Searching for Normal
in the Wake of the Liberian War
PENNSYLVANIA STUDIES IN HUMAN RIGHTS
Bert B. Lockwood, Jr., Series Editor
SEARCHING FOR NORMAL IN THE WAKE OF THE LIBERIAN WAR
Sharon Alane Abramowitz
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
PHILADELPHIA
Copyright © 2014 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abramowitz, Sharon Alane.
Searching for normal in the wake of the Liberian war / Sharon Alane Abramowitz. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Pennsylvania studies in human rights)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8122-4626-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Social psychology—Liberia. 2. Postwar reconstruction—Liberia. 3. Mental health—Liberia—International relations. 4. Psychic trauma—Liberia. 5. Women—Violence against—Liberia. 6. Liberia—Social conditions—1980– 7. Liberia—History—Civil War, 1989–1996—Psychological aspects. 8. Liberia—History—Civil War, 1999–2003—Psychological aspects. I. Title. II. Series: Pennsylvania studies in human rights.
HM1027.L7A27 2014
306.09666209′04—dc23
2014004863
For Judy and Jacob Abramowitz,Gertrude and Jerome Eisenbruck,and Myron Wolk
Contents
1. Searching for Normal in the Wake of the Liberian War
2. Clusters, Coordination, and Health Sector Transitions
6. Ex-Combatant Rehabilitation
Abbreviations
| AFELL | Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia |
| AFL | Armed Forces of Liberia |
| CVT | Center for Victims of Torture |
| DDRR | Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation, Reintegration |
| DSM | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders |
| ECOMOG | Economic Community Monitoring Group |
| ECOWAS | Economic Community of West African States |
| GBV | gender-based violence |
| IASC | Inter-Agency Standing Committee |
| ICD | International Classification of Disorders |
| ICG | International Crisis Group |
| ICRC | International Committee of the Red Cross |
| IDP | internally displaced person |
| IRC | International Rescue Committee |
| JIU | Joint Implementation Unit |
| LCIP | Liberia Community Infrastructure Program |
| LNP | Liberia National Police |
| LURD | Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy |
| LWF/WS | Lutheran World Federation/World Service |
| MDM | Médecins du Monde |
| MHPCC | [Liberian] Mental Health and Psychosocial Coordination Committee |
| MHPSS | Mental Health and Psychosocial Support |
| MOHSW | [Liberian] Ministry of Health and Social Welfare |
| MSF | Médecins Sans Frontières |
| NASW | National Association of Social Workers of Liberia |
| NCDDRR | National Commission on DDRR |
| NEPI | National Ex-Combatant Peacebuilding Initiative |
| NPFL | National Patriotic Front of Liberia |
| NTGL | National Transitional Government of Liberia |
| PSA | psychosocial agent |
| PTSD | posttraumatic stress disorder |
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