Shadows into Light: A Generation of Former Child Soldiers Comes of Age

During the civil war that ravaged Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002, an estimated 20,000 children were forced to join the fighting. As villages were raided and youths rounded up, it was not uncommon for a child to be ordered to kill a friend, relative, or neighbor. The goal was to make it impossible for the captives to return home and be accepted back into their communities.



But when the conflict ended, many of the children did find their way home. Theresa Betancourt and her collaborators in Si...