Post-conflict Transition(s) to Normality: Individual Stories from Sierra Leone.

Speaker: Dr Laura S. Martin, Global Challenges Research Fellow, BRIHC University of Birmingham

There is extensive research looking at how people engage with and perceive formal transitional justice mechanisms, particularly in Sierra Leone.  These mechanisms have made substantial claims about their ability to deliver societal reconciliation and justice.  In fact, what is often desired by many individuals in post-conflict societies is simply the ordinary, a transition to a ‘new normal.’  This article explores the various ways in which Sierra Leoneans practiced normality in the post-conflict era.  This was done through economic restoration, agricultural activities and religious engagement. This demonstrates the individual, rather than societal, nature of post-conflict transitions.  Ultimately, these mechanisms proved to be a more legitimate and meaningful way for many ordinary Sierra Leoneans to move past their war-related experiences and find some sense of peace and justice.