There is basically no one in Sierra Leone who in some way or other has not been traumatised by the war and it is nothing that will be resolved quickly. The effects of the war will remain with people for a long time. What people have experienced will live in their minds. This is the context in which any peace and future development in Sierra Leone will have to take place. The need The main problem is the high level of trauma within the Sierra Leonean population, due to the experiences people made during the civil war, as described above under item 1.
Traumatic experiences affects people's mental, physical and spiritual coping mechanisms.
Traumatised people very often recurrently relive the event. This may result in social withdrawal in order to avoid situations, places or people who remind them of the event. Physical symptoms, such as headaches, stomach or back pains may also be part of this process. On a spiritual level some of the most basic cognitive human assumptions are shattered by traumatic experiences assumptions of certainty and control in life, belief in the future and in the benevolence of other people. Basic feelings of security, trust and hope are lost.