Reconciling Civil War.

PositionWORLDVIEW - Reconciliation programs in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone experienced a devastating civil war from 1991-2002. More than 50,000 people were killed, thousands more endured amputation, and over half the population was displaced. Much of the violence took place within communities, with members from the same villages taking up arms against each other. In the aftermath of civil wars, many countries undertake truth and reconciliation efforts to restore social cohesion, but little has been known about whether these programs reach their intended goals.

A study published in Science indicates that reconciliation programs promote societal healing, but that these gains come at the cost of reduced psychological health, worsening depression, anxiety, and trauma.

"Our research suggests that talking about war atrocities can prove psychologically traumatic for people affected by war. Invoking war memories appears to re-open old war wounds," says study coauthor Oeindrila Dube, former assistant professor of politics and economics at New York University. "At the same time, the reconciliation program we examined was also shown to improve social relations in communities divided by the war."

The program, which was designed and implemented by Fambul Tok ("Family Talk" in Krio), a Sierra Leonean nongovernmental organization, brought victims face-to-face with perpetrators in community forums. Victims detailed war atrocities; perpetrators admitted to crimes and sought forgiveness for their actions; and no one was compensated financially or punished for participating.

Researchers from the School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, economists at the World Bank's Development Research Group, and Dube worked with the research and policy nonprofit Innovations tor Poverty Action to conduct an independent, randomized evaluation of the program. The study took place across 200 villages, 100 of which randomly were chosen to be offered the reconciliation program. The research team tracked people in both sets of villages, recording their attitudes toward former combatants, mental health, and strength of their social ties nine and 31 months after the program.

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