By Alvin Lansana Kargbo

Over 20 years after Sierra Leone’s civil war, the country continues to count its losses and reckon with its past. While efforts at justice and reconciliation have recognized ex-combatants, amputees and war widows, one group remains almost entirely forgotten; the children born of war.

These are the sons and daughters of women and girls who were raped or forced into sexual slavery during the brutal conflict from 1991 to 2002. They are now young adults, many in their early to mid-twenties, living across the country from Kailahun to Kambia and yet they remain invisible in national records, policy plans and public memory.

Though they played no part in the conflict, they carry the psychological and social burden of a war they didn’t start: stigma, rejection, poverty and a crisis of identity. Most of them do not know their fathers. Many were never told the truth about their origins. And some have lived with names like “rebel pikin,” “bastard” or worse.

During the war, tens of thousands of women and girls were raped by fighters from various armed groups, including the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Civil Defence Forces (CDF) and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Many survivors gave birth during or shortly after the conflict.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) acknowledged widespread sexual violence and recommended reparations for victims, but it failed to address the long-term consequences, especially the children born as a result of those atrocities.

Likewise, while the Special Court for Sierra Leone prosecuted war crimes and secured landmark convictions, it did not consider the social or emotional afterlife of those crimes. The Court's focus remained on perpetrators, not on the generational impact of their actions.

As a result, thousands of children, estimated between 5,000 and 10,000, were left without legal recognition, targeted support or inclusion in post-war recovery programs. Today, they face the world with no birth records, no knowledge of their biological fathers and no state acknowledgment of their unique suffering.

Across the country, these children now live as farmers, petty traders, house helps or unemployed youth. Many dropped out of school due to poverty or neglect. Their mothers, some of whom never mentally recovered from the trauma, some dead, others remarried and moved on in silence.

“We never had a space to talk,” said one woman in Kamakwie, whose daughter was born after she was abducted by RUF fighters.

“The war ended, but I still don’t know how to tell her who her father is.”

For many families, the subject is taboo. Children grow up sensing something is missing, something unspoken, often only learning the truth through gossip, slips or insults from neighbors or relatives.

In Kamakwie, Karene District, like many rural parts of northern Sierra Leone, the silence surrounding children born of war is even more profound. There, poverty and tradition combine to make the subject difficult to discuss, let alone address publicly.

Chief Brima Fofanah of Kagbumbo Section says the town received many returnees after the war, women who had been captured by rebels and later released or rescued.

“Some came back with children,” he recalled. “Others were pregnant. The families were confused. The community was unsure. There was no guidance from Government or NGOs.”

The Chief provided access to two such individuals, now young adults, who agreed to speak on condition that their names be published respectfully and with his endorsement.

Mariatu Sesay, 23, was born in 2002 to a woman who had been held captive in the bush. Raised by her aunt after her mother’s death, Mariatu has never seen her birth certificate or been told the full story of her origin.

“I know I came from pain. That’s all I know,” she said softly.

“Sometimes people whisper things. I’ve heard ‘she’s the rebel’s child.’ I just act like I didn’t hear.”

Mariatu completed secondary school but couldn’t afford to continue. She says she’s never been offered counseling or assistance of any kind.

“Even now, I still ask myself who I am. It’s a lonely question.”

Abdul Karim, also 23, works as a firewood vendor in Kamakwie. He dropped out of school in JSS3 and says he has no relationship with his father, whom he’s never met, never named.

“My grandmother raised me. She says my mother came back from the bush and gave birth. That’s all I know.”

Abdul says the community has always looked at him differently.

“They say I have a rebel’s blood. Sometimes I want to shout: I didn’t ask to be born!”

He says his greatest desire is not money, but recognition.

“I just want people to understand that we’re not criminals. We’re just trying to live.”

Faith and traditional authorities in Kamakwie acknowledge that many of these young people have been overlooked by justice efforts.

Pastor John Kanu of a local Pentecostal church said the children born of rape are often known by their families but rarely embraced.

“Some are in our churches, our choirs, our youth groups; but their stories are buried. Families are afraid to talk.”

Imam Alhaji Sorie Kargbo of Kamakwie Central Mosque added:

“Islam teaches that no child should be blamed for the crime of a parent. But the stigma is strong. These children grow up quietly suffering.”

The children born of war in Sierra Leone, whether in Kamakwie, Kailahun or Kambia, are more than a humanitarian concern. They are a moral test for the nation’s post-conflict recovery. Their stories reflect the unfinished business of transitional justice, the hidden cost of silence and the quiet resilience of a generation growing up without names, without justice and too often, without love.

“I don’t need a handout,” said Mariatu. “I just want to know I belong in this country and that my story matters too.”

If Sierra Leone is to complete its journey toward peace, it must make space for these stories, not as shameful secrets, but as part of the national memory and the foundation of a more honest future.

This story is brought to you with support from the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) through the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), under the project ‘Engaging Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice Issues in Sierra Leone.’ https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/born-of-war-forgotten-by-peace-the-children-sierra-leone-left-behind/