Conflicts in the Third World Essay

reality of the most brutal 20th century civil war in Sierra Leone. Mariatu tells a very

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier and the recent 2006 film Blood Diamond both depict how it was living in Sierra Leone, Africa during the Civil War in the ‘90’s. While A Long Way Gone focuses on child soldiers and what they had to live and go through for many years, Blood Diamond focuses mainly on how the country is torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces. The film portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels' amputation of people's hands to stop them from voting in upcoming elections. Both the movie and the book try to tackle major issues by asking the questions: how

Darfur is the western region of the African country of Sudan. Currently, the people of Darfur have been continually attacked by the Sudanese army and by proxy-militia controlled by the Sudanese government. Families are being uprooted and starved, children tormented and murdered by the thousands and women raped without punishment. Innocent civilians in Darfur continue to be victims of unthinkable brutality. Many people have become homeless and seek protection in refugee camps in Chad. Yet despite its outward appearance, Darfur has a vast ethnic diversity and a complex, ancient system of resolving conflict. Genocide has occurred in several places around the world, but in Darfur there are certain reasons why it

The civil war in Sudan has claimed millionsof lives and forced millions more from their

The continent of Africa has been exposed to countless of years of tragedy including forced slavery and colonialism. One of the most devastating hits to Africa is the civil war that occurred in Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002. This country experienced a decade long war in an endeavor to achieve economic stability and a democratic political system for Sierra Leoneans. There are many facets that contributed to the warfare that occurred in the small nation, from the reason why the conflict started, the numerous participants and their affiliations, and cessation as well as the effects thereafter.

The RUF then realized that they could obtain money from the diamond mines in eastern Sierra Leone, they took over extremely large areas of land and started mining the diamonds, then they began illegally smuggling the diamonds into Liberia, selling the diamonds and receiving a great deal of money, and using that money to buy weapons and supplies to use against innocent civilians and the government. (Sierra Leone’s Civil War). These diamonds played a crucial part in the war because without them the RUF would not have had a substantial income which was later used to fund child soldiers and many of the other horrible things. Foday Sankoh, the leader the RUF encouraged his soldiers to abduct children from villages they had raided, force them to take drugs, and turn them into soldiers that were trained to kill without thinking about it. The girls would also be turned into “wives” of the soldiers and were treated as sex slaves (Martin). This harsh thing happens all the time all over the world and they children are left helpless. This is a major issue in our world that need to be fixed but it requires help of

During the period from 1914 until around 1945, the world experienced a period of global warfare and- as a result- these thirty years included wars, unfavorably treaties, periods of inflation and economic depression, civil unrest, and mass genocide. Not only were many of the world’s countries at war with one another, they also struggled internally with civil unrest, violence and poverty.

Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, stated in a conference, “I was one of those children forced into fighting at the age of 13, in my country Sierra Leone, a war that claimed the lives of my mother, father and two brothers. I know too well the emotional, psychological and physical burden that comes with being exposed to violence as a child or at any age for that matter,” (Brainy Quotes). He grew up during the civil war in 1991, when the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.) attempted to overthrow the government. The R.U.F. took control of eastern and southern Sierra Leone territories that were rich in diamonds. In order to purchase weapons and ammunitions, the R.U.F. would enslave villages and use the citizens

Arab tribes known as the Janjaweed trained and paid by the government of Sudan have repeatedly committed genocide in southern villages. Alleged transactions between the Janjaweed and the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir have caused an international outcry for action by the United Nations. The United Nations reports that an estimated genocide of 300,000-400,000 in the Darfur region since the beginning of tensions. The President of Sudan is now under investigation and stern scrutiny because of these reports. The International Criminal Court has taken action against Bashir and he is facing punishment for war crimes. However, he remains in power and civil unrest remains in

Greed and grievances are found to be two of the most crucial causes of most violent conflicts as well as the driving forces of mass rebellion. In the case of Sierra Leone, a war that went on from 1991 to 2002 killing about 50,000 people and displacing almost two thirds of the total population is a great example of a violent conflict that fits both the greed and grievance based explanation. At the time, Sierra Leon was a country based on a one party system and dominated by the APC also known as the ‘All people’s congress’. During the APC regime there was great misuse of political power for the parties personal gain. There appeared to be great decline of “total output, neglect of agriculture, increase in unemployment, deterioration and neglect of agriculture, increase in unemployment” (Naguib, 2015). Although the president at the time made major reforms that pushed for a more democratic state, that guaranteed basic human rights, he did not keep his promising allowing the APC to continue in

In Besteman’s ethnographies, South Africa face the challenges of transforming its self after dealing with apartheid. In reality , I had expected more data on the post-war Sierra Leone , only because it has been a decade since the conflict ended. I believe that my frustration stems from me being originated from Sierra Leone. I would love for this country to pick up in terms of macroeconomics and microeconomics. But I now understand how detrimental civil wars are. My study shows one of the few concept discussed in class of African. It represents the most common problem the majority of African countries are facing , which is their corrupt government. The development for majority of African countries would be more of a constant growth if the government systems were firm and

(United Nations 1). Early in 1992, the R.U.F seized Kono, the diamond mining capital of Sierra Leone, because of the amount of profit in the diamond mining industry in Africa, and initiated a diamond conflict between some diamond mining nations in Africa, thus starting (Gerund) the “War over Conflict Diamonds”. In an attempt to put (Infinitive) a halt to this uprising, the National Provisional Ruling Council (N.P.R.C) waged war with the R.U.F., creating “Operation Genesis” to force out the R.U.F. (Brown 1). However, this did not succeed, causing an attack by the R.U.F. on Sierra Leoneans. To intimidate voters and keep control on the diamond mines, the R.U.F “chopped off the hands and feet of adults, teens, and infants.” (Brown 1). Despite this vicious onslaught, the R.U.F. was still allowed to participate (Infinitive) in the elections. (Brown 1). This remains the biggest reason that we must put an end to these rebel groups and the pain they cause to African families.

In Matthew Stein’s, Uganda’s IDPs a Legacy of War, (http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/4172/ugandas-idps-a-legacy-of-war) the issue of Joseph Kony’s reign is brought to attention. The Lord’s Resistance Army has been a continuous threat to Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the Central African Republic (CAR) for the past several years. While attempted efforts of rebellion have been taken place, their destruction has had a lasting negative impact. Measures have been taken to protect the people in Uganda where the threats have been the greatest.

The Sierra Leones Civil War, started in 1991 and ended in 2002.In more than a decade cities were destroyed and occupied, people displaced, women raped and children forced to become soldiers. Man were mostly used in the diamond’s mines or deployed in illegal armed forces. At the very beginning, in 1991 the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) from Liberia moved to Sierra Leone to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. In the meanwhile, the Sierra Leone Army tried its best to protect the huge amount of diamonds’ mines. Those mines, through the illicit commerce all over the world, fuelled the RUF and the NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia) or later in the years the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council), to support theirs military expenses with the revenues.

Another thing scarcity plays a big role in is water. For example, Sudan has been in conflict with other countries and has had environmental effects. “There is a lack of clean water in many rural villages in Africa, waterborne and water-based diseases are a primary cause of preventable illness and premature deaths, with children being particularly vulnerable”, ("Water."). This has forced people to move out of the country. Water is very short during the dry season. Groundwater is an important source of water supply for people and livestock, especially during the dry season. A lot of the water is not safe to drink because of all the chemicals in it.