All over the world youth are uprising. They find themselves confronted with precarious conditions which not allow them to build livelihoods that ensure support for themselves and their families and therefore leave them in waithood, a state between Child- and adulthood. The youth lacks the opportunity to become financial independent and thus to be a social viewed adult with all privileges and responsibilities connected to that. Hence they feel excluded. They rise to fight for their rights, an own space, fight against an uncertain future, inequalities, poverty and corruption (cf. Honwana). The mind or the hands need to be occupied with a labour that provides a minimum of structure to daily live, secures a regular reliable income and contributes to society in order to build something up in life, have hope and trust, a healthy self-confidence and a chance to be happy. The lack of such a labour can lead to terrible choices in the struggle to find alternatives outside the dominant economic and familial frameworks. The youth is forced to be creative in order to maintain the basics of their life and find a sense of belonging in society. Therefore they become very flexible, social networks take in the role as work facilitators, supplying variable employment without any guarantee for salary (cf. Hoffman). In competitive economics and societies by doing so the youth is destroying the ground for their own demands, forcing each other to be more available then the others to potential employers, working under even worse conditions.
The precarious situation is brought about by Political instability, bad governance, and failed neo-liberal social and economic policies (cf. Honwana). The national governments and international community seem to put their faith into the paradigm of growth. Despite the increasing use of technologies as work forces in traditional labours e.g. agriculture and the limits set to growth by the limits of overcrowded markets, regulated by trade contracts made under unequal starting conditions plus the threat of climate change. The youth is more and more challenging the perception of growth as solution, doubting to benefit from it in anyway if it is not at least connected to changes in the way of distribution of wealth and reduced inequalities.
The second strong narrative to find a way out of the current situation of unemployment and stagnation is education. But even given the basic assumption of education as great pioneer to good work is actually true this ends in a tap as education needs to be provided by a government that needs taxes to do so. But exactly these taxes are not payed anymore by society members excluded from a regular employment. The same excluded individuals are also not able to support their children with their education properly.
The governments of the most states are not doing much to change the situation and future prospects of the youth. Thus the youth itself has to become and actually is becoming proactive.
Africa is the youngest continent of the world. Half or more of the population are under the age of 18 years. Africa is also the poorest continent of the world (cf. Peters and Richards) and in many countries war-torn. Hoffman develops the theory of violence as physical work, a mode of production. He points out that the enemy wasn’t the defining moment and not so important to most of the combatants during the Mano River war. Neither was identity, which became fluid along the border of Sierra Leone an Liberia and the involvement and influence of various groups consisting several ethnicities on both sides of the border. The mood of Opportunism and habituation to just in time productions favour the willingness of young people to be available for whatever work is necessary to be done. So they were also ready to become combatants. Besides of an activity during the day and the possibility to enrich themselves by what they can get from muggings being a combatant brought a sense of belonging, a place in the world. It was kind of Self-fashioning.
In most wars among African countries child and youth soldiers are becoming way more common. This is among other things favoured by the technology development, making weapons much lighter and easier to operate and the realisation that children can be brave and loyal soldiers, once disconnected from their relatives and familiar surrounding searching for a new family to connect. For them to being a combatant offers the chance to make sense of the world, the own position and become at least partly independent. A lot of youth who started fighting in the Mano River War when they were around the age of 8-10 grew up during the 12 years of fighting, if they survived.
The disarmament attempts after the peace contract didn´t really work out as hoped, because of a lack of possibilities for regular employment, viable economic alternatives. The ex-combatants expected payment by the international community (United Nations) and instead received trainings in selected trades e.g. tailoring or carpentry. But beside access problems referring to power structures the trainings didn’t involve enough variety. Thus there were to many people educated in one skill looking to make a living with it and some interests and fields, e.g. agriculture not included at all.
The documentary film by the Nordic African Institute of four men trying to make a living in Belgium, Freetown, Sierra Leone in the jew-man-business misses a female voice completely, as most literature is referring mainly to men realties. Honwana points out that the experience of waithood, portrayed very intimate of the four young men in the film, differs by gender. Females depend on males to get to adulthood on a large extend, since starting a family is widely seen as their role in society. Therefore males have to become financial independent and reach adulthood first. In a system where this becomes more and more difficult and a change of lifestyle is uprising females have to find their own creative solutions how to cope with life and the precarious situation they find themselves in outside the familiar framework. Especially considered waithood is not only an interruption on the way to adulthood but rather a change of the whole construction and understanding of traditional adulthood.
The males from the documentary are therefore living day by day, depending totally on their own skills. They do criticize the government but don’t show any hope for a change in the system, still they maintain hope for themselves to reach a better position in life through their own working force and overcoming drug addiction one day. Religion is one factor providing a glimpse of stability and security to relay on. Another one is a new built family and friends that are seen as trustable.
The lack of working possibilities is driving young people to the cities in search of opportunities and in Sierra Leone moreover to escape condemn for actions during the war time. The mobility requested of young people in a post-Fordism economic setting forces them to live disconnected from their families and supporting community systems what is particularly fatal considering the deficiency of labour. Furthermore the individual finds him*herself confronted with authorities acting arbitrary towards him*her.
The precarious situation is brought about by Political instability, bad governance, and failed neo-liberal social and economic policies (cf. Honwana). The national governments and international community seem to put their faith into the paradigm of growth. Despite the increasing use of technologies as work forces in traditional labours e.g. agriculture and the limits set to growth by the limits of overcrowded markets, regulated by trade contracts made under unequal starting conditions plus the threat of climate change. The youth is more and more challenging the perception of growth as solution, doubting to benefit from it in anyway if it is not at least connected to changes in the way of distribution of wealth and reduced inequalities.
The second strong narrative to find a way out of the current situation of unemployment and stagnation is education. But even given the basic assumption of education as great pioneer to good work is actually true this ends in a tap as education needs to be provided by a government that needs taxes to do so. But exactly these taxes are not payed anymore by society members excluded from a regular employment. The same excluded individuals are also not able to support their children with their education properly.
The governments of the most states are not doing much to change the situation and future prospects of the youth. Thus the youth itself has to become and actually is becoming proactive.
Africa is the youngest continent of the world. Half or more of the population are under the age of 18 years. Africa is also the poorest continent of the world (cf. Peters and Richards) and in many countries war-torn. Hoffman develops the theory of violence as physical work, a mode of production. He points out that the enemy wasn’t the defining moment and not so important to most of the combatants during the Mano River war. Neither was identity, which became fluid along the border of Sierra Leone an Liberia and the involvement and influence of various groups consisting several ethnicities on both sides of the border. The mood of Opportunism and habituation to just in time productions favour the willingness of young people to be available for whatever work is necessary to be done. So they were also ready to become combatants. Besides of an activity during the day and the possibility to enrich themselves by what they can get from muggings being a combatant brought a sense of belonging, a place in the world. It was kind of Self-fashioning.
In most wars among African countries child and youth soldiers are becoming way more common. This is among other things favoured by the technology development, making weapons much lighter and easier to operate and the realisation that children can be brave and loyal soldiers, once disconnected from their relatives and familiar surrounding searching for a new family to connect. For them to being a combatant offers the chance to make sense of the world, the own position and become at least partly independent. A lot of youth who started fighting in the Mano River War when they were around the age of 8-10 grew up during the 12 years of fighting, if they survived.
The disarmament attempts after the peace contract didn´t really work out as hoped, because of a lack of possibilities for regular employment, viable economic alternatives. The ex-combatants expected payment by the international community (United Nations) and instead received trainings in selected trades e.g. tailoring or carpentry. But beside access problems referring to power structures the trainings didn’t involve enough variety. Thus there were to many people educated in one skill looking to make a living with it and some interests and fields, e.g. agriculture not included at all.
The documentary film by the Nordic African Institute of four men trying to make a living in Belgium, Freetown, Sierra Leone in the jew-man-business misses a female voice completely, as most literature is referring mainly to men realties. Honwana points out that the experience of waithood, portrayed very intimate of the four young men in the film, differs by gender. Females depend on males to get to adulthood on a large extend, since starting a family is widely seen as their role in society. Therefore males have to become financial independent and reach adulthood first. In a system where this becomes more and more difficult and a change of lifestyle is uprising females have to find their own creative solutions how to cope with life and the precarious situation they find themselves in outside the familiar framework. Especially considered waithood is not only an interruption on the way to adulthood but rather a change of the whole construction and understanding of traditional adulthood.
The males from the documentary are therefore living day by day, depending totally on their own skills. They do criticize the government but don’t show any hope for a change in the system, still they maintain hope for themselves to reach a better position in life through their own working force and overcoming drug addiction one day. Religion is one factor providing a glimpse of stability and security to relay on. Another one is a new built family and friends that are seen as trustable.
The lack of working possibilities is driving young people to the cities in search of opportunities and in Sierra Leone moreover to escape condemn for actions during the war time. The mobility requested of young people in a post-Fordism economic setting forces them to live disconnected from their families and supporting community systems what is particularly fatal considering the deficiency of labour. Furthermore the individual finds him*herself confronted with authorities acting arbitrary towards him*her.
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