The Civil War in Sierra Leone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Civil War in Sierra Leone - Research Paper Example Marked with occasional military coups, the weak governments installed (mainly through international intervention) did not last long enough to oversee meaningful development or even stabilization, which has left a mark of continued failure and backwardness in the country. Several factors have been attributed to the onset of the civil war. Many researchers appear to settle for the more widely known reason: the independence government and other governments that followed did not attend to the grievances of the growing marginalized population. As a result, inaction created a very large group of aggrieved young men, who could not get decent employment since they were either semiliterate or completely illiterate. The government of the day had adopted a new system that promoted education as an exclusive preserve of the privileged. The marginalized population resorted to guerrilla warfare to ascend to power. This paper provides an analysis of the lack of authority that the government showed during the war. Several fights have involved children below the age of eighteen years, including the one in Southern Sudan. However, there was no direct involvement of children in their masses as witnessed when the Revolutionary United Front began its anti-government operations in Sierra Leone. The appalling picture of thousands of underage fighters engaging military officers with better equipment led to a lack of trust in the government. The government was viewed as one unable to uphold the rights of children and refugees at the general. The perception soon transformed into one of feeling betrayed and unprotected, especially when the nation witnessed the fast speed at which the militia was capturing provinces.