved that it was possible. Eventually, UNICEF adopted the idea and our program became a pilot for other centers in Sierra Leone. Journalists, researchers and world leaders (among them UN Secretary General Kofi Annan) visited and studied the program. UNHCR also asked us to establish a similar program for separated refugee children returning into Sierra Leone. Children from the fighting forces (released abductees, child mothers, ex-combatants and other separated children) enter into the program through different channels. Since late 1999, most of the children came from the demobilization centers, although significant numbers were captured and handed over to UNICEF by the security forces, were part of a negotiated release/handover, or were picked up by UN military personnel on patrol. Irrespective of the way they entered the program, all the children had to spend a period of time in our center. St. Michael’s was based on the principle of family care in an environment that facilitated smooth reintegration. Children felt secure and comfortable in a protected environment. School, workshops, sports and other activities kept them busy during the whole day. The idea was that children could speak up and share their feelings. When they first arrived in the center they could be very violent and tended to show off. Stories of killings, amputations, rapes and lootings were common 3
stuff during a child’s first weeks in the center. However, little by little he/she would tell the real story: the fears, the violence suffered, the tortures. That was the beginning of rehabilitation. Once the children told us their stories, we could provide an alternative to the violence and attempt to reunify them with their families. Children could either return to school or learn a job. Beginning the Rehabilitation Process It was important that children realized that they had done wrong even though they were not responsible for their actions. These feelings were clearly expressed in a prayer that many would repeat almost every day: “Papa God, I did not want to do it. I was forced to do it. Please forgive me.” Children whose parents could not be traced or whose families had rejected them were placed in long-term care programs. Little ones were sent to foster families. Older children were difficult to place and so group homes (a family taking care of four or five children) were set up to accommodate them, most of whom were young men. Apprenticeship and independent living were also responses to getting older children meaningfully occupied and back into the community. By January 2002, most of the children who were with the fighting forces had been released. (Tragically, a large group was forcibly taken to Liberia and later on to Ivory Coast where the armed conflicts continued.) At the end of April 2002 St. Michael’s was closed down. By that time, more than 3.000 children who had arrived in our center had been reunified with their families and were attending school or learning a job, and more than 200 children were living independently, working and taking care of themselves. However, there still remained a small number whose families could not be traced or refused to accept them. They are still living in group homes and foster families. A group of Sierra Leonean social workers that we have formed over the past years is now in charge of the program. After serving and living for nearly five years with the children of St. Michael’s programs, I feel now that I can move out and start new activities. ❃ ❃ ❃ 4
Page 2 and 3: UNITED NATIONS ADVANCED CERTIFICATE
Page 6 and 7: INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR AKIRA KUSU
Page 8 and 9: As a Commission Secretary of the Po
Page 10 and 11: ENDING INSECURITY MEANS ENDING THE
Page 12 and 13: ACUNS MEETS IN NEW YORK AND MOVES T
Page 14 and 15: THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR PROJE
Page 16 and 17: THE PH.D. Hiroshi Kaihara I graduat
Page 18 and 19: NEWS FROM FAR AND NEAR Mahamadou Ab
Page 20: Vincenzo Pugliese, Editor Photograp

united nations advanced certificate faculty - Long Island University

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