Young Citizens Radio Programme

As of October 2004, 90,000 former combatants had been disarmed and demobilised and disarmament officially concluded on October 31. However, UN peacekeepers continue to disarm former fighters in remote corners of northern and south-eastern Liberia who still have weapons.

To support the Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) process, as well as the broader social reintegration process, Search for Common ground (SFCG) produces a radio programme entitled Young Citizens, which provides up-to-date information on these processes. SFCG hired two ex-combatants, Dennis Weah and Mabel Dahn, to host the programme, both of which are ex-combatants and were personally involved with the issues facing Liberians during the DDRR process. Moreover, while Mabel occupied a high function in the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Dennis was one of the opposition's (the LURD) top commanders. Together, the hosts show that peace between the two groups is possible and give voice to both sides while sharing their personal search for common ground with the audience. Since the conclusion of the disarmament and demobilisation phases of the DDRR process, the programme now emphasises rehabilitation and reintegration, particularly with respect to the participation of young people in elections.

Young Citizens continues to mainstream the voices of ex-combatants and war-affected youth both from Monrovia and rural communities and focuses mainly on youth's concerns about the delay and inadequacy of the reintegration and rehabilitation component of the DDRR process. The interviewees indicated that the delay in providing livelihood opportunities could be responsible for the recruitment of young people, many of them ex-combatants, to fight in the Ivorian conflict. Other editions of Young Citizens highlighted the concerns of young people regarding the coming elections and the roles they can play in the process.

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